Settlement possible in paid suspension of Lowell city attorney

Thursday, February 7, 2013

The paid suspension of Lowell’s city attorney may be coming to an end.

Lowell aldermen are scheduled to meet in a special session at 6 p.m. Friday at City Hall, to discuss the status of Vaughn-Michael Cordes. Cordes has been suspended with pay for six months.

“I think we have reached a tentative monetary settlement that will allow the city and the city attorney to move forward,” said Tom Kieklak, Lowell’s acting city attorney. “We will present the documents to aldermen and they will make the decision whether to accept or reject the settlement.”

The amount of the settlement was not disclosed today.

Cordes was elected Lowell city attorney in 2010 and began a four-year term on Jan. 1, 2011.

Aldermen suspended Cordes in August 2012 over concerns he no longer lived in the city of Lowell.

Lowell officials sought and received a state Attorney General’s opinion regarding where an elected official should live. The opinion did not provide officials with the conclusive answers they hoped to receive.

Cordes is an elected official and as such aldermen have no legal power to terminate him without going to court, according to state statutes.