After weeks and even months of uncertainty, the Deltona City Commission wasted no time Nov. 2 in approving a contract with a West Palm Beach law firm to handle the growing city’s legal needs.
In a special session that lasted less than a half-hour, the commission OK’d an agreement to retain TG Law PLLC to act as the city’s legal adviser and to defend Deltona in court. The contract calls for the city to pay the firm $40,900 per month as a “flat fee,” with no cap on the number of hours of work to be performed each month.
Before the commission ratified the pact, Commissioner Maritza Avila-Vazquez insisted that the firm attend meetings of the city’s department heads and be present during negotiations with the firefighters’ union. That request may already be part of the agreement.
Besides paying the monthly amount, Deltona agreed to pay TG Law $250 per hour to defend the city in court or to initiate lawsuits.
In addition, the commission, according to the contract, will evaluate the firm and its work during July of each year.
“Whatever you do, we’re going to do jobs,” Gemma Torcivia, a principal TG Law attorney, told the commission. “We’re going to defend this city. … We are a charter officer for you. … We are here to serve.”
The hiring of TG Law ends a long on/off/on-again search for a replacement for Marsha Segal-George, who announced her intention to resign earlier this year. The City Commission tapped Segal-George to serve as Deltona’s city attorney in March 2023. Prior to her selection, she had performed legal work for the city as an associate of Fowler, Feeney & Associates PA, an Orlando law firm. The City Commission severed its ties with the firm in 2023, but it subsequently hired Segal-George to work singly as Deltona’s city attorney. Her tenure was sometimes marked by criticism from Deltonans upset over her billings that they considered excessive.
Colin Baenziger and Associates, a Daytona Beach executive-search firm that had recently helped Deltona in selecting Dale “Doc” Dougherty as Deltona’s city manager, took part in the hunt for the legal counsel. The city agreed to pay Baenziger and his firm $34,750 for the search and screening of applicants for the post.
That figure is identical to the amount that Deltona paid Baenziger to screen and vet the prospects for city manager, ending with the hiring of Dougherty.
Segal-George served as Deltona’s city attorney for more than a year and a half, but she was often the standby legal adviser for the city while her firm, Fowler, Feeney & Associates PA, was retained by Deltona. Her last day at work for Deltona was Oct. 31.
