Elmhurst Legal Costs Escalate In Last 2 Years

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst has seen its legal costs rise a lot in the last couple of years, according to a city memo released Thursday.

Over the last decade, the city's legal costs have averaged just over $600,000 a year, the memo said. In 2020 and 2021, however, the fees jumped to about $800,000 annually.

The city said the matters weighing on legal spending were employment claims, development matters and lawsuits to which the city was a party.

The memo said the city also handles legal matters proactively, knowing that early consultations with legal staff can reduce later problems.

The city surveyed 22 area towns about how they handle legal services. Only three employ in-house lawyers.

The city hires Rosemont-based Storino, Ramello & Durkin for legal services.

According to the memo, the city looked at hiring an in-house attorney, but doing so would also require support staff and other overhead costs. The savings were estimated to be $50,000 a year, the memo said.

Ultimately, officials have determined the city was not at the "proper juncture" to hire an in-house lawyer and that the "potential savings did not outweigh the disruption that the City would incur."

The city, however, looked at other ways to cut legal spending. For instance, city employees could prepare more routine resolutions, rather than go through outside attorneys, the memo said.

Also, officials said the city could recover legal costs from third parties. For example, the city said it could require developers to reimburse some or all of the attorney costs associated with new development. Such fees could be included in third-party agreements, according to the memo.

The City Council's finance committee is set to take up the issue at its meeting Monday.