Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon killed the draft for a policy that could have provided taxpayer reimbursement for the legal bills of city employees who are cleared during investigations.
“The City Solicitor [George Nilson] conducted research on compensation for legal defense expenses,” Dixon said in a statement. “I have not seen the extent of Mr. Nilson’s findings, nor do I believe that a new policy is necessary.”
Nilson said the draft policy was unfairly demonized by critics as a way to have taxpayers foot the bill for Dixon’s legal troubles. On the contrary, Nilson said, the policy was designed to help reimburse lower-level city employees forced to testify before a grand jury investigating Dixon.
“There were witnesses called before the grand jury who felt it necessary to engage a private lawyer,” Nilson said. “The solicitor’s office was asked, ‘Can I submit requests for reimbursement?’ The answer is yes, but we had no policy saying that. These are people who are innocent in the eyes of the law.”
Dixon, 55, was indicted earlier this month on charges of perjury, theft, fraudulent misappropriation, and misconduct in office after a lengthy investigation.
Dixon has said she has done nothing wrong and will be exonerated.
The indictment alleges Dixon did not disclose gifts in 2004 from a real estate developer she was dating, Ronald Lipscomb, including travel, lodging and other gifts used by the then-Baltimore City Council president to purchase fur coats.
The indictment also alleges that Dixon collected gift cards from developers intended for needy families, but instead used the cards to purchase a video game system, CDs, and DVDs for her family or gave them to her staff.
The mayor hired two experienced and expensive attorneys, Arnold Weiner and Dale Kelberman, to defend her.
Nilson said the policy he was drafting would have needed to be approved by the Board of Estimates, but is nearly identical to regulations Maryland has for state workers.
“The state statute has been around for about 20 years,” Nilson said. “We have a current practice that allows for reimbursement, but it’s not consistent and not reflected in a policy.”
In a statement, the city’s top lawyer called his work “nothing more than a draft concept which was never submitted for consideration.”
