Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic gets a number of perks as the chairwoman of the Milwaukee County Board, ranging from better pay than her colleagues to the power to appoint committee leaders.

And, it now appears, the Bay View Democrat also gets her own private law firm.

Last year, the County Board voted to authorize Dimitrijevic to select a firm and spend up to $25,000 to review and possibly challenge the legality of Act 14, a new state law limiting the board's power and budget.

Dimitrijevic bumped the contract to $99,999 late last year; the county executive has authority over deals of $100,000 or more.

But the public has no idea what the county is paying the firm — Hawks Quindel, a local labor litigator — to do specifically. Billing records are heavily redacted because of attorney-client privilege.

"They are not being transparent at all," said Supervisor Deanna Alexander, a supporter of the new law who was one of four board members to oppose hiring the firm.

But sources recently allowed No Quarter to review unedited billing statements for June and July 2013, the first two months of the contract. The county paid the firm more than $31,000 for legal work during that time. The total is now up to $66,211.

Those unedited invoices show much of the legal work has little to do with reviewing Act 14 and possibly challenging it in court. Here are a few examples of the items in those records:

■ On July 3, Hawks Quindel billed the county for 3.6 hours of legal work on a proposal to sell a parcel in the Park East strip for a $60million development project. The board later approved the project.

■ On July 9, Hawks Quindel billed the county for 7.35 hours of legal work regarding — among other things — then-Corporation Counsel Kimberly Walker. County Executive Chris Abele appointed Walker, and the board then voted to fire her, a move vetoed by Abele.

Less than a week later, the board overrode the veto and dismissed Walker.

■ On July 22, Hawks Quindel billed the county for 2.35 hours of legal work on a long-term management and funding deal for the War Memorial and Milwaukee Art Museum, including the drafting of correspondence on the issue.

The board approved the deal, but Abele threatened to veto it. He later backed off.

In addition, the records show the firm billed to attend county meetings, provide advice on Obamacare, review a Granville St. project and water tower deal, and discuss a confirmation hearing.

Through her spokesman, Dimitrijevic defended the expenditures, saying the new law has broad implications.

"It's no secret that Act 14 has countywide implications, it seems in every department and on every issue," said Bill Zaferos, spokesman for the County Board. "The county executive has made everything about Act 14 since the day the legislation was introduced."

"The rest," he added, "is subject to attorney-client confidence."

Alexander said she was not surprised that Dimitrijevic was trying to deflect attention by having Zaferos criticize Abele, who supported Act 14.

Earlier this month, voters approved a resolution called for in the new law to cut the pay of supervisors after the 2016 elections. Their salaries will then drop from $50,679 to $24,051, and the chairwoman's pay will be sliced from $71,412 to $36,076.

Alexander said the chairwoman has blocked her efforts to obtain Hawks Quindel's detailed invoices and to find out what is going on with the possible litigation.

Just recently, Alexander met with attorney Timothy Hawks, but she said he declined to answer any questions because he had not been authorized to do so by Dimitrijevic.

"The public should be furious that Marina Dimitrijevic is treating this like her own private law firm," Alexander said. "(She) had the audacity to unilaterally increase the value of the contract to $99,999 and to keep the work paid for in that contract a big secret."

In a separate email from Dimitrijevic herself, she dismissed the criticism, accusing her colleague of engaging in "personal attacks" while leveling "outrageous" accusations.

Alexander didn't back down.

"The truth is still the truth," she said. "The chairwoman has forbidden the attorneys from answering questions. That's rather devious management."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.