Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press

LANSING — Former Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley tried to bill the cash-strapped city $750 an hour for an attorney to sit with him while he was questioned last month in Washington by a congressional committee and to represent him in ongoing criminal investigations related to the Flint drinking water crisis, records obtained by the Free Press show.

Earley, whose office was searched by state investigators on Feb. 29, and who told the City of Flint on March 11 that he is under criminal investigation in connection with the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water, wants the city to pay legal fees that already have topped $75,000 and continue to grow, records obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act show.

Flint City Councilwoman Jacqueline Poplar reacted with outrage Friday when she learned of the Earley invoices from a Free Press reporter.

"If he did send a bill — shame on him," Poplar said. "The City of Flint shouldn't be giving him a dime for legal fees or anything else. I would like him to refund every penny the City of Flint paid him to take us down this road."

Earley was the state-appointed emergency manager in charge of Flint when it switched its water source from Lake Huron water provided by the Detroit water system and began drawing water from the Flint River — though he was not the emergency manager who approved the switch — with disastrous consequences, in April 2014.

The state moved Earley from the Flint job — where he served from September 2013 to January 2015 — to a new post as emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools. Earley served with DPS until Feb. 29, stepping down from the $225,000-a-year job amid controversy and with the school district in worse financial shape than when he took office.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said "it’s extremely unfortunate and disappointing that given everything the city and residents of Flint have suffered and are still suffering from, we are also on the hook for thousands of dollars in legal fees for the former emergency manager to defend his actions concerning his role in the water crisis.

"This is yet another expense that the city doesn’t deserve," Weaver said. "As a result of this man-made water disaster, we are already struggling financially and could certainly use this money for something much more productive, like replacing lead-tainted pipes.”

Earley's attorney, A. Scott Bolden of Washington, D.C., told Flint officials in a Feb. 1 letter that his $750-an-hour fee represented a 35% discount from his normal hourly rate of $1,125. Bolden later further reduced his hourly fee to $500 an hour, records show.

Even with the reduced rates, fees from Bolden's firm, Reed Smith, have already exceeded a $75,000 cap the city placed on the fees. Bolden's fees and expenses were nearly $64,000 for March alone, and records show Earley needs more paid legal representation in connection with congressional follow-up questions and ongoing criminal investigations.

Earley, who forwarded a Friday e-mail from the Free Press to Bolden for a response, has committed no crimes and "is ready, willing and able to be as cooperative with the investigations as possible," Bolden told the Free Press Friday.

"He has been indemnified by the City of Flint, and, in the alternative, the State of Michigan, and equally expects Flint and or the State of Michigan to honor the requirements of that (emergency manager) statute," he said.

"Our rates are the same as all other firms our size and experience level in Washington, D.C., where the work was performed, and we voluntarily and significantly reduced those rates," Bolden said.

Invoices obtained by the Free Press show investigators for Attorney General Bill Schuette executed a search warrant at Earley's Detroit Public Schools office on Feb. 29 — his last day in office. And Earley told Flint officials in a March 11 e-mail "my actions ... are now under criminal investigation," Flint City Attorney Stacy Erwin Oakes confirmed.

Oakes said that under the state's emergency manager law the city is required to pay an emergency manager's legal bills for "civil and criminal proceedings," even for cases that arise after an emergency manager leaves office.

The city agreed to Earley retaining Bolden before Oakes was hired as city attorney in March. Now, Oakes said she is researching whether Earley was able to retain any attorney he chose, and whether the legal fees billed to the city had to be reasonable. Based on outside legal fees the city has paid in the past, Oakes said she would not classify Earley's legal fees as reasonable.

The City of Flint is in discussions with the state Treasury Department about financial assistance to pay the legal fees, which so far have not been paid, Oakes said.

Terry Stanton, a spokesman for the Michigan Treasury Department, said "the city is responsible for Mr. Earley’s legal bills," but "the State has agreed to reimburse the city for costs associated with his congressional testimony."

Earley testified before a congressional committee investigating the Flint water crisis on March 15. Much of the nearly $64,000 Bolden's firm billed Flint for March related to preparing Earley for that testimony, accompanying him during his testimony, and following up afterward with members of Congress. Earley has received additional follow-up questions from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.