5.4. SR 06-14-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . . TO: CITY COUNCIL FROM: STEPHANIE KLINZING, MAYOR RE: CITY ATTORNEY Due to the changing status of the attorney firm currently retained by the City of Elk River for general counsel, I am interested in the city council taking this opportunity to open a request for proposal process for legal services. I believe that entering into an RFP process would benefit our constituency by insuring the highest level of service, most efficient use of city tax dollars, and greatest public accessibility. I do not have any complaint about the work of Peter Beck, who currently serves the city council as general counsel. During my months on the city council, Peter has proven to be both competent and accessible besides being a very pleasant person with which to work. I would expect Peter to be a leading candidate through the RFP process if he chooses to submit a pro- posal. The major criteria, as I see it, for choosing legal counsel through the RFP process would be experience, cost, availability, and accessibility (not in order of priority). I believe that the city council, with staff assistance, would be able to set up the process and then review the proposals. I don't see any need, at this point, for outside consultant help. The expertise and knowledge of the city's needs is sufficiently available through members ofthe city council and current city staff. If there is a need for consultant assistance identified further into the process, the council could take action at that time. I don't, however, see this happening. The city council spends a great deal of tax money each year on legal counsel. It is our responsibility to insure that those dollars are being used as efficiently as possible. I also feel that local attorneys and attorney firms, especially those practicing in the Elk River, should be given an opportunity to show the city council how they could effectively meet the city's legal needs. We have a number of highly qualified legal professionals in and around Elk River who could do more than an adequate job as our legal counsel. I also believe that any perceived "problems" associated with using a local firm can be addressed through the initial retainment agreement or as the case requires. The RFP process, as I see it, would be for general counsel (civil) services only with payment being made on a retainer based on billable hours (with a yearly review). Then I see the general counselor (the city attorney) making recommendations to the city council on who would handle development legal work and litigation cases as they arise. Either expanding the city attorney's fee to handle this or hiring an outside firm. Also I have heard that the county attorney may be requesting the city to take over pros- ecution of misdemeanors. We need to look into this as soon as possible so that a city prosecutor could also be included in the RFP process.