On April 14, 2022, I made a public records requests to the City of North Miami Beach for “copies of all bills for legal fees the City has paid since February 2, 2021.”

Four months and seventeen days later, we received an invoice for $2,022.69 for “Extensive Use Fee: (Research/Labor per hour).”

Yes, you read that right!

The bulk of the charges are for 7.25 hours of “labor” from the City Attorney Office at $250.00 per hour for a total of $1,812.50.

For copies of legal bills that he has readily available at the click of a mouse.

Hans Ottinot REALLY doesn’t want me to see those bills!

Keep in mind that the annual budget for the City Attorney’s Office is $930,000, of which $660,000 is slated for the direct payment to Ottinot Law, P.A. at $55,000 per month, according to his contract dated February 1, 2022.

Considering that Criminal Commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond referred to Ottinot Law, P.A. as a “boutique firm” when he and his three fellow Criminal Commissioners on the dais conspired to hire him, it only stands to reason that this exorbitant “flat fee representation” excludes “litigation, labor and employment, real estate, public private partnerships, municipal bonds and other complex financial matters, construction, eminent domain, special environmental matters, and other special projects.”

Apparently, the only things his “flat fee representation” does include are:

1. Shielding his four Criminal bosses, Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard, and Daniela Jean, from the legal consequences of their actions;
2. Sitting in on court hearings when Paule Villard attempts to get a restraining order by falsely (and hilariously) accusing someone of “stalking” her; and
3. Calling anyone who dares to question him a “racist.”

According to his contract, all other matters will be billed at $250 per hour.

Fortunately, for the first year of Hans’ contract as City Attorney, the City’s check registers were posted online.  We downloaded the registers for all checks paid for legal fees to Ottinot Law, P.A. and outside law firms for the twelve month period from March 1, 2021 through February 28, 2022.

The total the City of North Miami Beach paid for legal fees in the first year of Hans Ottinot’s employment as City Attorney was $1,692,739.84.

Which is $762,739.84 more than his annual $930,000.00 budget for all legal fees.

Of the total checks written, $857,098.19 was paid to Ottinot Law, P.A.

Which is $197,098.19 more than his annual $660,000.00 salary.

No wonder Hans is desperate to hide all the records from me.

The remaining $835,641.65 spent on legal bills was paid to outside firms for actual legal work done by real attorneys that Hans Ottinot is too incompetent to do himself.

Hans knows that there is no way I’m gonna shell out $2,209.69 for copies of his legal bills, but it doesn’t really matter.

The check registers I already have are proof enough that the “boutique firm” of Ottinot Law, P.A. is stealing North Miami Beach taxpayers blind.

His four Criminal Commissioner bosses don’t care.

They are also stealing every dollar they can get their hands on.

You, the taxpaying residents of North Miami Beach, should care.

And you can fix this hot mess of a government in November by voting out the fourth Criminal Commissioner vote, Paule Villard!

JUST SAY “NO” TO A CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT!

ELECT JAY CHERNOFF AND PHYLLIS SMITH ON NOVEMBER 8, 2022!

Please vote responsibly!

Stephanie