John Hitchcock of the law firm of Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C., of Troy is the new city attorney for the City of Belleville.
Mayor Kerreen Conley recommended Hitchcock at Monday’s regular meeting and the city council unanimously agreed. The change is effective immediately and the old and new law firms will work together for an orderly transition.
Hitchcock replaces former city attorney John Day of the Belleville law firm of DiPietro and Day – again.
On April 6, 1998, Hitchcock replaced Day as Belleville City attorney, as recommended by Mayor Dennis Fassett, without going out for bids. The attorney fees at that time were $90 an hour for Hitchcock and $85 for Day.
(The council agreed Monday to pay Hitchcock $135 per hour, up from the $125 per hour charged by Day. Hitchcock will not charge mileage if meetings are set at the beginning or end of the day.)
In late 1999, after Mayor Fassett was recalled from office, Mayor Tom Fielder and the council decided to replace Hitchcock and went out for proposals. They selected John Barr.
In late 2008 after the election of Mayor Richard Smith, Day again became city attorney. Day said he also had worked on Belleville legal issues early in his career when he was with the Cozadd law firm.
Last Thursday, as sirens wailed and tornado warnings loomed, the city council interviewed the four finalists for the position of city attorney.
Besides Hitchcock, interviewed Thursday were attorneys from:
• Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho of Livonia;
• Barr, Anhut & Associates of Ypsilanti; and
• Johnson, Rosati, Schultz & Joppich of Farmington Hills.
When the city first issued the call for proposals nine firms responded, including DiPietro and Day. Others submitting proposals were:
• Barris, Sott, Denn & Kriker, PLLC, of Detroit;
• Lewis & Munday, P.C., of Detroit;
• Lucas & Baker of Onsted, MI; and
• The Plato Law Firm of Farmington Hills.
Former Mayor Fielder said it’s important for the council members to decide who would do the best job for them and work with someone they trust.
Mayor Conley plans to go out for bid proposals on all services paid for by the city. The next call will be for auditors.
In other business Monday, the council:
• Approved the fourth-annual Freddie Harris Memorial 2K Walk/5K Run for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation 8 a.m. to noon on Sept. 15 beginning at Horizon Park, put on by Melissa Varney. A fun run for children being considered for Village Park on the same day may be incorporated into Varney’s run instead. The Parks & Recreation Commission will look into consolidating the events;
• Approved closing the streets for Strawberry Festival at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 14, instead of 9 p.m. as originally requested;
• Heard Maggie Watson give an update on work of The Senior Alliance;
• Removed from the agenda, without comment, the Mayor’s proposed appointment of Martha Degenhardt to the Downtown Development Authority;
• Heard DPS Director Keith Boc report that the skateboard park is a continuing problem. He said someone is bringing large items that are set up on the ramps. Pallets nailed together with boards are set up in the park and garbage is dumped from cans and spread all over. He said items are taken from the DPW yard and put in the park. There are more bikes in the park than skateboards and bikes are banned. He said nothing has changed in the way the kids are taking care of the park. The agreement with the county required keeping the park for 10 years and so in June the park can be closed. Steve Jones reported that skate park users have told him this is the worst skate park in the county because it is not taken care of and not big enough;
• Approved accounts payable of $117,394.60, including the following departmental expenses over $500: to Alpha Psychological Services, $1,350, for police department; to MI Power Rodding, $510 for jetting of blockage (Water Dept. funds); to SLC, $5,348.19, water meters (Water Dept. funds); to Sumpter Auto $837.50 for vehicle maintenance (Police/DF); and to Bio-Care, not to exceed $3,300 for nine physicals for fire department, scheduled March 29; and
• Went into closed session to discuss the status and strategy of pending union negotiations.