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<br /> <br />Item # 5.1. <br /> <br />City of <br />Elk ~ <br />River- . <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />Mayor and City Council <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />Lori Johnson, City Administrator <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />May 21,2007 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: <br /> <br />Prosecuting Services Update - William Hawkins & Associates <br /> <br />On January 22, 2007, the city entered into an agreement for legal services (prosecuting) with <br />William J. Hawkins & Associates. Mr. Bill Hawkins, Mr. Scott Baumgartner, and their newly <br />hired attorney, Mr. David Fischer, will be at Monday night's meeting to meet the Council <br />and to give a brief update on their fIrst few months of service. <br /> <br />As you know, when we discussed changing to a contracted prosecuting attorney, one of our <br />concerns was the time that the attorneys would spend here because of the court calendaring <br />system. Mr. Hawkins has been working closely with court adininistration, the Sherburne <br />County Attorney's offlce, and the judges to make adjustments to the calendaring system so <br />that Elk River's cases can be handled in a more efflcient and effective way. Although this <br />process takes time, it has gone very well and all parties involved have been cooperative in <br />making changes of mutual benefIt. Because these changes were not implemented initially <br />when the contract started, the first few bills from Hawkins and Associates were high, as we <br />expected. We expect the monthly cost to decrease as the calendaring system becomes more <br />reflned. We knew going into the contract that this transition would take some time, and at <br />this point, it appears that it is going very smoothly. <br /> <br />In addition, the attorneys have had several jury trials; to my knowledge, we did not have any <br />jury trials the entire time the city did its own prosecuting. This causes an increase in fees, <br />but defmitely sends the message that offenders will be held accountable for their actions. <br />The police department has been pleased with the way all three attorneys have handled the <br />city's cases and in the results of the jury trials, which were all in favor of the city. <br /> <br />As Chief Beahen and I stated during the annual report presentation, we feel this transition to <br />contractual prosecuting services has gone very well. The police offIcers are pleased with the <br />interactions that they have had with the attorneys and the training they have received from <br />the attorneys. We have also heard positive comments from the court system. Of course, we <br />will continue to evaluate these services on an on-going basis to ensure that they continue to <br />meet the city's needs. <br /> <br />S:\Council\Lori\2007\Prosecuting Services Update. doc <br />