A lingering split over who should be attorney of record for the Warren County Board of Supervisors resurfaced when bills for last fiscal year were tallied.

“His are averaging about $6,000, $7,000, where Paul’s was like $4,000 to $5,000,” District 2 Supervisor William Banks said of invoices paid to board attorney Randy Sherard selected on a 3-2 vote to succeed Paul Winfield, now mayor of Vicksburg.

Legal work on right of way acquisitions for bridges and roads in Warren County and an hourly raise compared to his predecessor accounted for the difference, records show. Sherard was paid $66,470.50 from his January appointment on a 3-2 vote until Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ended. Winfield was paid $61,208 during fiscal 2007-08 before resigning to campaign. The year before, records show Winfield was paid $69,292.

Terms between the county and Sherard set an hourly rate of $150, which is $25 an hour more than paid to Winfield. Sherard had served as board attorney for 13 years before a 2005 vote, also split, ousted him in 2005 in favor of Winfield.

“We’ve had a good deal of work started at the end of Paul’s tenure that needed to be dealt with,” said District 5 Supervisor Richard George, board president, referring to cases involving anti-erosion and bridge replacements requiring small property purchases from private landowners, the operating hours of the Kings Point Ferry and commercial property taxes. The slight raise in hourly pay is “normal for the type of work” performed in the past nine months, George said.

In addition to Sherard, supervisors hire other attorneys, notably Ken Rector who is representing the county in federal and state court actions that stemmed from a dispute between private landowners.

State law allows counties to pay counsel as an employee, or the same as supervisors’ $44,812 base salary. Supervisors here have viewed the statute as permissive, not a requirement. An attorney general’s opinion issued in 2004 differs, but is advisory and does not carry the force of law. A provision of the professional services contract setting compensation for Sherard spells out the “explicit intent” of the board that the attorney will serve as an independent contractor “and in no way” shall the position become that of an employee of the board.

Banks spoke against Sherard’s appointment in January and was joined by District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon in voting nay on his selection. Banks has also voted against each invoice for legal work submitted by Sherard for board approval since the start of the year. Banks has said his issues with Sherard began in 2007 when a vote on legal services for a state-run grant program for first-time homebuyers went to Winfield over Sherard after both submitted bids. Letters reportedly written by Sherard to the board and the Mississippi Development Authority called the board’s competence into question, Banks said.

Banks acknowledged extensive negotiations in recent months with property owners along Redbone, Rawhide, Bazinsky and Mallet roads, where small bridges are in varying stages of replacement, but had issues with monthly averages sent in by Sherard.

A check of invoices shows monthly totals have averaged $7,385.61, more than the $5,100.66 in Winfield’s final year.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com