2013 $429,176.74
2014 $484,699.99
2015 $601,834.00
The increased cost in the 3 year analysis was $172,657.26 or a 40% increase. Executive Culver believes that contracting out the law work rather than continuing the Law Department in house can achieve a sizable savings.
Several months ago, an advertisement was placed by Wicomico County seeking a county attorney. After reviewing the applications and quotes and considering the savings, today Executive Culver presented his plan to the council and announced Paul Wilber as Acting County Attorney.
Mr. Wilber, a native of Wicomico County, has tremendous experience having practiced law for 40 years in Salisbury with the same firm, Webb, Burnett, Cornbrooks, Wilber, Vorhis, Douse, & Mason LLP. He has years of concentration with government law including serving as the attorney for Pittsville 1983-present, Sharptown 1989-present, Salisbury 1998-2011, Princess Anne 2011-2015 and outside counsel for Secretary and Pocomoke City along with Somerset County. It is great for Wicomico County to welcome someone with these years of government practice.
90 comments:
Good job Bob!!! We have needed someone with Wilber's experience. Mr Baker retired and Mrs. Howatt announced she was leaving. It is opportunity to get the county's law costs in line and not pay benefits to employees including comp time and retirement.
Good job Bob!!! We have needed someone with Wilber's experience. Mr Baker retired and Mrs. Howatt announced she was leaving. It is opportunity to get the county's law costs in line and not pay benefits to employees including comp time and retirement.
this should be no surprise to anyone after the sweet retirement buy-in deal that Baker got from his cronies Creamer and Shea. he is not only a lawyer of questionable ethics, but has abused the taxpayer by growing the legal department to 3 lawyers and 2 assistants AND still contracting out work. what the heck has he been doing - NOTHING? he treated the taxpayers like his own piggy bank. the county is so much better off without him. Baker isn't qualified to even carry the briefcase of Wilbur and his firm.
I can't believe those costs for legal.
What goes on in Wicomico County that we needed that much legal support? Bigger counties operate on less staff. Baker was and is a buffoon. This is just one more problem the good old boys created for the taxpayer. We will be paying his big retirement for the rest of his life when the taxpayers got screwed everyday he came to work. He needed to go. Great move Culver! Maybe this county can function with some sanity now.
Another stupid decision by Pollitt. What's funny is even he wanted to get rid of Baker at the end too.
This is not clear to me. Are you saying we paid that much to outside attorneys IN ADDITION to the money paid to the staff of the legal department?
If that is the case, who were the lawyers receiving these payments and what were they for? Who did Baker funnel business to? He was part of the old boys network so it would be interesting to know what attorneys were hired. Isn't this public record?
Baker was a clown. Thank goodness we may get some decent legal advise from an educated, informed attorney. That firm is a great one with good ethics.
I have yet to see an explanation from anyone as to why this county requires so much legal support. Why did Baker grow the department to 3 attorneys? It certainly makes you question what the Pollitt/Creamer/Shea crowd was doing that they needed that much legal cover. SMH!
Pollitt and Morris were so afraid to make a move without legal advice. They are to blame for these ridiculous fees. Every little thing from every department had to be run through legal. Legal was backlogged for weeks with stuff. Plain crazy and no way to run a government.
Democrats at work. Spend, spend, spend the taxpayers money. Good plan Bob to stop the behemoth legal department.
What the h@ll did we even have a "Department of Law" for if we are spending this kind of money on "vendors", which I assume means outside counsel. This is NUTS.
Better look at what PW did for and to Salisbury!
It ain't pretty.
5:13 I agree
Didn't Stu Leer (local slumlord) cream him in Court when he was the City Attorney?
I agree with a previous comment. Who was paid these fees and for what? The taxpayers have a right to know.
Didn't Wilbur cross out the warranty line on the $60 some million WWTP and limit it to $1m?
THAT Paul Wilbur?
So, why didn't he choose Bob Eaton or Andrew Mitchell instead????
Don't know much about Wilber, but I am familiar with partners in his firm. I find them to be very ethical and thorough. This sounds like a great move for our County. Certainly better than what we had.
As an employee, I am hoping that we will not have to run EVERYTHING through legal. It was such a waste of time in so many cases. Besides, Department Heads should be smart enough to make decisions without having a legal department involved. If they aren't, then they shouldn't be a department head.
This is great news. Baker needed to go and his sidekick too. This makes more sense and should save the county money.
I wonder how much of a Kick back slick Rick Pollitt got from them?
Baker is Toast.
How long will we be uncovering screw ups from the Pollitt and Creamer days? This sure is one of them. Just one more good ole boy story. Keep cleaning things up Bob!
What attorneys were paid these fees and for what? How can little Wicomico county need so much legal fire power? I don't get it.
Democratic Daddys taking care of their own. Disgusting. Sounds like an owemalley trick. Let's take the taxpayers for all we can mentality.
Sorry to tell you folks, but Baker is laughing all the way to the bank. Sweet retirement deal plus paid for comp time and unused leave. He lined his pockets well.
Who approved these fees? The Council? Strasburg for the Executive? Someone needs to explain why this was needed.
Okay, now cut HR department from 7 back to 5 and look at number of office staff at the civic center. Emergency Management has 3 plus deputy director, most counties only have one to two people. Get rid of one of the two deputy directors at detention center and cut employee benefits back. Talk about saving tax payers money! Come on you can do it Bob.
WOW! Does anyone remember the WWTP and Barrie Tilghman and her lap dog?
Does anyone in this county have the guts to use their name on a comment?
Who exactly is our present "legal dept."?
Legal fees per year!!!!! That is incredibly irresponsible and abuse of TaxPayers hard working dollars.
Wow....This is criminal!!!!
No no no!! Anyone but Wilber! They got rid of him once in Salisbury and Pittsville needs to get rid of him too.
Great job Mr. Culver.
Don't you pay your insurance copy (LGIT) to handle any law suits or liability claims. Why do you need any attorneys? We tax payers need. Relief, not more over priced services.
I watched the meeting this morning and can't believe how stupid John Cannon sounded when he asked the County Executive if he had checked with the law department about his plan. Since when are lawyers an elected official's boss. Crazy.
I believe the perfect name for Cannon is obstructionist. I watch most every meeting and have never seen someone so determined to play havoc with great ideas that are positive for the taxpayers. If he thinks that will get him re-elected he needs to hide a watch. Won't happen, Johnny Boy.
Just go to bed and sleep tight- you don't know what you are talking about.
Why do they need an attorney? I agree 8:06 pm. How many hours did he work for the County for that type of money????
Baker is laughing all the way to the bank! This is truel criminal!!!!!! Somebody call Hogan to review Wicomico County Books!!!!!! This is racketeering, good ole boy style!!
I hope someone else will be elected president the council in December. Cannon has done too much damage to the taxpayers.
Just another repeat and more gd money! Wake the heck up!
Anonymous said...
Didn't Wilbur cross out the warranty line on the $60 some million WWTP and limit it to $1m?
THAT Paul Wilbur?
September 15, 2015 at 6:07 PM
LMFAO!!! Yep!!
Wilber became well-known for writing crappy legislation, losing court cases defending it, then getting paid again for rewriting it. He was a favorite tool of Tilghman and her Dream Team of Dunn, Comegys, Cathcart and Shields. The city government has done MUCH better without him.
Like Hillary, he has a lengthy resume, but what about the actual performance in those positions?
You are so right! ! Mr.Wilber is a fine attorney and a trustworthy man with unquestionable morals. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they are talking about. Best thing for the county.
IMHO it is very interesting that Salisbury did not rehire him after Cohen and Campbell who lead the effort to fire him were no longer on the city council.
Do you know what your talking about? ? Probably not. Wilbur did no such thing. It was in negotiations with mayor and council. Ms. Cohen was the one if any who thought she knew more than what she did. Wilbur advised them and council made final decision.
I believe they do. He did a great job for the city then they hire the dufuss they have now. You all should see what that idiot makes.
Your blaming the WWTP on the wrong person. John Jacobs is to blame. Get uour facts straight. Wilbur and PW Director Gardner fixed JOHN JACOBS assign ,unworkable, and costly WWTP. Is now working along with millions they got back from JOHN JACOBS contractor for the city.
Paul Wilber is a man of integrity and is exactly what Culver needs to help make the positive changes he was elected to do.
Deja Vu -- Culver has in effect fired the gal who was Baker's assistant. Mr. Wilber became the Salisbury attorney when Barrie fired Bob Eaton. And back then, as I recall the Cannon's brother was on the City Council.
Very scary, to say the least.
Cannon is another clown who is over impressed with himself. Don't know what crowd he is playing to, but there are not enough of them to get him re-elected if he has a better opponent than Mitchell. Although she is looking like a better alternative to Cannon all the time. ROLMAO good job Johnny boy of further ruining your reputation.
Whatever his ability may be, Wilber is regarded as easy to deal with by members of the local bar. Baker was considered hard to contact and sometimes difficult. No info on the woman who is going to be Worcester County's attorney.
Continue to cut culver, lower my taxes!
If you truly are a city employee then you would know ANY contract with ANY contractor MUST go through the city attorney. So go back to sleep. We will wake you up at quitting time.
Another know nothing poster. John Jacobs is the one you should blame. On his and alone recommendation did the city approved the WWTP. Talk about lining pockets him,messing and Pick living large.
The money no one seems to want to talk about is the couple hundred thousand the county spent fighting what the good people of Wicomico County voted for. I would love to know how much money was wasted on Baltimore Law Firms to fight collective bargaining for the Sheriff's Office. Money that could have been saved except for the likes of Cannon, Holloway, Baker, Craemer, Pollitt, and Straussburg. The fools got played by a slickster from Baltimore. The people voted for it. A judge ruled on it. Arrogance and pride cost this county dearly.
The truth needs to be out there. Wanton waste of tax dollars is what it was. Eight years in the making. Mean while the dump was stealing us blind. No one will ever know the truth on that fiasco. They canned their own forensic auditor. Enough said. What did she find. It all just went away.
You so brave. Your my hero.
Prove it!! What cases? ??
You are so right! ! Campbell and Cohen got rid of Wilbur and hired their buddy. Do you listen to this guy talk?? EMBARRASSMENT
There is better written legislation coming out of Mark Tilghman's office than ever did from Wilber's. None of it has been challenged in court, and NONE of it has had to be rewritten, unlike that of Wilber, who frequently got paid to defend it in court ($$) and paid again to rewrite it ($$). This is not to mention how much of the council's and administration's time was wasted on reviewing and readopting it ($$).
How many lawsuits are pending against Wicomico county? Are there many?
AGAIN. Give us some examples! ! The city hasn't been to court! ! So what are you talking about. That's right, Nothing but BS. The city attorney is nothing but a good Ole boy who you bums cuddle. Guys out of his league even in little Ole Salisbury.
What???
Actually he got $11 million back for the city. Even though Jacobs spent $70millions.
Anonymous said...
This is great news. Baker needed to go and his sidekick too. This makes more sense and should save the county money.
September 15, 2015 at 6:11 PM
He was already gone you Moron!! Who was his side kick?
11:13 The great news is Wilber coming to the County and the post says "Baker needed to go" - that doesn't mean he just left. It is a statement that HE NEEDED TO GO whenever it happened. His sidekick was Maureen Lannigan who also has resigned. All good for the County. You sound angry. You must be one of the good ole boy morons! ROFLMAO
Anonymous said...
Another know nothing poster. John Jacobs is the one you should blame. On his and alone recommendation did the city approved the WWTP. Talk about lining pockets him,messing and Pick living large.
September 16, 2015 at 10:30 AM
False statement, but good try though.
Why is Pam Oland in charge of Parks,Recs and Tourism? She is a reject from the Barrie Tilghman administration and shouldn't be in any position of authority nor should Paul Wilbur.
Bob Culver you have lost your mind and you have lost my vote.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
11:13 The great news is Wilber coming to the County and the post says "Baker needed to go" - that doesn't mean he just left. It is a statement that HE NEEDED TO GO whenever it happened. His sidekick was Maureen Lannigan who also has resigned. All good for the County. You sound angry. You must be one of the good ole boy morons! ROFLMAO
September 17, 2015 at 4:25 PM
Sounds to me you are the Moron and someone from Paul Wilbur's office. What a freaking joke you guys are.
Point out which part of this statement is wrong. FACTS not your simpleton false accusations of lies. I can't wait to hear it because these are the facts but let see you lie your way outta this one Johhy.
The taxpayers need more transparency on this. I hope that the Culver administration will be more forthcoming with details such as what attorney(s) received these fees and for what. Everything under Pollitt and those before him was a secret. Culver, put all the cards on the table. The good, the bad and the ugly. We, the people, are paying these bills. This is our money that has been spent. Don't let the old regime control this and try to bury it.
If fees like this were being paid in addition to having a law department, something must be seriously wrong in Wicomico County. As other people have questioned, why did this small County need 3 staff attorneys plus a paralegal and support staff AND still sub out work? The people should demand an investigation into how taxpayer funds were used. This is not a small thing, but indicative of the lack of respect for the taxpayer and our hard earned dollars. These people need to be held accountable.
What the h#ll is wrong with Wicomico County? This is one of the worst run counties in the state. Culver is on the right track to hire a new attorney. Lannigan worked under the influence of Baker, who apparently felt it was okay to grow his department and contract out work to other attorneys. Who were these attorneys? Buddies of his? This is disgusting and is another example of the blatant abuse of power and county funds that went on under Pollitt.
Shea, Creamer, Pollitt, Strasburg, Baker, Cannon. Enough said. Clean it up Bob.
must have been a cola , I didn't get one.
why do people think the economy is better?
I think it is the very worse since I've been alive 72 years.
This is disgusting. What do we need a law department for if everything is getting contracted out? More spend, spend, spend by the Dumocrats and Cannon the RINO.
this is exactly why Pollit was defeated. outrageous unexplained payments to outside lawyers. typical Wico county government. no transparency. Culver is doing the right thing.
Salisbury settles for $10,000,000.00. Because Paul Wilbur crossed out the liability warranty clause.
At an estimated ADDITIONAL cost to repair @ $66,000,000.00 plus change orders. Are you throwing up in your mouth yet?
Isn't Wilbur the Lawyer for the town of Pittsville?
7:09 NO
That's a lie !! You seem to forget who was involved in the contract from the beginning. JOHN JACOBS,JOHN PICK ,AND MAYOR TILGHMAN AND CITY COUNCIL. Zip What ever they agreed on is on them and them alone. THEN You Pay 70 Million For A WWTP that doesn't work. Follow me so far ?? Not hard to connect the dots when you have FACTS!!!! JACOBS GOT HIS MONEY AND RAN!!! Still the WWTP doesn't work and MDE is fining the hell out of the city. Then you FINALLY get a competent OW DIRECTOR who was told day one by mayor and council to FIX WWTP which she did. STILL WITH ME IDIOT???? Then after getting it running that cost the city even more money they sued the contractor for 11 million. JOHN JACOBS SHOULD BE IN JAIL BUT THAT'S POLITICS.
That not true! ! A lawyer has NO AUTHORITY to do that without council consents to do so. Why are you lying about something so obvious? ?? Go away loser.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Why is Pam Oland in charge of Parks,Recs and Tourism? She is a reject from the Barrie Tilghman administration and shouldn't be in any position of authority nor should Paul Wilbur.
Bob Culver you have lost your mind and you have lost my vote.
September 18, 2015 at 12:23 PM
Good question! Didn't we have enough of her with Barrie Tilghman's administration!
Actually idiot it cost 20 million to repair and 70 million to build. That means JOHN JACOBS cost us about 100 million than ran away when he knew the crap was about to hit the fan. Yeah he was a REAL CRACKER JACK engineer wasn't he. When you see him at the ZOOBILIATION you should thank him for his major screw up.
Anonymous said...
What the h#ll is wrong with Wicomico County? This is one of the worst run counties in the state. Culver is on the right track to hire a new attorney. Lannigan worked under the influence of Baker, who apparently felt it was okay to grow his department and contract out work to other attorneys. Who were these attorneys? Buddies of his? This is disgusting and is another example of the blatant abuse of power and county funds that went on under Pollitt.
September 20, 2015 at 8:16 AM
Do you know what it's like to run a county of 100,000 citizens? Do you know the needs of the law office? I didn't think so!
Did Bob remind you that he gave Paul Wilbur's office Carte Blanche to spend up to and in excess of the current law office's salaries? I didn't think so! You people are foolish!
8:48 comment is why we have to contract out of the area. The locals just don't cut it. Sorry Jim Antenelli and Sam Vincent were the best here on the shore. God rest their souls. This backward ass bunch on the shore make me throw up in my mouth. I hope Culver understands why outside sources are needed. Some things good old boy corruption just cant fix. So you have to be up front and to do that you cant use these slugs around here.
You can't blame Wilbur for the WWTP. He can only advise council and mayor for what their options are. Not what they tell him to do. Even in the suit against the contractor he gave council and mayor the option and they gave him the word as to how they wanted to proceed.
To the idiot who said Cohen was to blame for the WWTP, you are truly an idiot because the untried WWTP was contracted for long before Cohen ever came along. LONG before.
In fact, I think it was a done deal before Debbie Campbell came along and I remember her raising questions about it and being told to shut up.
Heck, if Joe hadn't run the pictures he did exposing that things were wrong over at the WWTP, none of us may have ever known there was a problem.
From where I sat watching, it seems like the council Cohen and Campbell were on were the ones who went after the contractors and got us back what could be gotten! We might not have gotten anything back if it hadn't been for those ladies.
In the end, decisions are on the heads of the elected officials, but if they don't get good legal advice, the decisions probably won't be good. I think Salisbury had to hire a high-cost lawyer out of Baltimore to do most of the work to get money back from the WWTP disaster.
If haters gonna hate, they could at least get their facts straight and not smear good officials with lies.
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