Proposed law in wake of "Brandi lawsuit"

Legal fees and who pays are at the center of the issue.

In the wake of a lawsuit Saratoga Springs City Council lost earlier this month, Mayor John Safford has proposed a change in the city’s code that would determine how and when city employees can expect to be paid back if they run up legal bills for their work on the job. The proposed law covers elected and appointed officials, along with regular employees and some volunteers if they are involved in the legal system as part of their duties.

Commissioner Dillon Moran, left, and Mayor John Safford. (Photo: Steve Thurston)

Safford released a draft of a law to create a revised Chapter 9 of the city’s code, called “Defense, Representation and Indemnification.” Safford said the new law aligns with chapters 18 and 19 of the New York State Public Officers Law “with some modifications tailored to the city of Saratoga.”

He opened a public hearing on the law on Tuesday Aug. 19, a hearing which will remain open at least through the next council meeting on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 474 Broadway.

This stems from the “Brandi lawsuit” that the city recently lost when State Supreme Court Justice James E. Walsh stopped payments