County Staff Attorney On Hold

Oconee County’s move toward hiring a staff attorney is being put on hold for the time being, as council members assess information provided to them. That was the decision made during Tuesday’s county council meeting. Two weeks ago, the council asked County Administrator Scott Molder to create an estimate of the savings and the cost of hiring a staff attorney in order to cut the county’s legal costs. Mr. Moulder told the council it is possible for the county to see possible savings of $100,000 per year on legal advice and routine legal issues. However, Moulder added, there are a lot of unknowns. Moulder pointed out one of the unknowns is the cost of specialized legal services in addition to a county staff attorney.  If the county chooses to proceed with Moulder’s proposal, a two-person office would be created with an attorney and a paralegal working under the administrator’s office. Currently, a county attorney works under the direction of the County Council.