Harper Defends His "Opinion" Not Jim Miller

Jim Miller has hired a new attorney (Read Story Below). The City of Grand Terrace should hire a new City Attorney. While the case winds it way through the court system, the Current City Attorney John Harper continues to defend his services provided to the City and City Council. When he says that his advise was limited to the issue of the Miller's buying property and the News Paper in the City of Grand Terrace he admits that he knew of the concept that Margie Miller owned the News Paper.

City Attorney John Harper should have advised Jim Miller not to vote on the Consent Calendar the first time there was a bill paid to the paper. His failure to be prepared and on top of the potential problems of the City and Council indicate a level of ineptitude that should put his contract on the line. This is not the only issue he has been ill equipped to advise the City Council and City Management on. It may be time for the new City Manager to look at other legal service providers, that may be better prepared when they attend City Council Meetings, and not playing with his blackberry during the meetings.

Harper collects more fees every time he allowes the city to go down a path that leads to bad contracts, deals, and practices including sale of debt bonds.

Former Grand Terrace councilman's case continued
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A court appearance by former Grand Terrace City Councilman Jim Miller has been postponed to May 18.
Miller, who faces a felony conflict of interest charge for voting to approve payments to his wife's newspaper, appeared briefly Tuesday morning before San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Bryan F. Foster.
The councilman, who resigned his seat in March, said outside court that he has hired a new lawyer, Jim Reiss of Rancho Cucamonga.
Miller voted to approve payments totaling about $18,000 to his wife, Margie's weekly newspaper for advertising from Oct. 26, 2006 to Aug. 12, 2008.
He said earlier that he was under the impression that his votes were legal because the newspaper is his wife's separate property and that he had consulted City Attorney John Harper when his wife was purchasing the paper four years ago.
Harper has said his opinion dealt with whether the councilman's wife could make a purchase within the city-wide redevelopment agency boundary, not with Jim Miller voting on payments to the newspaper.
--Darrell R. Santschi
dsantschi@PE.com