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The Davie Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to make Town Attorney John Rayson the town’s in-house attorney, just a few months after an unsuccessful motion to fire him.
Rayson has provided legal services for Davie since 2007 at an hourly rate, last year making about $274,000 working for $185 per hour.
Under the new arrangement approved at Wednesday’s Town Council meeting, Rayson will become a town employee with an annual salary of $185,000.
He will also receive yearly retirement account contributions of up to $7,500, a $400 monthly car allowance, and a $50 monthly cellphone stipend.
Vice Mayor Bryan Caletka — who brought the motion to dismiss Rayson in February, calling his legal advice unreliable — said he had met with Town Administrator Rick Lemack about the resolution to make Rayson an in-house attorney, and decided “there are some good reasons behind it.”
Town Council member Susan Starkey said after Wednesday’s meeting that his performance over the past year had improved as he had focused more exclusively on his work for the town.
“I’ve watched some of the things he’s done, especially this past six months,” she said. “He’s really putting in a good effort for the town.”
Rayson’s new contract as in-house attorney would require him to cease outside legal work, including work for the Central Broward Water Control District. Caletka had called that a conflict of interest.
Rayson, a former state legislator and former mayor of Pompano Beach, said he looked forward to continuing his service to Davie.
“I will give you my all, and my loyalty,” Rayson told the council in his comments at the end of the meeting.
“I became a lawyer in 1974,” he said. “Being a lawyer is very interesting, and being Town of Davie attorney is very interesting and very exciting.”
Rayson’s two-year contract as Davie’s in-house attorney will take effect Oct. 1.
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