Retroactive Lawyer Fee OKd

The City Council on Tuesday went against the recommendation of one of the city’s former mayors and approved a $115,000 retroactive increase in fees paid to the law firm that handles most of the city’s legal needs.

The council on July 21 planned to increase the city’s fee to the firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon from $725,000 last year to $840,000 for the period from May 1, 1988, to May 1, 1989. But former Beverly Hills Mayor George Slaff, who is a lawyer, told the council that granting the raise would violate a provision of the California Constitution that prohibits public bodies from retroactively increasing compensation to contractors. A majority of the council decided in August to hire a separate law firm to study the matter and present an opinion.

At the July meeting, Mayor Robert K. Tanenbaum argued that the raise was being granted retroactively because city officials, as well as representatives from the law firm, agreed it would be better to wait until after the city’s April election--in which three incumbent City Council members did not file for reelection--before signing a new contract. Tanenbaum also noted that the firm requested the fee increase last December, well before the 60-day notice requirement contained in the city’s contract with the firm.

Last week, the law firm hired to study the issue concluded that the city’s action was legally acceptable under several recent California Supreme Court decisions permitting similar retroactive pay increases. The council’s vote on Tuesday to raise the firm’s fees was unanimous.