Move to curb Nassau County attorney's power

Nassau lawmakers are moving to curb the power of the county attorney to authorize work by outside lawyers and consultants after the legislature received an unexpected $6.8 million bill -- more than three times budgeted -- for already completed services.

The fees include more than $1 million in costs associated with the Republicans' unsuccessful plan to redraw county legislative districts; $1.5 million for an appraisal firm that settled tax challenges; $313,000 in legal fees related to the failed Nassau Coliseum referendum; $274,000 for legal counsel for privatizing the county bus system, and $113,000 for lawyers to represent current and former county officials during a state investigation of the closed crime lab.

Lawmakers on Monday will consider adding restrictions to a law, passed by public referendum, requiring the legislature's Rules Committee to approve all personal service contracts of $25,000 or more. The amendment proposed by Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) and supported by Democrats would require all future contracts entered into by the county attorney -- even those for less than $25,000 -- to be filed with the legislature's clerk within 45 days or be terminated automatically.

Lawmakers said that County Attorney John Ciampoli, a Republican, hired dozens of lawyers and consultants and allowed them to do tens of thousands of dollars of work without notifying the legislature.

"Like a kid with a credit card, he ran up these bills, and the bills are real and they have to be paid," Schmitt complained last week when the Rules Committee was asked to transfer $6.8 million to Ciampoli's budget. "From this point forward, he's going to be on a strict budget."

Ciampoli responded that the proposed amendment "poses a major policy problem in that it would impair his ability to adequately represent the county." Sometimes, he said, the office has less than 24 hours "to send an attorney in to defend the county."

Ciampoli said he doubts the legality of the amendment, and that he had offered in the past to meet monthly with Schmitt to update him on contractual work. Ciampoli blamed a bureaucratic approval process that delays his delivery of contracts to the legislature. "If they want to put me on a strict diet here, maybe they ought to give me enough money to defend the county in the first instance," he said.

Ciampoli said he requested $7.5 million for contractual services this year as his staff of in-house attorneys was pared -- but only $2 million was approved. Outside contractual fees are budgeted at $2.8 million next year.

Schmitt spokesman Edward Ward said lawmakers knew $1.5 million was in the pipeline to pay Matt Smith of Standard Valuation Services for a tax protest settlement program, and also that bills were coming to pay lawyers on both sides of the redistricting fight: $373,000 for the law firm of Steven Schlesinger, who sued Republicans on behalf of Democratic lawmakers, and $384,000 for the law firm of Peter Bee, who defended Republicans. A court said redistricting could not occur this year. Otherwise, Ward said, "We were unaware that these bills were run up without approval and without the money."

Incoming Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said, "The fact that they can engage in contracts and accrue bills without the legislature knowing it, and then come to us eight months or a year afterwards, is unconscionable."