Confusion reigns as Guilford County continues its desperate search for counsel:
When it comes to searching for legal help of all types, Guilford County has been highly active recently. Since mid-December, in addition to a new county deputy attorney, the county has looked for a new county attorney, an interim county attorney, a law firm that will work with the county on an interim basis, a law firm that will work with the county on a permanent basis and an attorney to handle the contract negotiations for the new jail.
At last Thursday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, Kirk Perkins and Billy Yow tried to clear up some of the confusion. Perkins and Yow are clearly in favor of hiring a firm to represent the board so they can have broader legal expertise advising them. But they clearly realize that the county needs an in-house attorney to perform the so-called “day-to-day” duties. With that in mind, Yow made a motion to begin the process of hiring an outside firm to represent the board and in-house deputy county attorney.
You can argue that Perkins and Yow are being a bit ambitious in trying to secure representation for the board and the county at the same time. Yow’s reasoning was the deputy county attorney could adivse the board as they looked at proposals from different firms.
Sounds pretty simple to me, but evidently it was a little too complicated for a few commissioners, namely Carolyn Coleman, Bruce Davis and Kay Cashion, and Chairman Skip Alstonn didn’t seem like he had a real handle on the issue once it became confused. In the end, Coleman’s substitute motion to somehow involve the Institute of Government in the search failed before Yow’s orginal motion passed.
I’m glad other commissioners questioned the original motion, but serious debate on a relatively simple yet ambitious motion turned into total confusion. Perhaps this is a little insight into why interim county attorney David Smith got out quick.
