§ 404. Appointment of attorney to head legal department.

The administrator shall be responsible for appointing an attorney who shall be the head of the unified government legal department:

a.

The attorney shall represent the unified government in all legal matters affecting the unified government;

b.

The attorney or an assistant attorney shall attend all meetings of the commission and standing committees;

c.

The attorney shall draft or cause to be drafted and shall approve as to form and legality all ordinances, resolutions and other instruments pertaining to legal action of the unified government before presentation to the commission or its standing committees;

d.

The attorney shall furnish an opinion, written or oral, when requested by a member of the commission concerning parliamentary rules, interpretations of these rules of procedure and opinions as to the legality of matters under consideration;

e.

The attorney is the chief legal advisor to the commission and the administrator who are entitled to rely upon such legal opinions and such opinions shall be considered final as they relate to local affairs, except as they may be adjudicated in the courts; and

f.

The attorney shall be responsible for hiring such legal department attorneys, staff and outside attorneys as may be necessary to effectively carry out the legal duties of the unified government, and all such attorneys shall be governed by the rules of ethics for Kansas attorneys.