The Centre County Commissioners and the Centre County District Attorney are doing battle in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but it’s taxpayers who might wind up getting socked with what could be a significant bill for legal services.
Some costs we already know, but the final tab could be much more.
Since hiring special legal counsel for the commissioners and the county solicitor, Centre County Administrator Tim Boyde says the county has spent about $24,250 on legal fees.
The three county commissioners unanimously approved a contract with attorney John Abom on Jan. 27. According to the meeting agenda, the law firm of Abom and Kutulakis is charging the commissioners $125 an hour for an attorney out of court, $170 an hour for an attorney in court, and $95 an hour a paralegal.
Boyde says services from Abom and Kutulakis have racked up $13,545 so far.
The county has also spent $10,704 on legal fees from attorney William Fetterhoff, who is serving as special counsel to Centre County Solicitor Louis Glantz. According to the Feb. 3 commissioners meeting agenda, the law firm of Fetterhoff and Zilli is charging the county $200 an hour.
Commissioner Michael Pipe opposed hiring Fetterhoff and Zilli at the Feb. 3 meeting, arguing that he didn’t feel there had been enough justification presented for incurring the additional cost.
Commissioners Steve Dershem and Chris Exarchos approved the contract in a 2-1 vote, arguing that the county was obligated to provide legal services to its solicitor.
“This request was only brought before us yesterday,” Pipe said at the Feb. 3 meeting. “… We don’t have this budgeted. I’m not comfortable approving this.”
Neither contract with either law firm lists an end date for their services.
Boyde says the county has about $250,000 set aside in a “contingency fund,” which helps offset the impact of unexpected expenses. According to the 2015 county budget, the county takes in about $26 million in real estate taxes, while other sources contribute nearly $11 million.
But Bruce Castor, a lawyer for Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller, says things could get much pricier for the county.
Because Parks Miller filed in the state supreme court in her official capacity as district attorney, Castor expects his legal fees are going to make their way back to the commissioners’ office.
“At some future point in time, maybe the county gets a really big bill from me,” Castor says. “It will be interesting to see what they do with it.”
Castor says he doesn’t know how much his bill will be because he can’t predict how long his services will be required. If the case is resolved in a couple weeks, for instance, he says it will be much cheaper than if things drag on for a couple more months.
Either way, Castor says his hours on the job are adding up fast. For his work with Parks Miller, he’s driven to Centre County, Cambria County and Pittsburgh – each of which are several hours away from his home in Montgomery County.
“I am certain that our fees will be in the six figure range,” Castor says. “The county has ways to dispute that, but whether a court will agree that they don’t have that responsibility is another matter.”
Parks Miller has been accused of forging a judge’s signature, which she denies. She and two of three commissioners have been arguing in the supreme court over what agency has the proper jurisdiction to investigate the allegations.
Commissioners Dershem and Exarchos are involved in the filings in the supreme court, while Pipe chose not to be involved and is not listed as a party on any filings from the commissioners.
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