Members of the city's trash board are questioning the legality of a recent City Council decision not to transfer to the city's Legal Department $250,000 that the board agreed to pay for city legal services in 2010.
"We're not aware that the council has the legal authority to take money that a public authority has designated go to a specific department for services rendered and put it to their own use," said Cheryl Cohenour, chairwoman of the Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy.
"That doesn't quite seem right," she said.
Councilors voted unanimously last week to allocate $1 of the trash board's payment - deposited in the city's general fund in March - to the Legal Department, keeping the remainder for other uses.
But council Chairman David Patrick, who also sits on the trash board, said this week that trash board members have been considering attempting to rescind the payment in light of the council's decision.
Cohenour told the Tulsa World that the board likely will seek an outside legal opinion on its options, arguing that it had an agreement with the city to reimburse the Legal Department and that the board has a right to direct where its money goes.
"Obviously, these (public trust) authorities are set up this way for a reason," she said. "I think there's law involved where the council is not supposed to review their budgets or mess with their money."
The trash board's payment is compensation for the services of Assistant City Attorney Caroline Benediktson, who was assigned exclusively to the board from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, to help draft bids and contracts for the city's new trash system and to represent the board against any related lawsuits.
City Attorney David O'Meilia told the council that the city had no formal contract directing the money to the Legal Department but that the trash board's agenda in 2010 indicated such an intention.
The Legal Department, which expected to receive the money before the June 30 end of this fiscal year, has budgeted it for expert witness fees in ongoing police corruption trials, trial preparation and automating the process of notifying city officials to retain records for pending litigation, Deputy City Attorney Jean Ann Hudson said.
The department has already signed contracts with vendors for some of those services, she said.
Several city councilors have been particularly vocal in opposing the arrangement, saying the trash board should not be able to tell the city where to spend the reimbursement.
"The things that bother me most is that TARE is trying to direct the city how to do their business," Councilor Skip Steele said at a committee meeting this week.
Councilors Karen Gilbert and G.T. Bynum added that other city departments may need the money more, including police and fire.
Bynum also argued that because Benediktson's absence kept her from performing services for departments across the city, other departments also deserve the money.
"I haven't seen any paperwork that says this donation has to be given to the Legal Department," Gilbert said.
Patrick said he will propose a budget amendment next week to direct $249,999 to the Legal Department.
Cohenour said the trash board will discuss its options at a committee meeting next week.
Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: City's use of payment irks trash board
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