A liberal advocacy group in Michigan has filed a legal complaint with the state against Gov. Rick Snyder for asking taxpayers to pay his legal bills for the Flint water crisis.
Progress Michigan says Snyder is violating state law because he did not create a legal defense fund to pay for two contracts with law firms. The firms were hired in connection with the lead water crisis in Flint, which has left 100,000 residents unable to drink their tap water.
The legal contracts total about $1.2 million. A state board meets next week to decide on whether to approve the contracts.
“Gov. Snyder is worth an estimated $200 million, but he thinks that the working people of Michigan should pay for his legal defense,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Rick Snyder has continuously passed the buck for his actions in Flint and now he wants to pass the hat to the taxpayers of Michigan to pay for his own legal defense.
“Any public money being used related to the Flint water crisis needs to go to fixing the pipes, full bill reimbursement and wrap-around services for the community,” Scott added.
Michigan law requires the legal defense of any elected official be paid with private funds and reported under the Legal Defense Fund Act. Scott and Progress Michigan argue that because the contracts with the two firms provide legal defense and services for Snyder, he needs to pay for them privately.
Michigan law requires any contract over $250,000 to be reviewed and approved by the State Administrative Board. Snyder initially signed a contract with a law firm for services related to the water crisis in Flint for $249,000, falling beneath the threshold, according to local reports.
However, that amount was later ramped up and the board will decide next whether to approve the contracts.
Scott urged the board to deny state funding for the contracts. He said other elected officials who were charged with crimes or needed legal advice paid their lawyers privately and Snyder is no different.
“It is incomprehensible that after destroying Flint’s water supply in the name of balanced budgets Snyder is seeking his own personal government bailout,” Scott said. “The governor’s shame knows no bounds.”
Ari Adler, a spokesman for Snyder, said it is appropriate that the state pay for Snyder’s bills.
“All investigations are looking at actions taken by Gov. Snyder in his official capacity as governor of the state and, therefore, it is appropriate that the state bears those costs,” Adler said. “Using state money actually provides for the high level of transparency the governor has established because the contracts are being released publicly.
“Also, state rules allow for the state to bear the defense costs of employees to ensure that public servants can do their jobs with limited risk. That is why, for example, [Michigan Department of Environmental Quality] employees are also being provided with outside counsel paid for by the state when necessary.”
