Hoover council seizes authority to appoint city attorney

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The Hoover City Council on Monday night changed the way city attorney is appointed, giving sole appointment authority to the council, despite objections from the mayor.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said this is a “180-degree reversal from how the city has handled business over the last 40 years,” with the mayor appointing the city attorney subject to council approval.

Hoover Councilman Curt Posey said he doesn’t anticipate the council actually switching city attorneys before the next election, but council members have had some issues with legal services for many years.

First, it frequently seems like the council’s requests for legal services get put on the back burner, and the mayor’s requests for legal services get priority, Posey said.

Second, the council has had concern about rising legal bills, questioning the reasoning for extending appeals of certain cases and certain expenditures being billed through the city attorney, Posey said.

For example, the city paid a consultant to go door to door in the Indian Ford Fire District, trying to get residents to annex into the southwestern part of Hoover, and that consultant was paid through the city attorney’s office, Posey said.

The City Council has responsibility for the city’s finances, and the costs have gotten way out of hand, he said.

Changing the way the city attorney is appointed “puts us in a position where the council is on equal footing as far as representation,” Posey said.

Posey and Councilman Casey Middlebrooks framed the change as a “housekeeping” measure, and Posey said no slight was intended toward City Attorney Phillip Corley.

Brocato said the historical way of appointing the city attorney provided the necessary checks and balances and was more reasonable because the mayor and city staff utilize the city attorney on a more regular basis.

“Regardless of who appoints the city attorney, the city attorney represents and owes his duty to the city, not just to the mayor and not to the council,” Brocato said. “Any change in this ordinance tonight will only further divide our elected officials. It does not make any sense to me to politicize this position, and it should not be political.”

Brocato asked the council to at least wait and let whomever is elected mayor and council in the next election have input into the matter, but the council went ahead and voted 5-2 to make the change.

Voting in favor were Posey, Middlebrooks, Steve McClinton, Derrick Murphy and Sam Swiney. Voting against the change were Council President John Lyda and Khristi Driver.

In other business Monday night, the Hoover City Council:

  • Appointed Shelley Shaw to the Hoover Board of Education, replacing Craig Kelley, who in May will complete his second five-year term on the board
  • Voted to pay K&K Quality Construction $731,508 for renovations to the Hoover-Randle Home in Bluff Park, including replacing the roof, replacing a temporary covering for the large porch with a permanent cover and making doorways more accessible for people with disabilities.
  • Agreed to pay Round Tree Medical up to about $94,000 for medical supplies for the Hoover Fire Department
  • Renewed an agreement with Jefferson State Community College to allow emergency medical technician students to do clinical rotations with the Hoover Fire Department for educational purposes
  • Approved a license for Stone Age III Korean BBQ and Hot Pot to sell alcoholic beverages at a new restaurant at 3340 Galleria Circle
  • Annexed a single-family residence at 2849 Berkeley Drive
  • Congratulated Mesha Walker on her promotion to become the city’s new human resources director
  • Congratulated Hoover Public Library Director Amanda Borden for being named an Eminent Librarian by the Alabama Library Association
  • Congratulated Hoover City Clerk Wendy Dickerson for being named a Master Municipal Clerk by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks
  • Recognized Hoover fire Lt. Timothy Ingle for 30 years of service as he prepares to retire at the end of this month
  • Thanked the Hoover High School BioBucs Research and Environment Service Club, Spain Park High School Green Earth Society, Bumpus Middle School student Divya Nayak and resident Tony Russell for their work with the Hoover Beautification Board’s Green Team that picks up litter in the city

See the full video from Monday night's Hoover City Council meeting on The Hoover Channel's YouTube page.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:39 a.m. to clarify the area in which the city paid a consultant to go door to door to ask people about interest in annexing into the city of Hoover. That area was in the Indian Ford Fire District.