On Tuesday, Oct. 1, seven Indianapolis councilors took their seats for the first meeting of the council's Investigative Committee. The members are tasked with looking into complaints against members of the Hogsett administration. The bipartisan undertaking got the green light last month after multiple people came forward, alleging a culture of sexual harassment inside city hall. That included accusations against Mayor Joe Hogsett's former top aide, Thomas Cook. The committee will work with an outside firm to also address gaps in the city’s policies and reporting process for victims. Councilor Crista Carlino will chair the committee. "We want to make sure that we take our time, that we are doing our due diligence and that we aren't rushing to conclusions and that due process occurs in any way it can,” Carlino said. The committee's first task is choosing an outside law firm to conduct the investigation. Councilors were presented with three options Tuesday that focus on cost and experience in employment law. “That’s because, at the end of the day, this is a human issue and a people issue. We want to make sure that is exactly what the expertise of the firm that we contract with has,” Carlino said. Twana Ellis, the city's director of human resources, also laid out the city's current policies and procedures when it comes to reporting harassment. The presentation left councilors with a lot of questions. Their biggest concern is with the city's temporary reporting tool: the current internal system requires the person to be a city employee and also enter a login to access the form. The city says that information remains anonymous, and the city's HR department is working to secure an external, third-party vendor to manage anonymous complaints from both current and former employees. Councilors say they want to see that contract finalized as soon as possible. "My biggest concern right now is to quickly get that third-party vendor stood up so that we have an avenue for anonymous reporting for employees of the city of Indianapolis — past and present,” Carlino said. Currently, the city's HR department is investigating four complaints of harassment after initially receiving seven over the summer. One resulted in the firing of a staff administrator. The investigative committee is set to meet again on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 5:30 p.m. to select the outside law firm who will conduct the investigation. The seven members of the committee are: Rena Allen Crista Carlino Kristin Jones Jessica McCormick Andy Nielsen. Brian Mowery Josh Bain The council looked at three potential law firms to conduct the investigation: Seyfarth Shaw, Morgan Lewis and Fisher Phillips. In the bid documents provided to 13News, the firms are giving the committee a discounted hourly rate. However, those rates are still expensive, and taxpayers will be the ones footing the bill. For example, Morgan Lewis listed an hourly rate as high as $1,260. Fisher Phillips is offering a lower rate of $600 an hour. It’s a cost councilors are taking into consideration, saying an exact budget hasn’t been set. "This is not something we would typically budget for at all and, of course, the severity of the claims and the expertise that we want to contract with, it is going to be pricey, and that's definitely unfortunate and is a concern that we have,” Carlino said. On Wednesday Oct. 9, the City-County Council’s Investigative Committee selected the outside law firm that will look into the handling of sexual harassment allegations within the Joe Hogsett administration. The seven councilors voted unanimously to hire Fisher Phillips, a firm based in Chicago. According to the firm’s proposal, the team has no ties to the city of Indianapolis or Mayor Hogsett. Councilors said that not only is the firm the cheapest option, but it is also the most qualified. “Well, cost was sort of at the bottom of our list it was a really happy coincidence that Fisher Phillips not only had the sort of chops that we need to move forward in this work, but we also feel really good about the budget impact that a case like this will bring,” said Councilor Crista Carlino, committee chair. The committee will meet again in November where they hope to have representatives from the law firm in attendance. https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/city-county-council-investigative-committee-mayor-joe-hogsett-thomas-cook-sexual-harassment/531-0e4179ab-d455-46d8-a7e6-8eededde57b9