City attorney resigns

POLSON - Longtime Polson city attorney James Raymond announced his resignation at a special meeting of the city commission on Monday, Dec. 23.

Raymond’s departure from the position was effective immediately according to city manager Mark Shrives, who is now tasked with finding a replacement.

“I’ve already reached out to some attorneys… with municipal experience,” Shrives reported this week. “Hopefully by the first council meeting in January, we’ll have the interim replacement.”

Shrives said that he plans on having someone fill the role on an interim basis for at least six months. That time frame would extend to the end of the ongoing fiscal year and would also allow Shrives to evaluate more precise requirements for the position going forward.

“We’ll be able to see how many hours we really need an attorney,” said Shrives, noting that future budgets could be developed that more properly reflect the city’s demand for legal counsel.

Of course, the interim appointee will also have a valuable opportunity to audition for a long-term partnership with the city, though Shrives is not looking that far ahead at the moment.

“To me, at this point, the most important part is to find an attorney who can work with us for at least six months, and then we’ll see where we go from there,” said Shrives.

The Dec. 23 meeting was originally intended to discuss the “enforceability” of certain elements of Raymond’s contract that Shrives could not specify. Raymond, who had retained the post for nearly 15 years and earned approximately $43,000 from the job annually, had a provision in his contract that required that he be given one year’s notice if his tenure would not be renewed, so that he may restructure his law office accordingly. Regarding severance pay, Shrives said that a “confidential settlement agreement” with Raymond is currently being negotiated. The dollar amount that Raymond is eventually awarded will become publicly available at a later stage of the process.

Over the years, Raymond had been criticized by some in the community for matters ranging from his attendance at council meetings to making what appeared to be an inappropriate gesture at a meeting this fall.

Raymond could not be reached for comment before press time.