Lowell To Consider City Attorney Settlement

— The suspension of the Lowell city attorney may end tonight.

Aldermen are scheduled to meet in a special session at 6 p.m. at City Hall, to discuss the status of the city attorney. Vaughn-Michael Cordes has been suspended since August.

“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 proposed settlement was not disclosed Thursday. Aldermen can accept, change or reject the settlement.

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

Aldermen suspended Cordes with pay in August 2012 over concerns he no longer lived in the city.

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

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

Aldermen briefly discussed the situation during the December council meeting, but took no action. Council members asked Mayor Eldon Long to handle the matter.

Long and Kieklak began a discussion with Cordes’ attorney, Tim Hutchinson, to resolve the situation.

Hutchinson said Thursday he was working on the document that would be presented to aldermen.

“I will have a document ready by Friday to present to the council. My client has agreed to the amount of the settlement, but it’s up to the council to add their approval,” Hutchinson said.

As with any negotiation settlement, neither side got everything they wanted, Hutchinson said.

“We are as satisfied as we can be with the with the agreement,” Hutchinson said.

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