OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Ottawa County will pre-pay almost a quarter million dollars to its legal counsel before the work is done.
The Kallman Legal Group proposed to shorten its contract by three months, ending in conjunction with the county's fiscal year end in September 2025. In return the county will send a lump sum payment before the end of 2024.
Jack Jordan, an attorney with the legal group, told the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners this move would save the county $107,000 in 2025.
County Commissioner Doug Zylstra, one of two Democrats on the board, attempted to make several changes to the deal at Tuesday's board meeting. One called for a 5% reduction for sending a lump sum payment. Zylstra's proposals were all voted down by a majority of commissioners.
The agreed-upon amount is based on a 24-hour work week, for which the county agreed to contractually use the firm for a minimum of 1,200 hours for the year.
The county records show this workload comes to nearly $25,000 a month. The revised nine-month contract will see the county pay just over $249,000. According to invoices obtained through records requests with the county, the firm often works more than the base 24-hour work week.
“Our bills have averaged anywhere between 35 and 40 hours. And that is also a reduction from the standpoint that we donate many hours to the county,” Jordan said.
If more work is needed, the firm will bill the difference.
The Kallman Legal Group is in its second year as Ottawa County's legal counsel. The county paid the firm $225 per hour in 2024, but that number will increase to $240 in 2025.
“We've told [board chairman] Joe, we've told fiscal, we will not exceed our budget,” Jordan said.
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