City attorney asks council committee to approve extra $383,000 for outside counsel to cover critical legal work

City Attorney Burke presented the legal department’s recent workload history to the Finance & Administration Committee on March 18 and asked the committee to approve an additional $383,000 in outside-counsel funding for 2026 to support critical projects and litigation.

Burke summarized past spending and staffing changes, noting a 2023 shift to contracted outside counsel after in‑house positions departed. The city attorney said approximately $1,400,000 in projects and programs require legal support this year and that, with the additional request, outside-counsel funding would total $569,000 for 2026. “There are approximately $1,400,000 in projects and programs out there that require legal support,” Burke said, and characterized the requested $383,000 as funding the most time‑sensitive items.

Budget tradeoffs: The mayor and council members questioned where the money would come from. The administration said the additional funds would be drawn from general fund balance and did not tap the rainy-day fund, but warned the request would consume roughly one-third of available fund balance. “This is a request out of fund balance… this chews up about a third of that fund balance that you have,” the mayor said, adding the request carries risk if matters move faster than expected.

Council reaction and next steps: Members pressed whether the full initial $1.5 million estimate remains relevant; the mayor said prior numbers were set before the current city attorney joined and that the current request represents a narrowed, prioritized list of must‑do items. Burke offered to take detailed, project-level questions in executive session for confidentiality (RCW 42.30.110(1)). The administration said staff will bring the presentation and the agenda bill together to a future council meeting for fuller consideration.

Provenance: Committee presentation and Q&A on legal budget and outside-counsel request.