Law firm, approved by Watertown City Council, starting work on Olney ethics complaint

Nov. 4—WATERTOWN — Now that her firm has been hired, the attorney overseeing the ethics complaint against Councilman Cliff G. Olney III will immediately start working on representing the city.

City Manager Eric F. Wagenaar said he will meet today with attorney Tish E. Lynn, to review the case and explain to her how "we got where we are."

Her probe in the matter starts today, following Monday night's vote by City Council to hire Lynn's firm, Hancock Estabrook, Syracuse, to represent the city in the ethics hearing against Olney. The firm will be paid $270 an hour for Lynn's work.

During her investigation, Lynn will represent the city and the four other council members but not Olney.

Before the vote, Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggiero said she wants Wagenaar to ask the attorney how long it will take to complete the hearing, what it will entail and for her to provide an estimate of how much it's going to cost.

But Councilman Robert O. Kimball, who pushed council to proceed with the issue in August, stressed that the city needs to make sure the process is played out to its completion.

The city should not expect "for someone to bail us out of it," he said.

He also thinks that the city has handled the matter correctly, has followed city code and what it says.

Three weeks ago, council members unanimously agreed to proceed with the hearing to hear evidence on whether Olney violated the city ethics code.

Olney continues to deny any wrongdoing, arguing that the allegations were politically motivated by former Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith, often an adversary when the two served on council together.

When he was mayor in September 2023, Smith filed an ethics complaint accusing Olney of releasing confidential information, having a conflict of interest and breaching his fiduciary duty involving the city's purchase of the Watertown Golf Club in January 2023.

The Ethics Board recommended that Olney be removed from office over those allegations. Olney also could be censured or council could do nothing.

The city had to go to an outside counsel to handle the hearing. City Attorney Kristen Smith and her law firm, Bond, Schoeneck & King, Syracuse, currently represents the city, but they've recused themselves because they are mentioned in the ethics charges.

Before the vote, Ruggiero said the special counsel should look into why attorneys at Harris Beach, the Rochester law firm that previously represented the city, failed to recuse themselves when they, too, were mentioned in the ethics charges. Those two attorneys helped guide the Ethics Board during its inquiry last September.

Smith, the current city attorney, has determined that Olney cannot be represented by the city and must retain his own attorney.

Olney believes that Smith is "incorrect" about that.

At his request, Olney had a resolution on Monday night's agenda requesting that the city provide him with legal representation.

But council members voted, 3-2, against the proposal, with Ruggiero and Olney supporting the resolution.

City officials have previously estimated that the case could cost $10,000 or more, depending how many witnesses are called to testify.