Armed with a former city attorney's opinion, Pittsburgh Council President Doug Shields plans to push for city payment of a legal bill that sparked a bitter feud between the city's legislators and the mayor's office.

At issue is a $10,706 bill submitted by attorney Hugh McGough for work on behalf of Mr. Shields and his colleagues William Peduto, Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess, who challenged a permit granted to Lamar Advertising for a Downtown billboard. The permit was revoked, and Lamar is now seeking a new one.

Last month, the four council members sought to have the city pay the bill. The Law Department wrote a 13-page opinion saying that the invoice was a personal debt of the four members, since council never voted to hire Mr. McGough. It said that if the four voted to have the city pay it, they would be in a conflict-of-interest situation, and cited city code provisions suggesting they might "immediately forfeit their office" if they persisted in discussing or voting on the issue.

Mr. Shields' four-page counter-opinion comes from Squirrel Hill lawyer Marvin A. Fein, a former deputy city solicitor under Mayor Richard Caliguiri. It cites high court opinions that, it says, give council the right to vote on the bill without fear of losing their offices.

"The City Solicitor did not have a legal basis to preclude Council from discussing or voting" on the bill, Mr. Fein wrote, nor for "threatening them with forfeiture of office."

That has been Mr. Shields' opinion all along.

"My Law Department sent a legal opinion to this council telling them that they would lose their offices if they voted. And that can't be," he said. "This is a fraud on this council."

He said he may call a special council meeting at which he'll question city lawyers regarding their research.

City Solicitor George Specter had not read Mr. Fein's opinion late Friday and would not comment.

Mr. Shields said a vote to have the city pay the legal bill could come tomorrow.