Chapin mayor overrules council to pay his legal bill

Chapin Mayor Skip Wilson used town money to pay a legal bill of more than $22,000 despite an effort by three Town Council members to stop it.

The payment was proper since it involved a dispute over how much control he has over what council members vote on, Wilson said Friday.

Most of the payment will be recovered soon from insurance that Town Hall carries, he said.

Council members ordered the bill not be paid by the town. But Wilson won a court ruling May 5 that voided that council decision and others that challenged his sole authority as mayor to set agendas and decide what council will discuss.

“I’m not pleased,” Councilman Robbie Frick said after learning of the payment. “It just doesn’t seem right.”

Frick and Councilwomen Bibi Atkins and Kay Hollis say they are paying their lawyer personally instead of billing Town Hall.

They would not say how much their bill is.

This story was originally published May 16, 2014 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Chapin mayor overrules council to pay his legal bill."