6.6. SR 04-28-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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"'ity of iver FROM: DATE: MEMORANDUM Mayor & City Council Peter K. Beck, City Attorney February 20, 1996 SUBJECT: Attorney Fees Several Councilmembers have asked that I propose an alternative fee arrangement for Council consideration. The current fee arrangement is as follows: $1,650.00 per month retainer. The retainer pays for all legal services for which a separate file has not been opened, including most City Council and staff meetings. Reduced hourly rates up to a maximum of $110.00 per hour on files which will be paid from city funds. Normal hourly rates, up to a maximum of $180.00 per hour, on files for which a third party is reimbursing the city for fees. This structure and these amounts have been in place since, I think, sometime in the 1980's. I believe it was set up during Bob Middaugh's tenure with the city. Retainer. The $1,650.00 retainer amount was established at a time when the city attorney's involvement in the day-to-day business of the city was minimal. At that time, the city attorney rarely attended a Council meeting or traveled to the city for staff meetings. As late as the early 90's, the $1,650.00 retainer amount covered all of the time actually billed to the city for general legal services. In 1992, when the Council appointed me as city attorney, I made a commitment to the Council to be more available to city staff and to regularly attend Council meetings, including the Council's monthly planning and zoning meeting. As a result of this increased level of service, the hourly value of services rendered over the past 2 or 3 years (at $110.00 per hour) has been between $5,000.00 and $6,000.00 per month. 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425