Sec. 309.09. (A) The prosecuting attorney shall be the
legal | 15 |
adviser of the board of county commissioners, board of
elections, | 16 |
and all other county officers and boards, including
all | 17 |
tax-supported public libraries, and any of them may require | 18 |
written opinions or instructions from the prosecuting attorney in | 19 |
matters connected
with their official duties. The prosecuting | 20 |
attorney shall
prosecute and defend all
suits and actions which | 21 |
any such officer or board directs or to
which it is a party, and | 22 |
no county officer may employ any other
counsel or attorney at the | 23 |
expense of the county, except as
provided in section 305.14 of the | 24 |
Revised Code. | 25 |
(B) The prosecuting attorney shall be the legal adviser
for | 26 |
all township officers, boards, and commissions, unless the | 27 |
township has adopted
a limited home
rule government pursuant to | 28 |
Chapter 504. of the Revised Code and has not entered into a | 29 |
contract to
have the prosecuting attorney serve as the township | 30 |
law director, in which
case the township law
director, whether | 31 |
serving full-time or part-time, shall be the
legal adviser for all | 32 |
township officers, boards, and
commissions. When the board of | 33 |
township trustees finds it advisable or necessary to have | 34 |
additional legal counsel, it may employ an attorney other than the | 35 |
township law director or the prosecuting attorney of the county, | 36 |
either for a particular matter or on an annual basis, to
represent | 37 |
the township and its officers, boards, and commissions
in their | 38 |
official
capacities and to advise them on legal matters. No such | 39 |
legal counsel
may be employed, except on the order of the board of | 40 |
township trustees, duly entered upon its journal, in which the | 41 |
compensation to be paid for the legal services shall be
fixed. The | 42 |
compensation shall be paid from the township
fund. | 43 |
(C) Whenever the board of county commissioners employs an | 47 |
attorney other than the prosecuting attorney of the county, | 48 |
without the authorization of the court of common pleas as
provided | 49 |
in section 305.14 of the Revised Code, either for a
particular | 50 |
matter or on an annual basis, to represent the board
in its | 51 |
official capacity and to advise it
on legal matters, the board | 52 |
shall enter
upon its journal an order of the board in which the | 53 |
compensation
to be paid for the legal services shall be fixed. The | 54 |
compensation shall be paid from the county general fund. The
total | 55 |
compensation paid, in any year, by the board for legal services | 56 |
under this division shall not
exceed the total annual compensation | 57 |
of the prosecuting attorney
for that county. | 58 |
(D) The prosecuting attorney and the board of county | 59 |
commissioners jointly may contract with a board of park | 60 |
commissioners under section 1545.07 of the Revised Code for the | 61 |
prosecuting
attorney to provide legal services to the park | 62 |
district the board of park commissioners operates. All moneys | 63 |
received
pursuant to the contract shall be deposited into the | 64 |
prosecuting attorney's legal services fund, which shall be | 65 |
established in the
county treasury of each county in which the | 66 |
contract
exists. Moneys in
that fund may be appropriated only to | 67 |
the prosecuting attorney for the purpose
of providing legal | 68 |
services under a contract entered into under this
division. | 69 |
(E) The prosecuting attorney may be, in the prosecuting | 70 |
attorney's discretion and with the approval of the board of county | 71 |
commissioners, the legal adviser of a joint fire district created | 72 |
under section 505.371 of the Revised Code, at no cost to the | 73 |
district or may be the legal adviser to the district under a | 74 |
contract that the prosecuting attorney and the district enter | 75 |
into, and that the board of county commissioner approves, to | 76 |
authorize the prosecuting attorney to provide legal services to | 77 |
the district. | 78 |
(F) The prosecuting attorney may be, in the prosecuting | 79 |
attorney's discretion and with the approval of the board of county | 80 |
commissioners, the legal adviser of a joint ambulance district | 81 |
created under section 505.71 of the Revised Code at no cost to the | 82 |
district or may be the legal adviser to the district under a | 83 |
contract that the prosecuting attorney and the district enter | 84 |
into, and that the board of county commissioners approves, to | 85 |
authorize the prosecuting attorney to provide legal services to | 86 |
the district. | 87 |
(G) The prosecuting attorney may be, in the prosecuting | 88 |
attorney's discretion and with the approval of the board of county | 89 |
commissioners, the legal adviser of a joint emergency medical | 90 |
services district created under section 307.052 of the Revised | 91 |
Code at no cost to the district or may be the legal adviser to the | 92 |
district under a contract that the prosecuting attorney and the | 93 |
district enter into, and that the board of county commissioners | 94 |
approves, to authorize the prosecuting attorney to provide legal | 95 |
services to the district. | 96 |
(H) The prosecuting attorney may be, in the prosecuting | 97 |
attorney's discretion and with the approval of the board of county | 98 |
commissioners, the legal adviser of a fire and ambulance district | 99 |
created under section 505.375 of the Revised Code at no cost to | 100 |
the district or may be the legal adviser to the district under a | 101 |
contract that the prosecuting attorney and the district enter | 102 |
into, and that the board of county commissioners approves, to | 103 |
authorize the prosecuting attorney to provide legal services to | 104 |
the district. | 105 |
(I) All money received pursuant to a contract entered into | 106 |
under division (D), (E), (F), (G), or (H) of this section shall be | 107 |
deposited into the prosecuting attorney's legal services fund, | 108 |
which shall be established in the county treasury of each county | 109 |
in which such a contract exists. Moneys in that fund may be | 110 |
appropriated only to the prosecuting attorney for the purpose of | 111 |
providing legal services to a park district, joint fire district, | 112 |
joint ambulance district, joint emergency medical services | 113 |
district, or a fire and ambulance district, as applicable, under a | 114 |
contract entered into under the applicable division. | 115 |
A city director of law who was appointed to histhat position | 126 |
under a city charter, village solicitor, or other chief legal | 127 |
officer of a municipal corporation may serve as a member of a | 128 |
board of education for which hethe chief legal officer is not
the | 129 |
legal adviser and attorney under section 3313.35 of the Revised | 130 |
Code. A
city director of law who was appointed to histhat | 131 |
position
under a city charter may serve as a member of a board of | 132 |
education for which
hethe city director of law is the legal | 133 |
adviser and attorney
under section 3313.35 of the Revised Code, | 134 |
but only if the board uses no legal
services of histhe office of | 135 |
the city law director or if
the legal services of histhat office | 136 |
that it does use are
performed under contract by persons not | 137 |
employed by histhat
office. | 138 |