Brentwood Council is looking for a new solicitor.

Solicitor George Gobel resigned Tuesday night, one week after council voted unanimously Dec. 8 to advertise for a new solicitor. Mr. Gobel had filled the post for four years.

Council members said Mr. Gobel's fees were too high, but they also said Mr. Gobel could reapply for the job.

Mr. Gobel "probably did give good advice," but his "fees were outrageous," said Councilman David Wenzel, who proposed advertising the solicitor position.

Mr. Gobel's bill in November was $9,948. This month, it is $9,919.

Mr. Gobel said his job was to "give correct legal advice to the municipality."

He said his record showed "the legal advice I have given has been correct."

He also told council: "You like your legal advice to please all seven members of council. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't."

Council voted to pay Mr. Gobel for this month and last. Mr. Wenzel, Mario Richards and Janice Boyko were opposed.

Borough Manager George Zboyovksy said the advertisement for a solicitor would be placed in a local weekly newspaper. The deadline for applicants is Dec. 30. He said council was likely to move quickly to hire a new solicitor.

Council also voted unanimously to OK the $13 million 2010 budget that will keep the property tax rate at 8.5 mills.

Mr. Zboyovsky said the budget was balanced largely due to "aggressive tax collections and delinquent sewage collections," the new landlord registration program and construction permits associated with the Brentwood Medical Building.

Mr. Zboyovsky said the borough's largest expenditure was the police department -- representing about a quarter of the general fund budget.

He said the borough was able to hire two new officers primarily because three officers have been on workers' compensation for the past year, so the borough paid only a third of their salary.

Council also voted unanimously to approve the Brentwood Park Master Site Development Plan, showing support for park renovations.

Council has no obligation to pay for improving the park. The Brentwood Park Initiative, a group of concerned citizens backing the renovations, is seeking grants.

Planned renovations include replacing the basketball and tennis courts with two youth baseball fields; extending the track around the football field; relocating the basketball courts closer to the high school; adding a Dek hockey rink; expanding the pool to include spray features; and adding football stadium turf and a grandstand.

J.T. Sauer & Associates, a landscape architect and engineering firm in McKees Rocks, created the proposed plan. The estimated cost is $6 million to $7 million. The work will be portioned into phases, with each phase costing about $2 million.

Mr. Zboyovsky said the first phase is relocating the basketball and tennis courts to the new practice field area and moving the Little League fields by the track to the existing basketball courts.

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