Supervisor criticizes county for hiring law firm for union contract negotiations

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/03/26/news/latest/doc47ea7f71c001b612136597.txt

By NICK REISMAN
[e-mail]
Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 12:53 PM EDT

FORT EDWARD — As Washington County gears up to renegotiate the contracts of two influential public employee unions, officials have hired a Glens Falls-based law firm to represent their interests.

That’s upset at least one supervisor, Alan Brown of Jackson, who said the board should have been allowed to interview the negotiator, attorney Larry Paltrowitz, before he sat in on union negotiations.

The county is renegotiating contracts with the Civil Service Employees Association and the Washington County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

"I was unhappy he was hired; he wasn’t officially hired, but we were going to pay him," Brown said. "I wonder why we even need to be considering a law firm right now because we have a county attorney with two assistants."

The county’s longtime labor negotiator, Joe Igo, retired in 2007. Brown said that, when Igo retired, the county should have sought a replacement immediately.

Paltrowitz will be paid the same amount as Igo, $3,000 a month, Hayes said. "We could have been getting ready and interviewing candidates like we would typically do," Brown said. "We hire lots of outside people like architects and engineers — like we hire department heads."

FULL story at link.