(Harrisburg) -- The leader of the city council says she won't let the body hire a lawyer to fight a state takeover of the capital's finances. Council President Gloria Martin-Roberts says she will not approve a contract to hire a Philadelphia-area attorney, despite a three-to-four council vote earlier this week in favor of the move. She calls the action illegal and says the city does not have the money to pay for legal counsel. "First of all, before we can hire anybody, we have to know where they money's coming from. We're struggling financailly. I don't know where they think the money's coming from," Martin-Roberts says. She is encouraging council members to reconsider Mayor Linda Thompson's fiscal recovery plan they rejected earlier this month. Martin-Roberts - and the mayor - say approving the plan is the only way the city can avoid a state takeover of its finances.