(A) The town shall provide legal services to any officer, employee, or agent of the town, and any former officer, employee, or agent of the town, who has been sued, or who is hereafter sued, or against whom a claim has been made or may hereafter be made relative to damages or liability arising out of actions or failures to act done in good faith in the performance of duty.
(B) (1) The town shall hold harmless any officer, employee, or agent, or former officer, employee, or agent, from any liability or damages if it is determined that the act or failure to act which gave rise to liability or damages was done in good faith in the performance of duty.
(2) This section shall have no application to any case where the town or state may bring an action against an officer, employee, or agent, or former officer, employee, or agent.
(C) (1) Any past or present Clerk-Treasurer of the town named as a defendant in litigation initiated by the state, either through the State Board of Accounts or the State Attorney General, seeking to impose personal liability for the payment of public funds later determined to be inappropriate, shall be entitled to indemnification or reimbursement for all legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with the defense of the suit, subject to the limitations set forth herein.
(2) The indemnification or reimbursement, however, shall be at an hourly rate for legal services that are equal to or less than the hourly rate established by this Council in the annual salary ordinance for extraordinary services provided by the Town Attorney applicable to the year in which the legal services are provided.
(3) In the event that a final judgment is entered against an indemnified Clerk-Treasurer finding fraud, malice, willful misconduct, or absence of good faith, the individual indemnified by this provision shall reimburse the town for all fees or expenses previously paid by the town. In addition, the town, by assuming an obligation to pay the cost of defense, does not assume any liability to pay any judgment entered against any indemnified Clerk-Treasurer.
(4) The Clerk-Treasurer indemnified may select the Town Attorney to represent him or her in the proceedings. In such cases, the Town Attorney shall be compensated at the hourly rate for extraordinary legal services provided for in the applicable annual salary ordinance.
(D) (1) This division (D) is passed pursuant to I.C. 36-1-3-2 which grants to the town all necessary powers needed for the effective operation of town government. Furthermore, this division (D) is in no way a limitation of civil liability, as prescribed in I.C. 36-1-3-8, but rather, deals with the defense and indemnification of Council members.
(2) It is and shall be the policy of the town to defend and indemnify members of the Town Council with respect to lawsuits brought against them that involve the discretionary performance of legislative duties. The performance of legislative duties, for purposes herein, shall be those legislative duties, as performed from time to time, by Council members pursuant to state law and/or ordinance or resolution of this town. However, defense and indemnification shall not be provided on those situations in which a Council member would have individual and/or personal liability as provided, from time to time, by state law, whether same be statutory or case law.
(3) This division (D) is necessary to ensure that Council members may freely exercise their legislative responsibilities as charged to them by the citizens of this community.
(Prior Code, § 31.06)