Mayor Tim Kant announced Monday that a policy he established early this year has resulted in a reduction of legal fees paid by the city.

“I wanted to give a quick recap on legal fees so the public knows that we do take them very seriously,” Kant said at the Aug. 23 City Council meeting.

The new policy was sent to department heads before March of this year, according to city staff.

The “policy” consists of a form titled “Attorney Questions and/or Legal Issues,” which has a place to “state reason for contacting attorney(s)” and one for “questions for attorney(s).”

The form states it “must be routed through the City Clerk’s office for the Mayor’s approval” and provides a place for the mayor’s signature and date.

“Prior to setting the new policy in place, the fees that the staff was running were right at $55,000,” Kant reported to the council. “They then had to put in place to justify why they needed outside legal help. When I put that in place, so far we’ve spent about $31,000. So that’s (more than $23,000 in savings.)”

The mayor presented financial information Monday showing that prior to the approval process, “city management costs” regarding legal fees were $55,003.53 from Oct. 1, 2009 through Feb, 28, 2010. After the approval policy was established, the report states, the costs were $31,749.12 from March 1 to July 31.

At the Monday meeting, the council adopted a resolution that endorses the new policy. It requires the mayor or city administrator to pre-approve any call to attorneys by department heads and state the purpose for which the call is made.

Additional financial information provided Monday indicated that total legal fees as of July 31 were $311,713.36. The information included figures on lawsuit costs for the following cases: Dyas, $52,047.90; Esfeller, $135,280.41; Point Clear Properties, $27,272.50; and Warhurst, $10,359.90.

“When I put the policy in place, we were running a lot of fees,” Kant said during discussion of the resolution. “And I said I had to stop it.”