The City Attorney's client and the nature of the City Attorney's work are not well understood by the community at large. Many citizens believe that the City Attorney serves as a legal representative for the people of the community, rather than for a Municipal Corporation/Political Subdivision. The City Attorney is the attorney for the City of Beatrice, as an entity. Because of the nature of the City Attorney's role, it is not possible to represent or provide legal advice to individual citizens, groups, or other entities.
The role of the City Attorney is to represent the City by providing professional, effective, and ethical legal assistance to the Mayor and City Council, City Administration, and all other City department heads and boards. The City Attorney’s client is the City itself.
So how do City Attorneys serve their clients? The City of Beatrice, like most cities, faces a vast number of varied legal matters. Some of these legal matters include:
- drafting various kinds of contracts;
- real estate transactions;
- economic development and financing;
- claims against the City for damages;
- litigation;
- employment law;
- civil service regulations;
- various leases;
- issues related to providing utility services;
- issues related to providing an airport, parks, recreational facilities, police protection, ambulance, EMS, and fire services;
- debt collections;
- eminent domain;
- bankruptcy;
- prosecution of cases of City ordinance violations in County Court;
- code enforcement;
- open meetings and open records; and
- ensuring the City complies with state and federal regulations, and more.
It is the role of the office of the City Attorney to work with and advise City officials in these legal matters, represent the City in court, conduct research, attend City Council and board meetings as required, and draft or review documents relating to all of the above.
Taylor Rivera
City Attorney