Big legal bills in Bluffdale

BLUFFDALE — A legal battle over nearly one-third of its acreage, the denial of a business license for a drug treatment center and governmental infighting have Bluffdale preparing for the worst.

A whopping $210,000 has been allocated by the Bluffdale City Council for legal costs in fiscal year 2007-08 — the highest amount budgeted among Utah cities of similar size, according to data collected by the Deseret Morning News.

Using the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 population estimates and budget information provided by several cities, it was determined Bluffdale has budgeted on average nearly $156,000 more than its 5,700-to-8,300-population peers.

Even neighboring Herriman, whose estimated 14,643 population more than doubles that of Bluffdale, has budgeted $85,000 less than Bluffdale for legal costs.

Councilman Jess Kelley said there are several "dark clouds on the horizon" for Bluffdale that necessitated a boost in the budget for attorneys' fees.

The biggest concern, Kelley said, is the city's legal battle with landowners who want to annex about 4,000 acres from Bluffdale and ultimately into Herriman. That fight has reached the state Supreme Court, which heard the case in early December but has yet to issue its opinion.

That fight has cost the city nearly $530,000 since it began in 2004, according to city records, and elected officials expect there are more legal fees to come no matter which way the high court rules.

"We anticipate that sometime this year the Supreme Court will come down with a decision on the disconnect area, and we may again find ourselves having to defend that issue," Councilman Bill Maxwell said.

The city already is having to defend itself in a civil rights lawsuit filed against Bluffdale by H.R. Brown, who was denied a business license to operate a drug and alcohol treatment center in the city.

Then there are the two lawsuits Mayor Claudia Anderson filed against the City Council, which cost the city — and its taxpayers — nearly $100,000.

Anderson first challenged the City Council in court in September 2006 over its decision to enact a city manager form of government by ordinance, which stripped the mayor of her administrative powers. The court ruled the City Council was within its legal right to make the changes. In a special referendum election on June 26, 67 percent of Bluffdale voters upheld the City Council's action.

In March, Anderson filed a lawsuit against the City Council over its refusal to recognize her hiring of an administrative services director. A judge ruled in favor of the council.