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The towns of Snowflake and Taylor took a bold move last week when both councils voted at their respective meetings on June 4 and 6 to sever ties with Brown & Brown as their legal representation in the Little Colorado River (LCR) Adjudication Coalition.
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From July of 2018 to April of 2019, the Town of Taylor has paid $78,488 and the Town of Snowflake has paid $118,003 to Brown & Brown for representation in the LCR Adjudication. Taylor Town Manager Gus Lundberg noted that in 2015 the cost was $8,277. In 2016 the town paid $10,251. In 2017 it was $32,928 and in 2018 the cost had more than doubled at $72,385.
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Both councils entered into a lengthy executive session that ended with the Town of Snowflake struggling to find the words to adequately give Town Manager Brian Richards the direction necessary to sever the ties and find new council.
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Snowflake Vice Mayor Kerry Ballard was opposed to the action, stating, “I feel that Dave Brown has been doing this for many, many years. He is about to go to trial. I think we should stay with him and not look for anyone else at this time.”
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Snowflake Councilman Hunter Lewis said, “We don’t have the bank account and deep pockets to withstand this. I think if we could find new representation that would limit the amount we spend each month, it will benefit Snowflake.”
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In the end, the Snowflake council voted to give Richards the authority to seek and hire new representation while severing the existing representation with Brown & Brown in the Little Colorado River Adjudication.
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The votes in favor were Mayor Lynn Johnson and councilmen Hunter Lewis, Byron Lewis and Greg Brimhall. Ballard was opposed. Absent from the vote was Councilwoman Allison Perkins and Councilman Cory Johnson.
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After the Taylor council returned from executive session, Mayor David Smith noted, “We have been involved in this for over 25 years. We have paid into it every year and within the last few years the charges have been increasing. The reason we are discussing this is because of the increased charges. We do want to continue the fight; we just want to give our town manager the direction to sever ties and leave the LCR Adjudication Coalition and seek new council.”
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The council immediately seconded the motion, there was no further discussion and the vote was as follows: approving the motion were Smith, Vice Mayor Carl Cosper, and councilmen Jason Brubaker, Shawn Palmer, Bill Baldwin and Kyle Peck. There was no opposition. Fay Hatch was absent from the meeting.
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