By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Hamilton County commissioners fired the prosecutor's office as their legal counsel Wednesday, saying they were not happy with the service they'd been getting.

"This will fill in the gap between the way things are and the way they ought to be," Commissioner Phil Heimlich said.

Heimlich initiated the move against fellow Republican Mike Allen's office, following through on a proposal that lone Democratic Commissioner Todd Portune made this spring.

Commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday - with John Dowlin opposed - to offer retired Cincinnati Assistant Solicitor Bob Johnstone the job of representing them.

"It's unfortunate and unnecessary, but they have a statutory right to do that," Allen said Wednesday. "I still feel and have always felt that we gave them good service."

Under Ohio law, the county prosecutor's office represents commissioners in legal matters. However, the commissioners are allowed to spend up to the prosecutor's salary - more than $100,000 - on legal advice without the prosecutor's permission.

"As attorneys, Mr. Heimlich and I understand, I think, what the nature of an attorney-client relationship should be," Portune said. "And we're not getting it."

Their gripes against the prosecutor's office:

• It does not staff the commissioners' meetings. Assistant prosecutors waiting to speak privately with the commissioners during a recent meeting refused a request to come into the public meeting.

"We've got a $2 billion budget," Heimlich said. "If we make a mistake from a legal standpoint, it could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars."

• It will only answer legal questions submitted by a majority of the three commissioners, not questions answered by a single member. Answers often take weeks.

• It gave the Ohio Ethics Commission information relating to whether Portune has a conflict of interest on Bengals matters because of his lawsuits against the team. The information was damaging to Portune, Heimlich said, and if it had to be shared, prosecutors should have told the commissioners they were doing so.

"My office represents the Board of County Commissioners," Allen said in response. "It does not represent Todd Portune, commissioner. It does not represent Phil Heimlich, commissioner." Allen said he sees the conflict as a misunderstanding of his office's role. Portune and Heimlich both hail from Cincinnati City Council, where the legal staff was a department of city government. The prosecutor, however, is independently elected.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com