Considering the bills Haines City has been getting from Mr. Cloud, it sure doesn't sound promising. According to the meeting on Tuesday, October 12th, Mr. Cloud will be billing Polk City either $180/hr or $200/hr depending on what type of work he is doing. This rate might sound reasonable until other attorneys are pulled in to help and the total amount of hours are added up.
Polk City doesn't need another bill that will make our heads spin. We have plenty of debt already. The city still needs to figure out where the money will come from to pay the county the $531,000 in back impact fees from 2006 & 2007. How can we afford a hot shot lawyer? Yes, he may be very good at what he does and is specialized in just the kind of experience the City needs to fight the growing list of lawsuits, but realistically, where is this money going to come from? The 2010-2011 Budget appropriated only a total of $48,100 for the entire fiscal year!! Looking at the bill for Haines City, according the article in September 15th's Ledger No Tax or Pay Increases in Haines City's 2011 Budget, Mr. Cloud's bill will likely be much more than what Polk City has budgeted for. This is a quote from page 2 of the article, "The contract with City Attorney Tom Cloud of the GrayRobinson law firm in Orlando will increase 86 percent to $354,000. That's up from $190,000 this year, but the city has spent $335,422 for legal services through July 31." Yikes!!
Mr. Tom Cloud is a partner of the GrayRobinson Law Firm. According to www.gray-robinson.com the website from the GrayRobinson Law Firm, "We have developed a team approach to litigation, in which we assemble a team of lawyers and other professionals to ensure that our clients receive sound advice and the strongest possible representation. When necessary, and with client approval, attorneys from other practices within the firm are consulted regarding specific issues with which they have experience, such as tax and securities matters or environmental and land use issues. Finally, we have developed relationships with experts in Florida and throughout the nation to provide added depth and perspective to our legal services. Realizing the difficulties of other controlling outside expenses, such as experts, we have developed detailed policies for dealing with experts and work closely with our clients to ensure the appropriate expert is chosen to meet their needs. This team approach is a hallmark of the GrayRobinson law firm, and is particularly evident in our litigation department." Does the city think that these legal services will cost $180 - $200 per hour with a team of lawyers working on an issue? Not likely!
If Mr. Cloud is as great as he seems and is so affordable, why didn't Kermit Weeks hire him first for the Fantasy of Flight litigation? Could it be that Mr. Weeks realized he couldn't afford him either?
Quite frankly no, the City cannot afford the services of Gray Robinson. In fact the City could barely afford the fiscal hemorrhage from fending off the Auburndale lawsuit. In fact if my memory serves me correctly taxes were raised to pay for this litigation.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I believe the former mayor was quoted in the Lakeland Ledger as saying several residents had offered monetary assistance to pay for this litigation.
That being said is the new administration going to grab a play from the Penton and Carrier play book and raise taxes again to pay for the upcoming litigation? One can only speculate.
As far as Mr. Weeks not being able to afford Grey & Robinson, I do not think that it is a question of money. I firmly believe Mr. Weeks has done his homework as has retained the most qualified law firm to represent and protect his interest.
I just don't understand why a recall effort has not been started to end the "Joe and Trudy Comedy Hour" before these two clowns bury the City of Polk City in more debt the citizens can't afford.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the above comment, all council members are elected for a four-year term. Both Mayor LaCascia and Vice-Mayor Block were elected on April 12, 2010. According to the Florida Statute 100.361 MUNICIPAL RECALL, (8) When Petitions May Be Filed - No petition to recall any member of the governing body of a municipality shall be filed until a member has served ONE-FOURTH of his or her term of office.
ReplyDeletegreat , when the time comes RECALL, RECALL, RECALL !
ReplyDeleteI am GLAD they used the money to put a stop the that petition and found it to be ILLEGAL! Next time do your homework- you can not just get signatures to do something. Even the county attorney told me this when I called asking what to do to fight the petition.
ReplyDelete