RYAN PAINTER is shown with Rep. Ben Frederick during the swearing-in ceremony for Michigan’s 100th Legislature at the state Capitol in January 2019. Painter was there as the director of the elder abuse program at the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. He is an Owosso resident.
(File Photo)
by Karen Mead-Elford, co-editor
The Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners voted 6 to 1 to retain Ryan Painter as corporate counsel during the Thursday, Nov. 19 meeting. Commissioner Marlene Webster, R-District 1, voted against the proposal.
One day prior, during the Committee of the Whole meeting, the commissioners had voted to table the proposal 4 to 3 until next month (December). John Plowman, R-District 7, had expressed an interest in seeking a formal opinion/further discussion from Prosecutor Scott Koerner.
Plowman changed course during the Thursday meeting and the proposal was added back onto the agenda for the Finance and Administration Committee section of the board meeting – minus gathering further input.
Painter previously worked in the Shiawassee County Prosecutor’s Office. He recently has worked as the elder justice resource prosecutor for the Prosecuting Attorneys Assoc. of Michigan – as found at mielderjustice.org. Painter’s retainer from the county for 50 hours of work per month will be approximately $102,000 per year, lending to commentary by Koerner during the Wednesday meeting that due to the suggested contract being over $50,000, the item should have been released for bids as is called for under county policy. County Coordinator Dr. Brian Boggs said he believed authorization was allowed since the board chair – Jeremy Root – had “engaged in the contract negotiations.” Boggs explained that commissioners may, “at their discretion, select whether or not the prosecutor serves as corporate counsel or not.” Boggs pointed out that corporate counsel would be working for the county and not its individual members, since the county acts as a corporation.
Retired 35th Circuit Court Judge Gerald D. Lostracco questioned the need to seek outside attorneys during the Wednesday Committee of the Whole meeting – explaining how the county prosecutor’s office had once handled those legal matters in his experience as a prosecutor (beginning in 1974). “I’m not here advocating against Ryan Painter. As a matter of fact, he interned in our court when he was in law school one summer,” Lostracco said. “And I’m not here advocating for or against Bonnie Toskey’s firm either.” Lostracco shared he felt the “institutional” history in the county really needed to be explained to the current board.
Lostracco mentioned the outsourcing for corporate counsel to Bonnie Toskey’s firm (Cohl, Stoker & Toskey), a Lansing legal firm focused on municipal and corporate law, and the related expenses incurred. Lostracco stated, “The office of prosecuting attorney, which has competent attorneys, starting with the prosecutor himself … can do the work in a lot of cases.” One exception to keeping some services in-house would be drain office issues.
Lostracco also expressed concern regarding the timeline turn-around on the proposal. “When I saw this come up Monday, I wondered, where did this come from? What discussion has there been? This was the first public knowledge, in my book, on Monday that this issue would come before the board and apparently you’re ready to spend some substantial sums of money.” He questioned a possible violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Since 2015, according to Boggs who said the numbers had been “pulled because there was come discrepancy,” the county has paid the Toskey firm around $333,468.97. That breaks down to about $66,700 per year when calculated over a five-year period.
Webster disagreed on the Toskey firm breakdown on Thursday. Webster explained that Toskey is “one of the best county law attorneys in the state of Michigan,” and so there will be future need for that level of legal advice. She stated she did not agree with the contract for $102,000 per year for “one local person,” seeing that as being “financially irresponsible.” Webster mentioned Painter’s lack of municipal experience as part of the contract irresponsibility. Painter’s legal background is listed as criminal defense, general practice, estate planning and elder law at Avvo.com.
Webster also offered “as a procedural thing, we approved the agenda at the beginning of this meeting and this item was added. None of us had that on our sheet accept for Mr. Plowman.” She called the unexpected alteration to the agenda “sneaky and dishonest.”
“Enough,” said Chairman Jeremy Root. “This thing is a sham and it’s a joke. You guys trounced people in here because you knew what Mr. Painter’s contract is and then you think you’re going to have it out there to bid so that people can undercut someone? That’s not how you do professional business. It’s embarrassing that you would do that.”
Webster responded that it is how professional business is done. “You don’t hire your friends,” she said.
A heated exchange ensued between Webster and Root. “We’re done. Roll call vote,” he finally stated.
Also during the Wednesday Committee of the Whole meeting, Bill Amadeo, representing the Madison-Amadeo Law Firm, approached the board with an offer of corporate counsel for $50,000 per year, with $10,000 of that amount going back to the Shiawassee Mental Health Court. Amadeo simply questioned if there would “be bids allowed for the corporate lawyer position?” He said, “If there is an opportunity, my firm would like to apply for the position.” He explained he had sent proposals to all commissioners. He did not get a response in that meeting.
Also on Wednesday, Shiawassee Drain Commissioner Tony Newman questioned the need to demand a 15-percent decrease on per-department budget spending, but then adding to expenditures by hiring corporate counsel at a potential $102,000 per year.
During the Thursday evening meeting, Commissioner Dan McMaster, R-District 2 argued that times have changed, citing that it would be in the best interest of the county to have legal advice from beyond the prosecutor’s office. “There is a lot of positives,” he added.
Commissioner Cindy Garber, R-District 6, offered that “I don’t think that money and the lowest price is always the best way to go,” explaining that sometimes it is more important to spend more for a professional. “I’d like to get a little better for this county.”
Both the Shiawassee County Committee of the Whole meeting and the Board of Commissioners meeting are available to the public via YouTube.
