Lake Santeetlah – A mere two months into the new budget cycle, ongoing legal wrangling could force one Graham County township to require at least a $27,000 amendment.
Lake Santeetlah Town Administrator Kim Matheson pointed to a sudden uptick in legal costs as the culprit, during the council’s monthly Zoom meeting on Sept. 10.
Matheson said that in August, the town had to pay $16,000 for pending litigation, insurance payments of $4,000 and $3,000 in legal fees for Mayor Jim Hager. She later added that the only revenue the town received for August was $21,552.73 in tax collections.
The proposed amendment was broken down as $26,000 for pending litigation, which would come from the town’s escrow account, and $1,000 to cover advertising and promotion, a burden brought on by the recent rise in public hearings over policy changes and zoning ordinances. Those funds will come from office expenses.
The council agreed to defer the amendment until after Tuesday, in which Mathews/Cochran vs. Town of Lake Santeetlah was heard in Superior Court in Franklin. The lawsuit stems from a parcel dispute on Santeetlah Trail.
The town will now schedule a special meeting, to adjust the amendment accordingly with the judge’s ruling.
Council member Roger Carlton noted at the Sept. 10 meeting that a transfer from escrow would empty out the account.
“I don’t think – given the extensive review that I’ve done over many, many documents – that this will be enough money to continue with the legal matter we have, nor the comments from the public of future legal matters,” Carlton said. “If we do move this money, it needs to be very clear to the attorneys involved in the current legal matter that that’s all there is available right now. If further money is needed to close out the one case, that may not be cash flowed until the next fiscal year.
“My concern is not the act of spending the money; it’s about the ultimate cost and where it’s going to come from. I think that we all have to work together on the cash flow on this.”