Council hires new attorney, retains outside firm

Discussion was heated Tuesday night during the Glen Cove City Council’s public session. Some residents voiced their concern regarding a decision made by the council to hire the firm, Chase, Rathkopf & Chase LLP for city attorney services. The firm’s lawyer, Tip Henderson, will be replacing Gregory Kalnitsky, the current in-house city attorney. However, the firm’s retainer would not cover all current responsibilities of the position. 

The vote was five to two, with Councilwomen Marsha Silverman and Danielle Fugazy Scagliola voting against the agreement. “I have my reservations,” Fugazy Scagliola said. “Switching the model from the in-house to out-house with so much outside that retainer agreement could become very costly,” 

The firm would not be responsible for providing counsel on collective bargaining agreements, bonds matters and amending the Code of the City. The firm’s will be paid at roughly $17,000 in monthly installments from Feb. 14 to Dec. 31 totally $200,000. Henderson will be receiving a salary of $1 per month.  

Non-retainer services, such as the defense of Small Claims Assessment Review proceedings, representation in cases by or against the city, and judicial appeals, will be paid upon an at-need basis. The set expense disclosure for these services was not provided at the meeting. 

Other firms and lawyers were not vetted for Kalnitsky’s position, which was held over from the previous administration. 

Silverman had personally reached out to other legal practices for recommendations and submitted them to the council. 

“Mayor after mayor just goes with who they know, and it shouldn’t be that way,” Silverman said

“The whole city is represented by the same law firm,” Fugazy Scagliola said. “It lacks perspective. It lacks oversight. They didn’t give us any other resumes.”

Questions arose regarding Henderson’s time commitment to the city as a lawyer affiliated with a firm. The council voted in 2018 to transition to an attorney solely hired by the city. The switch in model was due to the expenses and lack of on-call assistance from previous outside firms. “There were things that would get delayed often,” Silverman said. “Personally, I thought in-house serves the city better.” 

The goal for the in-house attorney, according to Silverman, was to assist in day-to-day obligations such as contracts and personnel which would reduce costs when compared to seeking outside legal counsel. Even so, Panzenbeck pointed out that the city attorney does use a lot of outside counsel on cases where there is a conflict of interest. 

“… this firm is the best option?” Silverman said after the meeting. “I don’t know that because we weren’t given options … Is there somebody out there with better services and better rates?”

The firm will be continuing their role representing Glen Cove’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. At the start of this year, Chase, Rathkopf & Chase LLP, received an increase in pay for their representation of the two boards. They will receive $3,150 per month  with a litigation fee of $350 per hour. 

The Herald learned that Henderson’s attorney status is delinquent, according to the New York State Unified Court System, meaning he did not complete his biennial registration with the state. On Wednesday during a phone call, Panzenbeck said she was not aware of Henderson’s status and said it would be addressed before he begins. 

Henderson will begin his position on Feb. 14. “He will be here probably 90 percent of the time,” Panzenbeck said. “We will be putting him to work…he will be dedicated to us.”