The City of Butler Parks, Recreation Grounds and Facilities Authority has hired a lawyer to try to recover thousands of dollars in state sales tax the authority believes the Butler BlueSox failed to pay.
Authority board members voted Monday to hire Joseph Charlton of Charlton Law of Buffalo Township as special counsel to handle all legal matter related to the BlueSox.
Last year, the Department of Revenue said a total of roughly $15,000 in sales taxes from the concession stand at Kelly Automotive Park had not been paid. Authority officials say the license to operate the concession stand was in the authority’s name, but the BlueSox operated the stand under a rental agreement.
Charlton was retained for a fee of $185 per hour for work performed by an attorney; $100 per hour for work performed by a paralegal; and a 20 percent contingent fee of any money recovered from the BlueSox. There is no upper limit set on the amount that could be spent on legal expense but this agreement can be ended at any time.
The move to hire an outside lawyer, instead of using the authority’s solicitor Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham Attorneys at Law, was recommended in order to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.
Authority board members agreed they would like this matter resolved as quickly as possible, but there is no guarantee the former tenants of the ballpark will be forced to pay any money the authority believes it’s owed.
After last season ended, the BlueSox left the Prospect League.
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