Attorney’s office to be audited

Lolita Harper

The City Council unanimously approved a financial audit of the

city attorney’s office during a closed session Monday night to

examine the total cost of operations and specifically the amount

being spent on outside counsel, officials said Friday.

The audit is one of a series of council decisions during the

closed session meeting, which stemmed from a routine performance

review of the city attorney. During the same session council members

also prohibited the city from employing the Costa Mesa-based legal

firm Murtaugh, Miller, Meyer & Nelson and placed both City Atty.

Jerry Scheer and Asst. City Atty. Tom Woods on paid administrative

leave.

Steve Hayman, the city’s director of administrative services, said

the string of actions was all part of a “detailed review” of the city

attorneys office.

City leaders also appointed councilwoman Libby Cowan and Karen

Robinson to a subcommittee designed to scrutinize further the

office’s performance, he said.

The content of the closed session, and all details regarding

actions stemming from the meeting, are considered personnel matters

and therefore classified. Hayman said he could not disclose why the

council voted to place Woods and Scheer on leave or why the private

law firm was singled out.

Neither Scheer nor Woods could be reached for comment Friday and

James Murphy, who handles most of the city’s cases for Murtaugh,

Miller, Meyer & Nelson, was out of the office all day.

Hayman said the audit of the city attorney’s office was the result

of ongoing budgetary concerns regarding the cost of hiring external

legal representation. The financial examination will “simply put

together a broad picture” of the total cost of operations for the

department.

According to city financial documents, $178,500 was allocated to

the city attorney’s office in the 2001-02 budget for “professional

services” expenses, which includes the hiring of outside counsel. The

office more than tripled its adopted budget, spending $841,287 in the

2001-02 fiscal year, documents show.

In the 2000-01 fiscal year, the city spent $655,506 on

“professional services” and $1,334,102 in 1999-2000, according to

financial documents.

The 2002-03 proposed budget allocates $155,330 for professional

services, which is a stark comparison to the seven-figure amount

spent in previous years.

The straight numbers can be a bit misleading without explanation,

officials said.

“Some of the factors that add to the unpredictability of preparing

budgetary estimates for legal services are the many unknowns related

to the number of litigants that may file suit against the city in the

following year, the nature and complexity of those lawsuits and the

degree of specialized legal expertise that may be needed in any

particular case,” said Mark Puckett, director of the city’s finance

department.

Scheer -- who has been with the city for almost 16 years -- and

Woods, who worked for Costa Mesa from 1977 to 1989, left, and then

came back 10 years later -- will be paid during their time off, which

is expected to last a minimum of three weeks. City officials said

being placed on paid administrative leave was rare but does not

denote any allegation of wrongdoing.

The city attorney’s office provides legal services to the City

Council, the Planning Commission, the Costa Mesa Redevelopment Agency

and city departments. Scheer and Woods provide legal counsel and

advice during all official meetings and study sessions, and are

responsible for the preparation of ordinances, resolutions, contracts

and agreements, officials said. Counsel also interprets and applies

local, state and federal laws and conducts and monitors litigation.

Two staff attorneys remain at the city attorney’s office to

conduct in-house legal business while Scheer and Woods are on

administrative leave and many of the city’s legal battles are

represented by outside counsel, officials said.

The City Council has scheduled another closed session meeting

Monday night to further discuss the issue, Hayman said. Any actions

will be reported to the audience at the end of the meeting, he said.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.