Contributed by:
Erin Feese/YourHub.com
on 4/16/2008
Update: City Council did not ratify a new city attorney April 17. Voting on city attorney candidate
Thad Renaud is again scheduled for the April 24 meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers, 2401 Sheridan Blvd.
It is no secret that Edgewater City Council is know for its, shall we say, spirited discussions. The latest disagreement is over who will be the next city attorney. If council doesn't approve a new city attorney at the April 17 meeting, the city could face some serious consequences.
The current city attorney,
Kendra Carberry, announced her resignation Jan. 28, citing incidents that had "undermined the mutual trust and respect in my relationship with the city of Edgewater." She agreed to stay until Edgewater completed the process of finding a replacement.
Council and Mayor
Bonnie McNulty have been apparently at odds about the best candidate for the job and have not agreed on a a replacement. The city will vote on whether to appoint the mayor's choice,
Thad Renaud, of Murray, Dahl, Kuechenmeister & Renaud, LLP
, during the meeting April 17.
Carberry's termination is effective April 18. In e-mails to Mayor McNulty and city council members, Carberry offered suggestions to work out their differences, but McNulty declined.
If the city is left without an attorney,
it will cripple the city's ability to do business: Without a city attorney, contracts over $2,000 cannot be signed, department heads cannot obtain the advice of the city attorney and property cannot be bought or sold.
"I really need a city attorney to ask advice to follow the law properly," said Edgewater City Clerk
Beth Hedberg. "I am legally liable if I don't do something right."
Please share your opinion on Edgewater politics below or post a letter
here.