It makes sense that a city the size of Augusta would serve taxpayers’ best interest to find a seasoned private sector attorney from a large local firm to take on the task of handling city legal business.
Such an attorney would have the resources of other attorneys in his/her law firm as well as a quiver full of arrows in the form of a small army of paralegals at their disposal.
Since the resignation of longtime General Counsel Wayne Brown, the city has enjoyed such a relationship with attorney Jim Plunkett. In his brief tenure, Plunkett has been on hand for parliamentary duties at city meetings and helped Mayor Garnett Johnson and City Administrator Tameka Allen navigate the spider web of legal entanglements brought on by Hurricane Helene. Plunkett has repeatedly given the commission good advice.
Yet, the city is reluctant to make this a permanent arrangement. On June 26, the Augusta Commission quietly approved an “amended interim legal services transition plan,” which keeps Plunkett on retainer through the end of the year.
For Plunkett, Augusta is not a resume filler or a stepping stone to a larger city and bigger paycheck. The Westside graduate has long been invested in the community for most of his professional and personal life. This is like having a close family member as your trusted personal attorney.
Plunkett, in private practice, has focused on business-related issues involving commercial and residential real estate, corporate and business law, franchise agreements, and bankruptcy matters as well as estate law, all of which are specialties that dovetail with the legal needs of the city.
The only reason, in our opinion, that the commission has not made Plunkett the permanent general counsel is because this little political club has always preferred an attorney that will tell them what they want to hear, even if such legal advice has them jousting with the windmills, paid for out of the taxpayer’s kitty.
With the city still deeply in arrears to the IRS and still facing legal issues that arose from the hurricane, a firm and strong hand is needed in the law wheelhouse.
The Augusta Commission needs to wise up and solidify a permanent agreement with Plunkett now, before he hikes up his hourly rate.
