a schmall compliment

In today's Herald, my friend Emily has a good article on the Opa-locka city commissioners voting to give themselves a raise--which seems outrageous percentage-wise, but it's not when you consider they make $50 a month--and to have the city assume the lawyers' fees, which IS outrageous. (And yes, you guessed it, there are several suits pending.) Opa-locka is the poorest city in Miami-Dade county and also the most entertaining. And Emily covers it with flair.

The charter currently mandates that a city official, if found guilty of a charter infraction, pay the plaintiff's litgation fees. Should voters approve the referendum question, the city, rather than its officials, would be liable. According to Commissioner Timothy Holmes, the commission had little concern about placing the burden on the city, ''as long as we don't have to pay it ourselves," he said.

At an April 19 meeting, when the commission voted to give $10,000 apiece to the vice mayor and two commissioners towards their legal defense in a civil lawsuit, City Attorney A. Quinn Jones advised they would personally be responsible for the litigation fees if found guilty. The charter says if a court rules in favor of the plaintiff, fees will be assessed against the commissioner "whose vote made the litigation necessary."

At that meeting, Quinn Jones suggested that section 178 in the charter -- which imposes fees on officials -- could be abolished through a voter referendum. But Quinn Jones warned that commissioners should "be aware that state law supersedes the municipality's charter provision." Therefore, any charter amendment to repeal that clause would have to be crafted to duplicate state law or risk challenges of legality.

Emily is also quite a looker, and single. Here's a picture of her looking bemused yet judicious, on the far right, as I drunkenly leer at two namesless blondes.


Cross posted from my blog.