County counselor asks commissioners to add attorney as contracts, claims and projects increase

Justin Wagner, Sedgwick County counselor, told commissioners the legal office is managing rising workload across contracting, litigation and project work and requested an additional attorney to sustain service levels.

Wagner reviewed decade-long trends: an upward trajectory in the number of contracts (102 completed in 2025), more lawsuits and an increase in resolutions and legislative work. He said the county counselor's office currently has seven attorneys who split responsibility across roughly 48 departments and that adding an eighth attorney would relieve pressure on outside counsel and improve turnaround: "Last time that our office added an attorney position was 1996," Wagner said, arguing that the request is driven by a demonstrable increase in demand.

The decision package would add one assistant county counselor at an estimated total cost (salary and benefits) of about $131,000. Wagner’s analysis estimated that expanding in-house litigation capacity could offset a portion of outside counsel costs and that, over time, in-house handling could cover roughly 74% of the added ask by reducing outside-hours billings.

Commissioners asked about peer comparisons and responsiveness; Wagner provided context showing Sedgwick County has a higher employee-to-attorney ratio than some nearby governments and emphasized risks of continued understaffing—including slower response times, error risk and burnout among both attorneys and support staff.

Next steps: the commission will consider the decision package during budget deliberations and requested additional metrics and examples to clarify potential savings from reduced outside-counsel use.