City solicitor wants max hourly rate for lawyers hiked

The city solicitor has requested that city council ratify an increase the maximum hourly rate for legal representation.

City Solicitor Rosalie Evans recommended to city council they raise the maximum hourly rate to hire legal counsel to $500 an hour, up $200 from the current $300-an-hourrate.

Each time a lawyer’s rates exceeds the $300 limit, Evans has to submit a report to council in order to go over the limit. Evans said the wait could take as long as two weeks or a couple of months.

The time varies depending on how many questions council has and how much work needs to be done.

Council approved the recommendation at Monday night’s meeting, but still have to ratify the decision sometime in April.

The $300 limit was appropriate in 2003, but Evans said the cost of living has increased and senior lawyers demand a higher rate.

"When you are looking for speciality or expertise, usually you are looking for someone more senior," Evans told tbnewswatch.com on Wednesday. "Their rates are higher than $300 an hour."

Evans said her budget is around $130,000 for the year and would work with that amount to raise the rate to $500 per hour.

The more lawyers hired at the higher rate mean less are hired overall, which helps to keep costs down, she said.