7.4. SR 11-20-2006
City of Elk River Item Number
REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION 7.4.
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
Administration November 20,2006 Council Member Paul Motin and Lori
lohnson, City Administrator
Item Description Reviewed by
Consider Request for Proposals for Civil and Prosecuting
Attorney Services
Introduction
The city requested proposals for civil and prosecuting attorney services. The proposals have been
reviewed by a committee consisting of Councilmember Paul Motin, Councilmember Larry Farber, Police
Chief Jeff Beahen, City Prosecutor Chris Johnson, and City Administrator Lori Johnson.
Discussion
The city received a total of six proposals; three for civil services and three for prosecuting services.
Civil LegalS ervices:
Proposals received from:
.
Peter Beck, Gray, Plant, and Mooty, Minneapolis (current city attorney)
Ratwik, Roszak, and Maloney P.A., Minneapolis
Rinke Noonan, St. Cloud
.
.
The committee reviewed all the proposals and, based on service and fees, recommends that the City
Council continue to retain Peter Beck with Gray, Plant, and Mooty as city attorney.
Prosecuting Attornry Services:
Proposals received from:
.
William G. Hawkins and Associates, Anoka
Randall, Goodrich, and Fitzpatrick P.L.C, Anoka
Chris Johnson, Elk River City Prosecutor
.
.
One of the main issues prompting the need for reviewing the current prosecuting arrangement is
providing backup coverage for both the city prosecutor and the legal secretary when they are out of the
office. In addition, currently, a significant amount of time is expended on nearly a daily basis on "in
custody" hearings. The committee felt this might best be addressed by contracting services with a law
firm for all prosecuting services. The committee did not feel it was reasonable to hire additional in-house
staff to provide backup because the case load itself does not justify the need for additional staff and it is
the most costly option. The Sherburne County Attorney's office has offered to assist by taking in custody
s: \Council\Lori\2006\Attomey Proposals 112006 v2.doc
cases on certain days and providing some backup. This would likely be an option for in the short term;
however, because the caseload is expected to increase as the population increases, it is not believed to be
a long term solution to the city's coverage issues.
The proposal from Chris Johnson proposes that the city maintain an in-house legal department for
prosecution services and the prosecutor's work week be reduced to four days per week, resulting in
approximately $18,000 in savings. Chris has been able to get the Court to schedule hearings on
Wednesdays. Other coverage would be provided by the Sherburne County Attorney's office or Tom
Fitzpatrick of Randall, Goodrich, and Fitzpatrick P.L.e. when the city prosecutor is not available. On the
day that Chris is not working at the city, he would provide coverage to Fitzpatrick's firm. While this may
be a viable short term option, as the caseload increases, Chris would have to resume a five day week,
eliminating the coverage from Fitzpatrick. Eventually, as the workload increases, we would probably
need to hire a second attorney and/or more staff.
There may be benefit in maintaining the current in-house legal department such as better communication
and the ability to utilize the attorney to best fit the priorities of the city. Whether these benefits outweigh
the likely additional cost needs to be decided.
After reviewing the options and proposals carefully, the committee is recommending that the Council
interview the attorneys representing the Randall, Goodrich, and Fitzpatick and Hawkins and Associates
firms before making a fmal decision on whether to contract for services or to continue to maintain an
in-house legal department. The committee did not feel that the proposal for an in-house four/fifths time
attorney was an option that worked well for the city.
Financial Impact
Attachments
· Proposals for Civil and Prosecuting Services
Action Requested
The City Council is asked to consider the committee's recommendations as follows: 1. Civil Legal Service
- retain Peter Beck, Gray, Plant and Mooty as city attorney. 2. Prosecuting Attorney Service - interview
the law firms of William G. Hawkins and Associates and Randall, Goodrich, and Fitzpatrick P.L.e. A
fmal decision on whether to retain an in-house prosecuting department will be made after these
interviews.
Council Action
Motion by _
Second by _
Vote
Follow Up
s: \Council\Lori\2006\Attomey Proposals 112006 v2.doc