Troy officials divided over hiring city attorney

A rift between the mayor of Troy and its council members over hiring a city attorney apparently is not close to being resolved.

The city council has turned down Mayor Don Banning’s request to hire Libby City Attorney Jim Reintsma at least twice.

Banning said he is waiting on advice from Lincoln County Attorney Bernard Cassidy. Cassidy doesn’t have the time or manpower to help Troy, Banning said. Banning said he would call Cassidy again this week.

The state attorney general’s office is providing prosecution services for Troy since previous City Attorney Mark Fennessy retired in December.

Reintsma is clearly the most qualified candidate, Banning said. He appointed a four-person committee to recommend a candidate earlier this year.

The committee recommended Reintsma over Troy private practice attorney Heather McDougall. When the council rejected Reintsma, the city advertised once again for an attorney. This second time they got three applicants: Reintsma and two others, but not McDougall.

Russ Barnes, a Libby attorney who has worked part-time in real estate since 1988, and a woman from Missoula who worked as a children’s advocate for Sanders and Lincoln counties also applied, Banning said. He declined to give the woman’s name.

“We were looking for an attorney with knowledge of municipal law,” Banning said. The committee noted that Reintsma “has an in-depth knowledge with more years of experience as an attorney in the areas of prosecution and civil litigation with research involving land use and county management issues.”

Additionally, Reintsma “scored higher in all areas of the Performance Skills Evaluation used as part of the interview process.”

Reintsma has been in private practice since July 2005 and has worked as Libby’s city attorney since January. He was Lincoln County’s deputy county attorney from August 2003 to June 2005 and is president of the Lincoln County Bar Association. He also worked for a Billings law firm from November 2000 to July 2003.

“The majority of the residents of the city of Troy, Montana, want James Reintsma,” Banning said. He based his opinion on comments from residents he sees in the community and things written in the newspaper.

McDougall, he said, worked as Lincoln County’s prosecuting attorney for less than a year and as Libby’s city attorney for a little more than a year. She has been in private practice since January 2007. Banning said he doesn’t believe McDougall is qualified for the job.

Council member John Clogston hasn’t been on the council long, having been appointed to replace Loretta Jones.

Clogston said he has heard good reports about Reintsma lately from two Troy residents, but he’s still not ready to change his vote.

He said he didn’t like comments Reintsma made (after the council turned him down a second time) about the possibility of Troy being sued if it didn’t approve him. Additionally, Clogston said he feels like Troy would be treated “like the little stepchild” if Reintsma is approved, since he also works for Libby.

The Troy job is part-time at 20 hours a month and pays $19,500 a year, council member Phil Fisher said.

Fisher said the council asked Banning for a recommendation on one of the two other attorneys at its last meeting.

“Troy does very little prosecution, very little crime. [Barnes] would pick up and be fine,” he said.

Fisher said a judge and court clerk told him they do not recommend Reintsma.

“It’s pretty clear we don’t want Mr. Reintsma,” council member Gary Rose said.

In the meantime, Banning said he’s been told that he can hire an attorney on an as-needed basis until the City Council agrees to hire one.

Banning said he decided to hire Fennessy to help with some paperwork with Bonneville Power Administration. That will only take an hour or two at $150 an hour, Banning said.

Additionally, Banning said he may need some help with union negotiations. That should come in early May. The City Council voted to hire Kalispell attorney Daniel Johns for this, but Banning said he doesn’t know Johns. Banning said it’s up to him to decide if he needs an attorney to help negotiate city contracts.

Fisher said Troy hired Johns 13 or 14 years ago. The city of Libby and Lincoln County recommended Johns, Fisher said. Troy hasn’t contacted Johns yet, Fisher said, but he’s confident the city will be able to use him.