SUNBURY – Northumberland County taxpayers are on the hook to pay for another lawsuit. Northumberland County commissioners Vinny Clausi and Stephen Bridy approved a motion Tuesday to hire the law firm Pepper Hamilton, LLP to represent them and the county in the suit filed last week by Rick Shoch and Sam Schiccatano.
A $65,000 retainer was ordered to be paid no later than 4p.m Wednesday and additional monies will be doled out in $15,000 increments as needed.
During the meeting, commissioner-elect Kymberley Best addressed concerns about a conflict of interest created by commissioners suing the county, “I mean this is really a constitutional crisis, even for me as an attorney because I’m not sure that you could ask a court to step in and even appoint someone that would vote. I’m not certain and I have researched it and quite frankly, you don’t see this every day.”
Best said it will be difficult for the new board to even conduct business with the lawsuit pending.
Commissioner Clausi said there is a simple solution to solve the problem and save money on legal fees, “Call me on the phone and say, ‘Mr. Clausi, we don’t wanna go forwards with the suit,’ and we call the attorney and say, ‘It’s over.’”
Shoch and Schiccatano are suing Northumberland County as well as commissioners Clausi and Bridy to reinstate the $61,000 salary for commissioners that is set be cut by 41% in 2016.
