Evans is rehired by Council

Five long months of waiting are over. Troy finally has a city attorney after the City Council voted unanimously in favor of reinstating Charles Evans as the town’s litigator.

Evans previously held the position from April 20, 2011 to February 15, 2012, when he was dismissed.

Troy has sat without a city attorney since, and 16 court cases, ranging from assault to DUI to simple traffic tickets, have not been prosecuted.

For a municipality to fulfill the right to a speedy trial, a case must go to court within six months of charges being filed. These cases were supposed to go to trial between Feb. 15 and July 23, and because no attorney was employed by Troy, they were dismissed without prejudice.

Evans said those cases dropped will have to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

“I’m going to review them with Judge (Alan) Dye sometime this week,” Evans said. “We will have to make the decisions then.”

In filling the same slot he was in five months ago, Evans was aware of the challenges and the benefits of dealing with a new mayor.

“It’s going to be new,” he said. “But I think there is going to be a lot less dissension and a lot more cooperation. Hopefully there is going to me less necessity for my involvement.”

The Council’s unanimous vote in favor of Evans was a relief for Troy, who had been trying to woo new attorneys for some time now.

“I’d really like to thank the Council for solidarity on this issue,” said Mayor Tony Brown, whose first few weeks in office had been partially stymied by the lack of legal counsel.

Evans, who was ousted in February in part because two Council members voted for his dismissal, knew the job might be rocky at first.

“It still is going to take some time to develop a smooth working relationship,” Evans said.

Still, as the Council members filed out, there appeared to be no animosity whatsoever.

“We’re glad to have you back,” said Councilwoman Fran McCully.