Reader Mail on The No Limits Christian Ministries, Inc. Lawsuit Costs

Mountain Home News Reader Eagle Eye asks:

I know others have asked,  Does the City have any kind of Insurance that will cover any of this mess, also what is the City attorney being paid for his part in it?

The City does carry insurance through ICRMP, which covers almost everything the City could be held liable for- except for this.  ICRMP does not cover lawsuits resulting from zoning or land use decisions, so the money to cover the lawsuit must come from current City General Funds.

The City Attorney's contract covers a set amount of hours representing the City in normal everyday functions, and then a set rate for any hours over and above those.  In this case, the extra hours amounted to around $5,000.00  It's worth noting here that the City Attorney, as he states in his letter to the Chicago-based Mauck and Baker law firm, met with Joe McNeal at no charge to help the church in this process.  We also now have the total from the outside firm, which is around $3500.00.
So the total city attorney fees in the case are roughly $8500 on top of the payment to No Limits Christian Ministries, Inc. of $61,040.11, for a grand total of about $69,500.00.

Where is the money that been spend coming from, also any money that still has to be paid out? Will all the money over the Suit going to cause problems with other City projects due to a lack of funds now? 

The money that has been spent so far, and any money still to be spent, has, and will, come out of the City's general fund, and has already caused problems with other city projects, as well as rippling over into the next fiscal year, as the current year expenditure has now reduced the next fiscal year's cash carryover line by the $61,040.11 amount of the check along with the city's additional legal fees of $8500.

Hope that answers your question, Eagle.