Local Government

For public sector entities, such as townships, municipalities, zoos, and port authorities, a delicate balance exists between delivering services taxpayers expect and managing costs responsibly. Compounding the situation are increasingly complex regulatory and statutory compliance requirements. We help clients streamline service delivery and identify additional sources of revenue whenever possible. Our attorneys stay abreast of regulatory and statutory requirements, keeping our clients informed and handling compliance matters so that they can focus on their day-to-day obligations.

Taft has a long history of representing public entities as they undertake public construction projects such as firehouses, community buildings, park development, or road paving, and we have guided them in eminent domain actions and tax exemptions for park and publicly owned properties. We provide guidance and advice in the areas of zoning, economic development, tax increment financing, and annexation. Our public sector clients also look to us for counsel on employee-relations issues, including collective bargaining and employment-related litigation. Our team also provides guidance in the more specialized fields of utilities, regulatory compliance, public safety, and environmental law. The depth of our experience in public sector law helps our clients get the results they need in an expeditious manner.

Our solid public law background has helped us become trusted counsel for government leaders in ways few other law firms have been able to accomplish. Several of our attorneys have served as corporation counsel, town attorney, or solicitor to municipalities and legal advisors to townships, providing daily, ongoing guidance to the respective elected and appointed officials.

Our Services

• Telecommunications/broadband.
• Tower regulation and placement.
• Real estate, zoning, and land use issues.
• Inter-governmental agreements.
• Public contracts.
• Police policy and procedures.
• Annexation and detachment.
• Home rule charter development and interpretation.
• Litigation, administrative hearings, and appeals.
• Right-of-way acquisition and regulation.
• Risk management.
• Eminent domain.
• Construction and infrastructure improvements.
• Competitive bidding/public works.
• Open meetings and “Sunshine Law” public records.
• Tax assessment and abatement.
• Economic development agreements, such as TIF, CEDA, JEDD, etc.
• Labor and employment, including public sector collective bargaining.
• Regulatory and statutory compliance.

Representative Local Government and Quasi-Government Entities

• Municipalities.
• Townships.
• Municipal associations.
• Municipal utilities.
• Municipal utility joint ventures.
• County convention facilities authorities.
• Airport authorities.
• Zoos.
• Regional port authorities.

Our attorneys have a deep appreciation for the public trust given to local government leaders and their employees. We work with government and quasi-government entities to help them stay accountable to taxpayers and deliver necessary public services in the most cost-effective manner possible. We are committed to providing timely, necessary services to our public sector clients so that they may focus on the day-to-day operations that keep our communities strong and vibrant.