Amendment 1 - City of Tampa

By The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 19, 2008

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Hiring And Firing Of Tampa City Council's Attorney

ON THE BALLOT: "Should the Charter be amended to allow City Council, rather than the city attorney, to employ an attorney whose salary and qualifications are comparable to other city attorneys; to render independent advisory opinions pursuant to vote of City Council and legal advice relating to City Council business that may be requested by any member, and remove the responsibility for the attorney to perform other duties as required by the city attorney?"

THE GIST: The proposed charter amendment, if approved, would give the seven-member Tampa City Council the authority to hire and fire the council's attorney. Currently, that authority belongs to the mayor, but council members have complained that the mayor's ability to hire and fire their attorney compromises the board's independence.

Christian M. Wade