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HomeMy WebLinkAbout26-03 Resolution RECORD OF RESOLUTIONS Doylon legol Blonk Co., Form No. 30045 'I II . 2603 Passed .. f R"olutwn No... - ........................J YEAR A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH THE LAW DIRECTOR WHEREAS, Law Director Stephen J. Smith has agreed to renew his contract with the City of Dublin; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Dublin, State of Ohio, '7 of the elected members concurring: Section 1. That the City Manager is hereby authorized to enter into a one-year contract commencing May 1, 2003 and continuing through April 30, 2004 with Stephen 1. Smith to provide legal services for the City of Dublin in accordance with the terms approved by Council. Section 2. That this Resolution shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest date permitted by law. Passed this /1 #t.. f1Aay 2003. ATTEST: ! 1rr~d ~IA..- .4ct~ Clerk of Co unci i I hereby certify that copIes of this Ordinance/Resolution were posted in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 731.25 of the Ohio Revised Code. Office of the City Manager 5200 Emerald Parkway. Dublin, OR 43017 Phone: 614-410-4400 · Fax: 614-410-4490 CITY OF DUBLIN Memo To: Members of the Dublin City Council From: Jane S. Brautigam, City Manager~6. ~(. . Date: May 19,2003 ~ Re: Law Director's Contract Summary: The renewal of the City's contract with the Law Director has been a matter which I have had under review for several weeks. Over the past eight months, I have reviewed the Law Department's workload, billing and performance, and I am satisfied that the City of Dublin receives excellent legal services from Law Director Stephen Smith and Schottenstein Zox and Dunn. Steve Smith and I have been negotiating for several months concerning the terms of a renewal contract. Based upon these negotiations, I am recommending that the contract with Mr. Smith and his law firm be renewed for a one-year period, from May 1, 2003 through April 30, 2004, but under terms involving a monthly retainer, as discussed below. It is anticipated that there will be savings of $200,000 in legal fees during the first year based upon the previous three-year average. Discussion: During this year's budget process, Mr. Smith and I reviewed with the Council the manner and process in which legal services are delivered. I have reviewed the billing trends from the law firm for the last three years and working with the Finance Director and Mr. Smith, have identified ways in which we may be successful in reducing legal fees while maintaining high quality services. In fact, over the last several months, we have seen a reduction in legal expenses due in large part to our collective efforts to be more selective with regard to the legal work requested of the law firm, The present contract with the Law Director requires that the firm bill the City for general legal services, tax collection services, real estate acquisition matters and typical litigation at the rate of $120.00 per hour. Specialty litigation and legal work is billed at the applicable rate charged by the partner handling the assignment. Mayor's Court is billed at a flat rate of $6,000.00 per month. The proposed contract would have the following provisions: . All general legal services would be billed at a flat rate of $60,000 per month. This would include general legal work, general litigation, and routine real estate acquisition work. . Mayor's Court would be billed at a flat rate of $9,000.00 per month, a $3,000.00 increase per month. This increase is justified because in fiscal year 2002, the amount of legal work required in Mayor's Court increased dramatically. If these services had been billed at the existing hourly rate of $120.00 hourly rate, the monthly bill would have averaged more $9882.00. The same trend has continued in 2003. . Specialty litigation, complex real estate matters, and other special legal work approved by the City Manager, will be billed at the applicable rate of the lawyer performing the work. The types of legal work that this provision is expected to cover will be telecommunications; real estate matters involving complicated tax, environmental, land exchange or other issues; and lobbying efforts. It is likely that future union negotiations will be billed at a separate flat rate. The proposed contract does not specify the base hourly rate for legal fees, as the City will no longer be charged on an hourly basis. The hourly rate for the law firm has not been increased for three years and would have been due for an increase this year. The monthly average for general legal services I in 2002 under the contract has been approximately $ 71,100.00 at the lower hourly charge. This would have likely increased by 10% based upon an increase in the hourly rate. The retainer concept will save the City of Dublin substantial sums in legal fees. In addition, the City staff has been working to reduce the number of hours billed by the law firm. We will be sending someone to training for filing collection claims for delinquent taxes in small claims court. We have started using a collection agency for delinquencies that are less than $500 and have discussed increasing the amount to $1,000. Finance Department staff will be proposing some procedural changes to implement with regard to payment plans that have been established on the delinquent accounts. The Development Director has been working on ways to reduce land acquisition costs through closer coordination with the Law Department. The Law Director has been very receptive to these changes and open to finding new ways to be more efficient in the provision of legal services. I believe that the City will see savings in the cost of legal services of approximately $200,000 in the coming year. Recommendation: Approve Resolution 26-03, authorizing the City Manager to enter into a one-year contract with Stephen Smith for the provision oflegal services to the City of Dublin as Law Director under the terms described in this memo. I General Legal Services includes general litigation and real estate acquisition but not including mayor's court, special projects or complex litigation.