OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Ottawa County Commission will consider amending its contract with Kallman Legal Group, just weeks before the new board is sworn in.
The firm currently serves as the county's corporation counsel.
According to county records, the proposal would shorten Kallman Legal Group's contracted term with the county by three months, from Jan. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2025. This alligns with the end of the county's 2024–25 fiscal year. Attorney Jack Jordan estimates this term change will save the county $107,550.
The proposal also says the county would pay all legal fees in a $249,408 lump-sum "immediately upon the execution of this agreement." This number is based on a monthly rate of $24,940.80, which is calculated based on a 24-hour work week. If the firm works more than 24 hours in a week, the proposal says the county will pay the remaining balance of the bill.
Read the full proposal below:
Kallman Proposal 120324 by WXMI on Scribd
On Monday, Ottawa County’s Finance Committee, made up of commissioners Gretchen Cosby, Roger Belknap, Joe Moss, Kendra Wenzel and Rebekah Curran, unanimously voted to move the amendment forward to the full County Commission for consideration.
If this amendment is approved, it would be the second one made to the corporation's counsel's contract.
The first happened last year. According to county records, the initially approved contract read in part, "...either party may terminate the contract at any time upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to the other."
But it was amended to say that County Commission could only terminate the contract for "just cause," which means "gross negligence or misconduct of the Firm in the performance of its duties to the county."
Kallman Legal Group released the following statement explaining why the amendment does not violate Ottawa County's purchasing policy:
"This amendment shortened our contract by three (3) months, thereby, reducing the cost to the County by over $100,000.00. We did not increase our minimum hours each week nor did we increase our hourly rate. In fact, this amendment does not increase the cost of Corporate Counsel legal services to the County in any way.
"We have heard said that this amendment violates the Purchasing Policy; however, this Policy clearly does not apply to the Board of Commissioners, and even if it did, this amended contract does not violate the County’s Purchasing Policy. The County Board has the full legal authority to determine how to pay for Corporate Counsel services. See MCL 49.71 which states that '[s]uch attorney shall receive such compensation as shall be determined by the board of [commissioners].'
"It is a common practice of our firm and is a widely accepted practice for law firms in Michigan, to charge minimum fees. Our law firm would be paid $249,000 upfront fees (lump sum) for the standard hours worked from December 1st, 2024 to September 30th, 2025, but credit that money back to the County piecemeal on a monthly basis. However, the County loses the monthly credit for future hours only if the County Board breaches our contract."
Ottawa County Commission has a meeting scheduled for Monday, Dec. 9.
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