This is the last week to apply to be the next Palmetto Bay Village attorney, but you really can't tell from the Mayor or the official web site. The lack
of accountability and transparency from the current mayor and council is truly
special. What is going on in the search
for a replacement village attorney? I
wonder if any additional law firms have applied for the open Palmetto Bay
Village attorney position.
The December
council meeting came and went without any comment from this current mayor
providing (or her asking staff for) any update on responses to the pending
solicitation to apply for village council. Village attorney is a huge
responsibility. It is one of three Charter positions that provide the
professional operation for the Village (Village Manager and Village Clerk are
the other two)
The
interim duties are being very well handled by John R.
Herin, Jr., Esquire, who has extensive public and private sector
experience. Mr. Herin also represents
nearby Doral and the City of Marathon in the Florida Keys.
He is very well qualified, but this post is not about Mr. Herin; it is
about the search, stealth search or non-search, that this council is
undertaking. S0me, including those on the council complained about the initial search that resulted in six applicants that dropped to three competing firms at
interview. Will we have a last-minute flood of applicants or will the council will be pleased with a re-do that results in no new, or merely 2 new experienced
municipal law firms applying.
The Miami Herald reported on October 17th that the Village Council initially decided that Mr. Herin’s appointment would be temporary; that he will serve until the council has time to repeat its search process and find a permanent lawyer. (see: Palmetto Bay council votes to dismiss village attorney, By Lidia Dinkova). That brings us back to the search process. Go to the
Village Website and you will find that the former village attorney remains listed (CLICK HERE). This may lead some to believe that the former village attorney is still ensconced in her (former) position (At least as of noon Sun, 12/15/13). Perhaps this would
have been an outstanding opportunity for the mayor or someone else on the
council to show that they were paying attention to detail and demonstrate some leadership on the council by directing that the web site
indicate that a search was ongoing. The web site really does
not give first glance conspicuous notice of a search for a village attorney. The entire search effort appears to be hidden in plain sight.
Detailed self-searching
the village website will eventually lead you to this posting:
IMPORTANT NOTE for those that are interested (I have personally spoken with two attorney's firms) that have inquired:“Sealed
proposals will be received by the Village Clerk, 9705 East Hibiscus Street,
Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, on or before December 20, 2013, no later than 3:00 pm,
at which time they will be publicly opened and announced.”
So those interested have just until this
coming Friday to apply and be mindful that “Late submittals and facsimile submissions
will not be considered." We will find out at 3 PM on Friday if there have been firms hard at work preparing competing proposals.
For those of you who ask what
factors would make a municipal firm not want to work for this current mayor and
council, how about:
A council
that runs up billing through endless changes in the code or legislation that
never gets passed, then gripes about the fees when the bills come due.
A
fractured council where an attorney may not want to walk a tightrope between
feuding factions.
