By Andy Foltz
NKyTribune Correspondent
Erlanger is making progress toward compromise, which means the dean of city attorneys may not be out just yet.
Olive branches have been extended in Erlanger, following one of the city’s most contentious meetings city council meetings in recent memory earlier this week. This means long-time City Attorney Frank Wichmann might be able to continue to serve in that capacity.
In a special meeting of council Saturday, that legislation was tabled after further meetings were held between Mayor Tyson Hermes, Wichmann, and members of council. The proposed legislation could be brought before council for a second reading and vote during their April meeting, depending on whether the future of the city attorney position has been determined or not by then.
During Tuesday’s meeting, residents and community leaders from across the county jammed council chambers in support of Wichmann. Mayor Hermes had notified Wichmann that he intended to terminate his contract with the city. Three pieces of legislation were proposed at that meeting, with the aims of retaining Wichmann’s services in some capacity and limiting the ability of the mayor to hire a city attorney.
“It’s not the way we normally function, and it’s not the way we want to function, but a stand needed to be made,” said Randy Blankenship, the city council member who proposed the legislation.
If enacted, the three ordinances would have created the position of city council attorney, forced the mayor to get council’s consent on the hiring of city attorney, require the attorney hired to have a minimum of four years of experience in the role, and restrict funds paid to any attorney other than the city attorney and city council attorney.
“Hopefully, this will help bring down some of the conflict between the mayor and city council, which is definitely not in the best interest of the city,” Blankenship said.
“We tried to come to an understanding of what the concerns were,” said Mayor Hermes. “The city isn’t in the midst of legal problems, so these changes didn’t makes sense,” he said of the proposals.
One of his concerns is that according to Kentucky statutes, a person can’t hold a non-elected position in more than one city. While at the moment, the position of city attorney is not bound by that, the proposed legislation would make that the case in Erlanger.
“If other cities started doing that, we would run out of experienced city attorneys,” he said.
“I’m excited because this promotes working with council, and that has been one of my goals since being elected,” Hermes added of the tentative agreement.
Wichmann has served as City Attorney for 49 years, and has been referred to as the “dean of city attorneys.” He is a lifelong Erlanger resident and also has a business in the city.
Todd McMurtry, city attorney for Park Hills and Fort Wright, was present at the mayor’s request during the regular meeting on council Tuesday night but absent from the special meeting held Saturday.