Legal fees: If mayor obeys law, all should be OK

The Clarion-Ledger Editorial, 8/17/7

Jacksonians are right to question why the city should hire a private law firm to represent Mayor Frank Melton and it when taxpayers already are paying for a city attorney and an entire city legal department.

The City Council on Tuesday hired Phelps Dunbar of Jackson for $185 per hour to represent the mayor and any other city employees involved in four lawsuits in which Melton and the city are named defendants. City officials said the firm was hired to eliminate potential conflicts of interest that might exist if City Attorney Sarah O’Reilly-Evans represented Melton.