SUNBURY – Northumberland County commissioners Kymberley Best and Rick Shoch are squabbling in the newspaper over Best’s billing of the county for $65,000 in legal fees. Best is asking for the fees for defending a former county jail inmate who sued to the county for damages after an assault.
The Daily Item quotes Best as saying the amount is ‘fair and just’ after she defended an inmate who was illegally attacked by a prison guard. Shoch reiterated what he told WKOK earlier, was an ‘extreme conflict of interest’ because Best is elected to represent county interests.
Best is seeking compensation of $300 per hour for legal work to defend Stephanie Olin, who did receive a $7,500 award over a 2013 incident. The paper quotes Shoch as saying that hourly rate is far above the hourly rate charged by more experienced attorneys in the county.
