DOVER — City Council appointed Liam N. Gallagher as the Dover’s deputy solicitor during its Aug. 12 meeting, but not before some concerns about the appointment were brought up by two city councilors.
Mr. Gallagher, who was not in attendance at the meeting, works at the same firm as current city solicitor Nicholas Rodriguez, Schmittinger & Rodriguez.
The first councilman to voice his concerns was Councilman Roy Sudler Jr., who felt the rules on the appointment were vague. He wondered why there was not an opportunity for others to apply for the position and had concerns that Mr. Gallagher’s status as an employee under Mr. Rodriguez could create an echo chamber — though he admitted that hiring a deputy from the same firm has been standard practice in the past.
“He works for you as a deputy for the city, and he also works for you as your private firm. And so, sometimes in my world and in my knowledge ... we’re concerned about retaliation, right?” said Councilman Sudler. “Statistics show they would be less reluctant to challenge you because you are their superior and have the power of the pen or the power to recommend or not recommend (reappointment).”
Mr. Rodriguez explained that Mr. Gallagher, or any other pick for deputy, is designated in the city code as appointed by the solicitor and would bill the city for services in the same manner as himself. Mr. Rodriguez cited his own hourly rate at $245 an hour.
Councilman Brian Lewis spoke next with concerns over Mr. Gallagher’s perceived lack of experience, only passing the bar around a year and a half ago. Mr. Rodriguez vouched for Mr. Gallagher’s time in municipal service, which he said goes well beyond a year and a half across four different municipalities.
Mr. Lewis, however, did not agree.
“You had indicated that he has an array or a lot of experience, but I wouldn’t consider it personally that that’s a lot of experience in municipal affairs, and you’re comparing apples to oranges when you say clerking and being an actual attorney,” said Councilman Lewis.
Councilman Lewis also brought up Mr. Rodriguez’s outsourcing practices, something that he had cited previously as an issue after voting no on Mr. Rodriguez’s own reappointment earlier this year.
Council president David Anderson responded by explaining that the outsourced law firms are complementary, not competing.
“Those are special areas of the law that we need to hire another attorney to handle, and that’s been done forever, and they are different law firms, and it’s better handled by them because they specialize in that certain area,” added Mr. Rodriguez. “So that’s the reason we have other attorneys that are employed.”
Mr. Lewis asked why not hire a law firm that can handle all the various needs of the city, to which Mr. Anderson noted the city had looked into doing so in the past and it would have resulted in paying twice as much as what they pay now.
Councilman Bill Hare questioned the concerns of the other council members, showing his support for Mr. Gallagher.
“I don’t understand why this, all of a sudden, is an issue this year. It hasn’t been for the last 10 years when Mr. Rodriguez would recommend his associate, and we would approve it,” said Mr. Hare.
“We had the little greeting with him and asked him quite different questions ... His background, he said he has a lot of municipal experience, because even though he hadn’t passed the bar, he did a lot of work with municipal governments, working with the other attorneys. He seemed very knowledgeable, very courteous, very nice.”
Councilman Gerald Rocha concurred, though also advocating for a change in the process in the future.
“I like the young man myself. I echo what Councilman Hare just said about him,” said Mr. Rocha. “But I do agree with Dr. Sudler and Mr. Lewis when it comes to the process. I think, going forward, we need to establish a process where we can have a conversation prior to the annual meeting, and then if ... anybody wants to gripe and complain, we can do it at that at that moment. Or if we need to change anything that’s in the code or the charter, or whatever we have, we have that conversation. Because ... we don’t want to get in the habit of rubber stamping all the time.”
Mr. Lewis responded that this idea was discussed at the annual meeting earlier this year, but the supplementary meeting never took place.
Put to a vote, Mr. Gallagher’s appointment was approved, with Councilman Sudler and Lewis voting no, citing ambiguity and concerns with the process.
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