Despite the protestation of three former Fayette County Commission chairmen, the County Commission Thursday night decided to seek a different direction for its legal services.

With a 4-1 vote, the County Commission ended the 27-year career of county attorney Bill McNally. Commissioner Eric Maxwell made the motion to hire an in-house county attorney, and to use McNally’s law firm only if the scope of work exceeded what the staff attorney could do.

But the former chairmen were not pleased.

“Your own study indicates it’s going to cost $300,000 just to have him sit down,” said former chairman Greg Dunn.

Former Chairman George Patton pointed out that McNally had worked on getting the current administration building and working on permits for Lake Horton and Lake McIntosh. Former Chairman Harold Bost also spoke in favor of McNally.

But ultimately, the issue came down to money for Maxwell and the majority of the County Commission. Maxwell took exception to some of the comments in the press about the issue and said he has done nothing to disparage McNally or his knowledge of the law.

“The way that I’ve approached this issue has been dollars and cents. A vast majority of the legal expenses in this county can be done at a cheaper cost,” he said.

Commissioner Herb Frady agreed, and said hew as looking for someone with about 15 years experience.

Chairman Jack Smith said he was not an attorney and would have to rely on Maxwell’s expertise of examining the legal bills and said he does believe there could be a cost savings.

But Commissioner Peter Pfeifer said the county was making a serious mistake in abandoning nearly 30 years of legal experience. He also did not think the county was going to save that much money.

After the meeting, Dunn said the issue was personal and he didn’t understand why the County Commission would be willing to let go one of the best attorneys.

“We’re the only county that has beaten noted zoning attorney Doug Dillard. He says he’s never coming back to Fayette County.”

After the meeting, McNally quietly exited the meeting room and left the discussion for current and former politicians.

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