HUNTINGTON BEACH : Search Underway for Deputy City Attorney

A new deputy city attorney will be hired to handle personal injury and personnel grievance cases in an effort to save the city money on outside attorney costs.

City Atty. Gail Hutton said a deputy will be hired at a cost of nearly $66,000 a year.

Hutton said the money to pay the salary and benefits for the new employee will not come from the general-fund budget but from a separate risk-management fund.

Hutton said that the average cost for an outside attorney to defend the city in a grievance case is about $12,450, compared to about $4,000 for an attorney working on the city payroll.

From January, 1993, to March this year, 25 of 44 cases have been handled by deputy city attorneys and temporary attorney employees at an estimated cost savings of $311,250, Hutton said.

In addition, Hutton said that the city’s risk-management budget for hiring outside legal counsel for injury and grievance cases has been exceeded in the past two fiscal years.

Hutton said that the 1993-94 budget is $400,000 for outside counsel.

But costs to date for these cases exceed $1 million, primarily due to two “very risky cases” that were costly, she said.

Hutton said recruitment is underway to hire the attorney after the City Council approved the position.

Hutton also said over the past few years her office has significantly reduced its staffing due to budget constraints.

As a result, she said, her department has not had enough attorneys to handle the case load.

The office currently has seven attorneys.