Bill Lewis, the Village President, has purchased $11,117.83 in legal services since the beginning of this year. That’s just three months. The Village has not been sued, it has had no administrative actions against it to defend, has issued no tickets, and has taken no code enforcement actions necessitating legal representation.
The attorney, Craig Rolfe from Vicksburg, has billed the Village $4,724.44 in February, $3,528.86 in March, and $2,864.53 in April. Mr. Rolfe was hired by Bill Lewis and the Council to represent the Village at $300.00 per hour plus expenses. The Village’s former law firm of five years resigned in November 2024 after Bill Lewis was elected President and Denise Pyle and Ben Moore were elected as Trustees.
The attorney’s fees incurred by Bill Lewis so far this year are higher than those incurred by the Village for the entire year of 2024 when Jim Cummings and then Dave Miller served as President and when the Village Code was actively being enforced.
During “citizen time” at the April 15 Council meeting Dave Miller asked for a copy of Mr. Rolfe’s April bill for attorney’s fees. Denise Pyle, appearing to speak for Bill Lewis, didn’t want the Clerk to simply provide Miller with a copy but rather insisted that Miller submit a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) request. That FOIA request was then submitted to the Village Clerk who provided a copy to Miller.
More on attorney’s fees soon.
