1. The sheriff of any county, except a county with a charter form of government, and any county of the second classification, county of the third classification, and county of the fourth classification * may employ an attorney at law to aid and advise him in the discharge of his duties and to represent him in court. The sheriff shall set the compensation for an attorney hired pursuant to this section within the allocation made by the county commission to the sheriff's department for compensation of employees to be paid out of the general revenue fund of the county.
2. The attorney employed by a sheriff pursuant to subsection 1 of this section shall be employed at the pleasure of the sheriff.