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Home My WebLink About[10b] City Attorney Appointment � Council enda Item 1� 1J� �,��T,�� L� MEETING DATE: February 7,2013 AGENDA ITEM: ' City Attomey SUBMITTED BY: I Administration BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE RECOMMENC�ATION: PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: The City Counci�interviewed four firms for consideration of appointment as City Attorney. The firms interviewed included: Rat�wick, Roszak&Maloney;Couri&Ruppke;Flaherty&Hood; Jovanovich, Kadlec&Athman(JKA). BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In an effort to cbmpare fees for legal services the actual legal fees for 2012 were calculated as if the City had used Flaherty&Hood. JKA has one rate for all legal matters and bills in six minute increments. Flaherty&Hood changes the nates depending on the type of legal services that are performed and bill in 15 minute increments. For comparison the time was adjusted for each line item to reflect the cost for each type of service. JKA only charges mileage for one way,while Flaherty&Hood charges each way,adding three hours to each bill. I did not add mileage for�ach time Tom appeared,but added it to those times where we needed a presence,either a public hearing or courC. Three of the four firms interviewed are from the cities and they all indicated that they can provide legal service via phone reducing the windshield time and cost. The information that follows this cover sheet also i entifies the cost for three development projects had we used a firm that charges more for third party reimbursem�nt fees. The projects represent three different size projects FINANCIAL IMPACT: Varies based o firm ATTACHMENTS: Request for Co�ncil Action Financial Summjary REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Appoint City Atto ney I I , ,i This page�ntentionally left blank � � i I � � i Legal Services Summary General Employment Litigation Third Party Minimum Legal Real Estate Matters Reimb Increment Flaehrty&Hood Attorneys $ 110.00 $ 130.00 $ 150.00 $ 175.00 15 min Other $ 60.00 $ 70.00 $ 80.00 $ 90.00 15 min JKA Attorneys $ 135.00 $ 135.00 $ 135.00 $ 135.00 10 min Associates $ 125.00 $ i 125.00 $ 125.00 $ 125.00 10 min Other $ 80.00 $ i, 80.00 $ 80.00 $ 80.00 10 min Couri&Ruppke Attorneys $ 150.00 $ 150.00 $ 150.00 $ 170.00 15 min Other 15 min Ratwik Attorneys $ 135.00 $ '� 135.00 $ 150.00 $ 185.00 10 min Other $ 70.00 $ �I 70.00 $ 70.00 $ 85.00 10 min i Summary of Comparision Between J&4 ahd Flaherty&Hood JKA ' Flaherty General Legal 17,078.00 I 17,290.00 212.00 Gen-Trav ', 440.00 440.00 Litigation 6,178.50 ', 8,787.50 2,609.00 Litigation Trv (court appearances) �i 600.00 600.00 Personnel 1,020.50 �'i 1,072.50 52.00 Developer 4,941.00 � 7,848.75 2,907.75 29,218.00 ' 36,038.75 6,820.75 Summary of Comparision Between JKA and Flahe�rty&Hood-Development �� St. Joseph Parish 1,890.00 ' 2,668.75 778.75 Millstream Villages 1,525.00 I 2,537.50 1,012.50 Centennial Commons 5,440.50 ', 8,400.00 2,959.50 Notes: To determine the financial impact between.�KA and Flaherry and Hood, the proposed rates for 2013 were applied to the acutal legal bills,,i`'or 2012. Since each firm has a di,f,�'erent minimum call charge, the comparision was calculat�d using the minimum that would be charged. The minimum charge per call and increment for JK� is.10 and Flaherty and Hood is.25. If Flaherty and Hood comes to a meeting three hours pf driving time must be added. For the comparision on the Ciry costs I only added travel tinrte for either court appearances or when the attorney was needed at a meeting. I assumed for closed meetings it was a phone call and not appearance. � I This page�ntentionally left blank Financial Analysis of Attorney Proprosals Rate Comparision between!KA and Fhlaerty and Hood eased on Actual Attomey Hours from 2012 Proposed 2013 JKA Proposed 2013 Flaherty&Hood Hours Rate Fee Hours Rate Fee January General 0.60 135.00 81.00 1.25 110.00 137.50 Litigation 0.80 135.00 108.00 - 1.00 150.00 150.00 General 3.80 135.00 513.00 6.75 110.00 742.50 General-Assoc 2.30 125.00 287.50 OJ5 110.00 82.50 >i.�_ 7.50 989.50 9J5 1,112.50 123.00 February - Litigation-Supp 0.20 80.00 16.00 0.50 60.00 30.00 Litigation 0.40 135.00 54.00 0.75 150.00 112.50 General 6.90 135.00 931.50 <'' 8.25 110.00 907.50 ��-.--- 7.50 1,001.50 �? 9.50 1,050.00 48.50 ,.'i: E>� March - �` - litigation 0.10 135.00 13.50 " 0.25 150.00 37.50 6enerol 5.00 135.00 675.00 � i 6.25 110.00 687.50 General-Support 0.10 80.00 8.Q0 �: ' 0.25 60.00 15.00 -�, ;:ti.i 5.20 696.50 �'; 6J5 740.00 43.50 3< ;I �� April � - �: ��, � - Litigation 1.20 135.00 162.00 . w' '� 1J5 150.00 262.50 Litigation-support 0.10 80.00 8.00 ' 0.25 60.00 15.00 General 10.10 135.00 1,363.50 � 12.00 11d.00 1,320.00 Personnel 0.40 135.00 54.00 .. 0.50 130.00 65.00 Personnel-Support 0.10 80.00 8.00 ' 0.25 70.00 17.50 _�.. ;_��_ 11.90 1,595.50 ;,,;': 14J5 1,680.00 84.50 May Lirigotion OJO 135.00 94.50 ` 1.50 150.00 225.00 Litigation-support 0.30 80.00 24.00 .< ; I 0.75 60.00 45.00 General 1.00 135.00 135.00 ' 1.50 110.00 165.00 Developer 8.20 135.00 1,1�7.00 9.75 175.00 1,706.25 10.20 1,360.50 ` � 13.50 2,141.25 780.75 June Litigation 1Z0 135.00 162.00 ,``! 2.00 150.00 300.00 Litigation-support 0.10 80.00 8.00 ` 0.25 60.00 15.00 General 2.10 135.00 283.50 ! 3.25 110.00 357.50 Developer 11.70 135.00 1,579.50 13.75 175.00 2,406.25 General-Assoc 0.10 125.00 12.50 .. 0.25 110.00 27.50 t� 15.20 2,045.50 .:> 19.50 3,106.25 1,060.75 i Financial Analysis of Attorney Proprosals Rate Comparision between JKA and Fhlaerty and Hood eased on Acival Attorney Hours from 2012 Proposed 2013 JKA Proposed 2013 Flaherty&Hood Hours Rate Fee Hours Rate Fee July Developer 5.80 135.00 783.00 6.50 175.00 1,137.50 Litigation 0.60 135.00 81.00 1.00 150.00 150.00 General 10.40 135.00 1,404.00 11.75 110.00 1,292.50 General-Assoc - 125.00 - - 110.00 - s��. 16.80 2,268.00 19.25 2,580.00 312.00 August Litigation-Assoc 8.20 125.00 1,025.00 _ 8.25 150.00 1,237.50 Litigation 6.50 135.00 877.50 8.25 150.00 1,237.50 Litigation-Support 0.10 80.00 8.00 � ', 0.25 80.00 20.00 General 7.50 135.Q0 1,012.50 9.50 110.00 1,045.00 Personnel 6.40 135.00 864.00 ' 7.00 130.00 910.00 Development 0.40 135.00 54.00 0.50 175.00 87.50 29.10 3,841.00 �33.75 4, 696.50 September - - Litigotion 7J0 135.00 1,039.50 f I 9.00 150.00 1,350.00 General 30.60 135.00 4,131.00 ,: � ', 38.50 110.00 4,235.00 support 0.60 80.00 48.00 �, _� ' OJ5 60.OQ 45.00 �; ��, Personnel OJO 135.00 94.50 '` � ', 0.75 130.00 97.50 Litigation-Assoc 3.50 125.00 437.50 �, ' 3J5 150.00 562.50 43.10 5,750.50 - ��52.75 6,290.00 539.50 �: �� : October � Utigation 11.80 135.00 1,593.00 � i 15.00 150.00 2,250.00 Litigation-Assoc 1.50 125.00 187.50 .;.-.p;� I 1.50 150.00 225.00 General 11.30 135.00 1,525.50 � 14.00 110.00 1,540.00 Personnel - 135.00 - � I - 130.00 - Personnel-Support - 80.00 - ��_ 70.00 - 24.60 3,306.00 ,;,,;,, 30.50 4,015.00 709.00 November Litigation 1.70 135.00 229.50 3.00 150.00 450.00 -$;; ' General Assoc 7.20 125.00 900.00 `P 7.25 150.00 1,087.50 General 20J0 135.00 2,794.50 ,` 24.75 110.00 2,722.50 i+ Developer 3.70 135.00 499.50 ` 5.50 175.00 962.50 f,,; 33.30 4,423.50 � 40.50 5,222.50 799.00 � � i.; i December .,;,,; I litigation - 135.00 - � ', - 150.00 - Gitigation Support 0.40 125.00 50.00 , �'; j 0.75 150.00 112.50 General 7.20 135.00 972.00 "'' 8.00 110.00 880.00 � Developer 6.80 135.00 918.00 I 8.75 175.00 1,531.25 Genera!-Assoc - 125.00 - � �' - 110.00 - 1,940.00 _,��;:�i 2,523J5 583J5 I Judy Weyrens From:Robert Scott <rtscott@flaherty-hood.com> Sent:Wednesday, February 06, 2013 4:59 PM To:Judy Weyrens Cc:Brandon Fitzsimmons; Chris Hood Subject:Flaherty and Hood Proposal to Provide Civil City Attorney Services Dear Administrator Weyrens, I am writing on behalf of myself, Chris Hood and Brandon Fitzsimmons in anticipation of tomorrow’s City Council meeting, when we understand the City Council is scheduled to consider the selection of the City Attorney, to respectfully offer the following clarifications of a few matters related to our fee structure presented in our proposal to provide civil city attorney services to the City of St. Joseph. First, while we have proposed different hourly rates depending on the type of work we would be called upon to perform as set forth on page 19 of our proposal, our experience has been that the vast majority of the work we perform in our capacity as City Attorney for various cities is billed at our lowest hourly rate of $110 per hour. This lowest rate would apply to our attendance at meetings and all general municipal matters, which in our experience almost without exception encompasses the majority of the city attorney services we provide, as well as the first 25 hours of representation on labor and employment and human resources matters by virtue of the City’s membership in the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (please see the note at the bottom of the table of our hourly fees on page 19 of the proposal for an explanation of this reduced rate). Second, with respect to our highest rate, which is $175 per hour for third party reimbursed matters, this rate only applies when fees incurred by the City are reimbursed by a third party; if the City is not reimbursed for our work on any matter, the otherwise applicable lower hourly rate would apply (likely $110 per hour). Therefore, our higher rate for third party reimbursed matters would only apply in circumstances where there would be no net budgetary impact to the City for such legal services. Finally, with respect to our travel time, we bill for such time at half of the applicable hourly rate, so the vast majority of our travel time would be billed at $55 per hour, which would be the equivalent of billing for only one way of our travel time at our full rate. We felt it important to offer these clarifications after reviewing the information in the packet for tomorrow’s City Council meeting regarding the financial impact to the City of selecting our firm, as it appears to us from such information that the only services for which the City would be responsible for paying a higher hourly rate with our firm (as compared to the firm currently providing such services) would be litigated matters. We would be most appreciative if you could share this correspondence with Mayor Schultz and the City Council ahead of tomorrow’s meeting. We again thank you for yours and the Mayor and City Council’s time and consideration of our proposal, and look forward to the opportunity to work with you in the future. Thank you. Sincerely, Robert T. Scott, Senior Attorney Flaherty & Hood, P.A. 525 Park Street, Suite 470 St. Paul, MN 55103 Phone (651) 225-8840 Fax (651) 225-9088 www.flaherty-hood.com 1