The newly formed Johnson County Redevelopment Commission approved a contract this week with an Indianapolis law firm that has an hourly rate of more than double that of the three local, low bidders.
Hiring the law firm, Ice Miller, LLP, and it’s attorney, Heather James, is the first step in establishing the county’s first Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in White River Township to capture tax revenue from future growth in the area stemming from the Interstate 69 corridor.
The commission is racing to put in place a TIF district to help spur growth in unincorporated White River Township before I-69 begins to reshape the already burgeoning area of the county. Access road construction of the I-69 corridor is expected to begin in Bargersville and White River Township in early 2021, with mainline road construction the following year through 2024.
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Commission members debated whether to hire one of the local law firms last month, when quotes were first presented at their July meeting.
The commission, formed in late 2019, is comprised of five voting members and a non-voting school representative. Voting members are the three Johnson County commissioners, county council member Rob Henderson, Greenwood attorney R. Lee Money. The non-voting member is Curtis Harris, of the Clark-Pleasant School Board.
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners shifted $25,000 the board had earmarked annually to give the former Johnson County Development Corporation to cover the redevelopment commission’s legal costs.
Ice Miller’s quote was for an estimated $5,000, not to exceed $15,000, with a variable hourly rate. James, who would be the lead attorney, has an hourly rate of $428, while other attorneys who may help her, range between $275 to $895, per hour, depending on the attorney’s experience level.
Local firms submitting proposals were Williams, Barrett & Wilkowski, LLP at a variable rate of $195 to $215 per hour, Huddleston & Huddleston, LLP for $235 per hour and Young & Young, LLP for $200 per hour.
Commission members debated whether to hire Ice Miller or Williams, Barrett & Wilkowski, due to the firms’ expertise in this area of law and because the members personally know the attorneys who submitted quotes from past work on local projects.
Commission members who were present voted 3-1 to hire Ice Miller, pending review of the contract by the county attorney in July.
Because Stephen Watson, the Williams, Barrett & Wilkowski attorney who submitted the proposal, also represents three other redevelopment commissions in the county, including Greenwood’s, the members decided that might create a conflict if the county had a clash of interests with the city.
Another reason the commission decided on Ice Miller is the proposal had a “not to exceed” amount, where the other proposals did not. But commission members did not attempt to ask other firms for a cap to compare.
Commission member Ron West disagreed and thought Watson would be able to separate his duties. West voted “no” because he wanted to hire a local attorney for both the attorney’s familiarity with the county’s interests and the lower rate, he said.
Though not present for the initial debate at the July meeting, commission member Brian Baird voted “no” on the contract approval, which passed Monday.
Baird also wanted to retain local counsel and said the commission should have asked the local attorneys for a cap to better compare the total costs.
