SENNETT - More than 35 Sennett residents came to Tuesday night's town board meeting armed with questions about where their tax money was going in response to a letter from a town councilman outlining attorney's fees for the past year.

“It is beyond belief how a town of 3,500 residents with a $1 million budget needs as much legal service as provided by (Tom) Blair and (Don) Cheney,” Herrick said in a letter to The Citizen a week ago.

He compared Sennett with a number of nearby towns, and none had a legal services budget exceeding $15,500.

Herrick said in his letter that Sennett's legal expenses for 2008 exceeded $143,000, almost double the budgeted amount of $75,000. Besides hiring Cheney to defend its code enforcement officer in the Bonca's case, when the town sued its own Zoning Board of Appeals for its decisions, another lawyer, John Langey, had to represent the ZBA.

“My main concern,” said Angie Gregory, former bookkeeper for the town, “even when I was bookkeeper ... is, do you have a contract with present attorneys and is there a line item that says what your contract entails, what it should not exceed? If he (the town attorney) can overbid, then the board is at fault without understanding what the contract entails. I want to know why Tom (Blair) is being paid extra money unless the contract is wrong.”

Blair explained his fees.

“After being appointed to take over legal services, the town wanted more legal services,” he said. “I was offered an hourly or a flat fee. A flat fee was negotiated at $3,100 per month.”

Exceptions included litigation and enforcement as well as special districts. Blair said he and Cheney had started their own firm and agreed to the flat fee with a $10,000 retainer, covering every board in town, from assessment review to planning, zoning and the town.

Basing his workload on 35 to 40 hours per month, he calculated his firm was making below $125 per hour, with many months below $100 per hour, not charging for phone calls or drafting.

“I don't care because of my love for this town,” Blair said.“I'm here for every officer and employee.”

Blair accused Herrick of “lowball politicking,” “mistruths and half statements.”

“He has not sat down with me and asked about how better to serve the town,” Blair said. “I have nothing to hide.”

Another resident said, “According to Jeff, we as taxpayers can't come down to town and look at your bills.”

Blair said that was untrue. “You can FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) our bills,” he said.

Totals for Cheney and Blair's services totaled: $46,005 from March 1 for 2006, $63,260 for 2007, and he said they are on pace for $85,000 for this year.

Residents asked how Blair's contract compared to the previous town attorney, Andrew Fusco. David Sikora, town supervisor, said Fusco didn't have a contract, he was retained at $5,500 and paid from $95 to $125 for hourly services. The most Fusco made in any one year was $43,417 in 2004, according to Sikora.

“This man is getting overpaid,” Gregory continued, still not convinced. “Other attorneys do the same thing for $12,000 to $15,000.

“We're getting ten-fold the work out of this individual,” Sikora said.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net