A former longtime attorney for Birmingham’s regional water system is back on the payroll four months after he was fired, sued the utility and threatened additional legal action for alleged slander against him.

The Central Alabama Water board met Wednesday evening in a closed-door executive session before returning to rehire Mark Parnell in a three-year consultant contract worth $2.4 million, according to the board’s resolution.

The vote ends the lawsuit and gives Parnell a seven-figure victory from the board that swiftly fired him after they took office.

Board chairman Tommy Hudson and Jim Porter, a senior attorney who was hired after Parnell was fired, declined to comment to AL.com.

Instead, the utility released a statement to AL.com tonight affirming that Parnell’s old contract was v

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