“There are too many bullets flying,” Ivey said
HIGH SPRINGS – More than a month after High Springs City Attorney Ray Ivey resigned on July 11, the City still has not had any applicants for the open position. Ivey previously agreed to stay on until the City could find a replacement, but candidly told the commission during an Aug. 23 meeting that he had concerns about the City’s ability to attract another attorney. And Ivey may be correct.
An advertisement earlier this month, which called for proposals to be submitted by 2 p.m. on Aug. 17, didn’t net any results. Commissioners decided to place the ad once again in hopes that a second round will bring in applications, but Ivey didn’t sound hopeful.
Ivey said he was doubtful that running the ad would actually generate new interest. He noted that he spoke with several attorneys who were aware of the open position, but were not applying.
Ivey said that is a “result of the things that are occurring [in High Springs] causes an attorney here considerable indigestion….the activities generating lawsuits.
“And when these meetings go far astray, it’s hard for an attorney to be prepared,” Ivey said.
“What I’m picking up is that attorneys are real uneasy… because of all of these problems. There are too many bullets flying,” Ivey said, referring to impending lawsuits, among other concerns
He said one attorney who had previously applied for the position said he was intentionally not going to apply due the “hotbed that this is.”
Another attorney reportedly told Ivey that he couldn’t attend the frequent and numerous meetings called by the City of High Springs, because it would compromise his practice.
Although Ivey is working at a rate well below that of other previous applicants, he said he didn’t believe increasing the rates would attract attorneys.
“The attitude [among attorneys] is ‘I don’t want [the job], even at my regular rate,’” Ivey said.
Speaking about his conversations with attorneys who might be interested in the position, Ivey added, “One of the attorneys said, ‘I don’t want to go under the microscope.’”
Commissioner Sue Weller suggested the advertisement language include specifically how many meetings per month the attorney would be expected to attend. Commissioner Linda Gestrin meanwhile said she wanted to simplify the ad instead of running it as a request for proposals.
Ivey resigned on July 11, after less than six months on the job. In an email regarding his resignation, Ivey seemed to point to the City’s scheduling of frequent meetings as a chief reason for stepping down.
“Because I am concerned about my ability to attend all of the additional meetings that are necessary to accomplish City business, as well as the volume of work (which exceeds what I anticipated) as a result of the meetings, I must regretfully resign as City Attorney,” Ivey wrote in the email.
Although the commission’s regular commission meetings are scheduled just twice monthly, the second and fourth Thursday of each month, the commission has been meeting considerably more frequently than that. Between commission meetings, special commission meetings, emergency commission meetings, joint commission meetings, workshops and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meetings, the commission has met as many as a dozen times in one month. Many of those meetings have lasted as long as five hours or more.
The commission met on Aug. 23 during a regularly scheduled commission meeting, but it also has special commission meetings on Aug. 29, 30 and 31.
When pitching his firm to the commission in January, Ivey proposed a rate of $50 per hour up to 80 hours per month with no retainer or minimum required and additional time available at a negotiated rate. Also topping the list for attorneys being considered earlier this year was Brent E. Baris, P.A. of High Springs. Baris proposed a rate of $100 per hour with an effective retainer or minimum of $3,000 monthly for 30 hours of services. Baris apparently did not re-apply for the recently-advertised position.
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Email editor@alachuatoday.com
“There are too many bullets flying,” Ivey said
HIGH SPRINGS – More than a month after High Springs City Attorney Ray Ivey resigned on July 11, the City still has not had any applicants for the open position. Ivey previously agreed to stay on until the City could find a replacement, but candidly told the commission during an Aug. 23 meeting that he had concerns about the City’s ability to attract another attorney. And Ivey may be correct.
An advertisement earlier this month, which called for proposals to be submitted by 2 p.m. on Aug. 17, didn’t net any results. Commissioners decided to place the ad once again in hopes that a second round will bring in applications, but Ivey didn’t sound hopeful.
Ivey said he was doubtful that running the ad would actually generate new interest. He noted that he spoke with several attorneys who were aware of the open position, but were not applying.
Ivey said that is a “result of the things that are occurring [in High Springs] causes an attorney here considerable indigestion….the activities generating lawsuits.
“And when these meetings go far astray, it’s hard for an attorney to be prepared,” Ivey said.
“What I’m picking up is that attorneys are real uneasy… because of all of these problems. There are too many bullets flying,” Ivey said, referring to impending lawsuits, among other concerns
He said one attorney who had previously applied for the position said he was intentionally not going to apply due the “hotbed that this is.”
Another attorney reportedly told Ivey that he couldn’t attend the frequent and numerous meetings called by the City of High Springs, because it would compromise his practice.
Although Ivey is working at a rate well below that of other previous applicants, he said he didn’t believe increasing the rates would attract attorneys.
“The attitude [among attorneys] is ‘I don’t want [the job], even at my regular rate,’” Ivey said.
Speaking about his conversations with attorneys who might be interested in the position, Ivey added, “One of the attorneys said, ‘I don’t want to go under the microscope.’”
Commissioner Sue Weller suggested the advertisement language include specifically how many meetings per month the attorney would be expected to attend. Commissioner Linda Gestrin meanwhile said she wanted to simplify the ad instead of running it as a request for proposals.
Ivey resigned on July 11, after less than six months on the job. In an email regarding his resignation, Ivey seemed to point to the City’s scheduling of frequent meetings as a chief reason for stepping down.
“Because I am concerned about my ability to attend all of the additional meetings that are necessary to accomplish City business, as well as the volume of work (which exceeds what I anticipated) as a result of the meetings, I must regretfully resign as City Attorney,” Ivey wrote in the email.
Although the commission’s regular commission meetings are scheduled just twice monthly, the second and fourth Thursday of each month, the commission has been meeting considerably more frequently than that. Between commission meetings, special commission meetings, emergency commission meetings, joint commission meetings, workshops and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meetings, the commission has met as many as a dozen times in one month. Many of those meetings have lasted as long as five hours or more.
The commission met on Aug. 23 during a regularly scheduled commission meeting, but it also has special commission meetings on Aug. 29, 30 and 31.
When pitching his firm to the commission in January, Ivey proposed a rate of $50 per hour up to 80 hours per month with no retainer or minimum required and additional time available at a negotiated rate. Also topping the list for attorneys being considered earlier this year was Brent E. Baris, P.A. of High Springs. Baris proposed a rate of $100 per hour with an effective retainer or minimum of $3,000 monthly for 30 hours of services. Baris apparently did not re-apply for the recently-advertised position.
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