The legal battle between a small-town Alabama mayor and a council-appointed city manager has moved beyond the courtroom to the checkbook.

John C. Brown already lost his job and $100,000 salary as city manager in Tarrant. And now Mayor Wayman Newton has asked a judge for a $78,000 garnishment against Brown to recoup legal expenses.

It is just the latest development in a series of clashes between the mayor, city council and other leaders in Tarrant, a town of 6,000 near Birmingham, where lawsuits, contradictory directives, and public insults fly frequently.

“The mayor is benefiting from representing his own interest in the case,” said Brown’s attorney Scott Morrow. “He’s benefiting from suing the city himself.”

Mayor Newton, who is also a lawyer, sued last summer, arguing the Tarrant City Council did not follow the letter of the law when hiring Brown to manage daily operations, stripping the mayor of some of his elected duties.

Brown in January lost his fight to keep his job after Jefferson County Judge Patrick Ballard ruled that the city council erroneously hired him.

Newton sued on behalf of Deanna Ceasor, one of his supporters in the city, rather than naming himself as the plaintiff and hiring a separate lawyer to represent him.

Newton now wants Brown to pay up.

Brown is appealing the case to the state supreme court. But as they await a hearing, Newton is moving to seize $78,071 directly from Brown to cover the legal expenses.

The court recently froze $21,574 in Brown’s personal bank account.

Newton said he filed to claim for his legal fees because Brown did not get a bond that was part of his appeal process.

“He has not complied with the court order to stay the judgment,” Newton told AL.com. “He’s had four months. We are well into the supreme court case, and he has yet to file a bond.”

Lawyers for Brown in the case last summer challenged Newton’s qualification to serve as the plaintiff’s attorney, saying he would personally benefit if the judge ruled for his client.

In the end, Newton won, besting his rivals on the city council for power by eliminating the city manager. Now he’s also prevailed as a lawyer who is entitled to payment for legal fees.

Morrow said he is working with the city council to secure a bond and letter of credit to remedy the situation. He said Brown’s money remains frozen until a bond is secured to guarantee money for fees if he loses on appeal.

“The garnishment is the bank saying, ‘we are going to hold this amount,’” Morrow said. “We’ve already got the appeal brief in, and we are waiting on the bond, so once the bond is made the underlying judgment is stayed.”

Morrow said a bond should be secured within a few days. He said it was proper for the city council to play an active role on Brown’s behalf.

“The city council should be an intervener,” he said. “The city council is an indispensable party in the John Brown case because they are the ones who hired him.”