Former city attorney Koch takes post once again

• Oath administered

Mayor Ken Tracy, far right, administers the oath of office to Finance Officer Marilyn Wilson, second from right, and new City Attorney Carl Koch, left, as Councilman Dan Allen, seated, looks on at the start of Monday’s City Council meeting. (Tom Lawrence/Republic)

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Carl Koch is Mitchell's city attorney once again.

Koch, 63, was appointed to the position by Mayor Ken Tracy during Monday night's Mitchell City Council meeting at City Hall. The council voted to approve the appointment, with Councilman Phil Carlson, a lawyer who said he was speaking as a member of the local legal community, abstaining.

Tracy then swore Koch into office. He held the position from 1978 to 2003.

"Twenty-five years is a long time," Koch said. "But nine years off was a good break."

He said he saw in The Daily Republic that the city was looking to fill the position, so he called Tracy and applied for his old job.

Koch said the work is constantly changing and the hours are always varied. But he said he looks forward to taking on the challenge once again.

Koch replaces Randy Stiles, who was fired from the position in July shortly after Tracy took office. Council President Jeff Smith assisted him in interviewing lawyers for the post, Tracy said, and agreed with him on the selection of Koch, a Mitchell native who has been practicing law for 35 years.

He also served in the Navy before attending law school at the University of South Dakota, in Vermillion, and then setting up a practice in his hometown.

Koch, who will be paid a $55,000 annual salary with no benefits, immediately sat down and went to work.

Finance Officer Marilyn Wilson, who was absent when other department heads were sworn in on July 16, also took the oath of office Monday night.

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