Title
Resolution authorizing the Council President to approve legal service requests made by individual Council Members, subject to limited delegation of authority.
Body
WHEREAS, Section 310(a) of the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter permits City Council to retain its own legal counsel to act as legal advisor to Council and to represent Council in legal proceedings; and
WHEREAS, individual Council members may from time to time require legal advice or support on legislative or policy matters; and
WHEREAS, the Charter requires that legal services provided to individual Council members must be authorized by Council as a body.
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, as follows:
Section 1. The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby delegates to the Council President the authority to approve, on behalf of City Council, legal service requests submitted by individual Council members to the Council’s retained legal counsel, provided that:
1. The requested services pertain to the official legislative duties of the member;
2. The request does not conflict with legal services already provided to Council as a body;
3. All approved requests and expenditures are documented and reported to Council on a monthly basis; and
4. The total use of funds does not exceed the annual budget allocation without further Council approval.
Section 2. Any work conducted pursuant to this delegation shall be considered work performed for and on behalf of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh in accordance with the Home Rule Charter.