City of Sultan Request for Proposals City Attorney Services

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1 The City Council of the ( City ) invites interested law firms and individuals with a minimum of seven (7) years of municipal experience to submit a written proposal to provide City Attorney services. As City Attorney, the selected law firm or individual will be expected to provide a wide range of legal services to the City. The City Attorney is selected by the Mayor and works closely with the City Council, City Administrator and other City Staff. The City may retain or employ other attorneys or special counsel as may be needed, in its sole judgment, to take charge of any litigation or legal matters to assist the City Attorney. Submittal Guidelines Law firms or individuals interested in submitting proposals for City Attorney must submit an original and ten (10) copies of the proposal in a sealed envelop marked City Attorney Proposal and addressed to: Deborah Knight, City Administrator 319 Main Street PO Box 1199 Sultan, WA Proposal may be submitted in person at City Hall or by mail, but must be received by the City Clerk s office by 4:00pm on Friday, November 16, Late proposals will not be considered. All proposals will be retained by the City. The City reserves the right to reject all proposals, to request additional information concerning any proposal for purposes of clarification, to accept or negotiate any modifications to any proposals following the deadline for receipt of all proposals, and to waive any irregularities if such would serve the best interests of the City. All inquiries regarding the Request for Proposal and current legal services of the City should be directed to Deborah Knight, City Administrator at the above address or by telephone at or at Deborah.knight@ci.sultan.wa.us. Page 1 of 8

2 Background Sultan is located just 45 miles northeast of Seattle, with a population that is fast approaching 5,000. With several hundred new homes, as well as commercial/retail projects planned, the City is in the brink of a great transformation. Established in the late 1880 s and officially incorporated in 1905, Sultan has a rich and colorful heritage. Logging, mining and agriculture provided the economic and cultural foundation in those early years. The City utilizes the Mayor/Council form of government. The Council sets policy direction and passes local laws to govern the City. The Mayor and City Administrator are responsible for implementing Council policies and ensuring day-to-day operations. There are seven Council members elected at large. The City has a variety of boards, commissions, and committees. The City Administrator, who reports to the Mayor, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the City. The City Attorney is a contract position. The City has 22 fulltime staff covering an extensive array of services including administration, public works, planning and building, economic development, and police. The City operates its own garbage service, water and sewer facilities and manages a cemetery. The general fund budget for 2007 is approximately $2 million. Enterprise funds budgets for 2007 are approximately $2 million. The City is working to bring its comprehensive plan into compliance with the Growth Management Act. The individual or firm selected as City Attorney is expected to have some expertise and familiarity with the Washington State Growth Management Act and other state land use laws. Sultan, like many communities, has seen a substantial reduction in per capita revenues in the last three to five years. Sultan is primarily a residential community which does not have a large commercial tax base. The recent tax initiatives have significantly limited state shared revenues. Additionally, property taxes have been limited to a growth of 1% per year. These tax limitations combined with increased spending and lack of adherence to the budget has resulted in serious financial problems for the City. In mid-2007, the Mayor and City Council were forced to cut the city s general fund budget by $171, in order to maintain a balanced budget. City departments, including police were required to make cuts to operations and staffing. Page 2 of 8

3 The City belongs to a risk management pool, Cities Insurance Association of Washington. The City Attorney is expected to attend City Council meetings currently held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 7:00pm. Scope of Services The basic scope of services, for the purpose of the proposal, shall include those legal services generally understood from the field of municipal law to fall within the category of general counsel work, and shall include, but not necessary be limited to the following: 1. Routine legal advise, telephone and personal consultations with the Mayor, City Council and City Staff. 2. Assistance in the preparation and review of ordinances, resolutions, agreements, contracts, forms, notices, certificates, deeds and other documents required by the City. 3. Attendance at City Council regular and special meetings. Regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursdays, monthly at 7:00pm. 4. Attendance at other boards, commission, and committee meetings as required. 5. Attendance at staff meetings and meetings with staff as needed. 6. The rendering of legal advice and opinions concerning legal matters that affect the city. 7. Legal work pertaining to property acquisitions, property disposals, public improvements, easement dedications, right-of-way abandonments. 8. Enforcement of city codes, zoning regulations and building standards through administrative, quasi-judicial, and judicial actions. 9. Represent the city before other governmental bodies and agencies to promote the interests of the city. 10. Represent the city in the community and at professional meetings. 11. Oversee services provided by outside legal specialists engaged by the City for special legal matters. 12. Monitoring pending and current state and federal legislation and court decisions as appropriate. Page 3 of 8

4 Requested Information To be considered responsive, the proposal must provide specific and succinct answers to all questions and requests for information. Indirect, imprecise, or incomplete responses can serve only to the disadvantage of the respondent. Submission of individual resumes is optional but encouraged, although alone will not be considered responsive to any specific questions. 1. Describe the nature of your practice or your law firm s practice and your qualifications for providing City Attorney services for the City. Include a professional chronology of the individual(s) who will be designated to serve as City Attorney. 2. Provide the overall capabilities, qualifications, training and areas of expertise for each of the principals, partners, and associates of the law firm, including the length of employment for each person and his/her specialty. 3. For the person who will be designated as City Attorney, and for each person proposed as a deputy or back-up, provide the following: a. Legal training and years of practice (including date of admission to the Washington Bar). Years of municipal or other local public sector law practice as a full-time local government attorney and/or in a private law office specializing in the representation of local governments. b. Knowledge of, and experience with, Washington Municipal Law or other public sector experience. c. Types of clientele represented and years representing each. d. Litigation experience and demonstration of a good court track record. Cite examples of municipal litigation experience. e. Experience with and knowledge and practice of law relating to land use and planning, environmental law including SEPA, the Growth Management Act, Shoreline Management Act, real estate and other related law. Page 4 of 8 f. Experience in the area of contracts and franchises. g. Experience in the preparation and review of ordinances and resolutions. h. Experience in the area of the Washington Public Records Act. i. Intended office location and accessibility to the City

5 j. Professional honors and affiliations. k. If the firm/individual, or any of the attorney s employed by the firm, have ever been sued by cities or other clients for malpractice, been the subject of complaints filed with the State Bar, or had discipline imposed by the State Bar, provide information on the nature of the incident, the dates of which the matter began and was concluded and the results of the issue. 4. Describe the staffing of your office, including all permanent and temporary employees and their general duties and work schedules. Include any staffing changes you would propose should your firm be awarded the contract to provide City Attorney services to Sultan. 5. Define the standard time frames for response by the City Attorney to direction and/or inquiry from the Mayor, City Council, City Administrator and staff. 6. Describe the systems or mechanisms that would be established for monthly reporting of the status of projects, requests, and litigation. The city will require a billing methodology that identifies the specific task; the attorney completing the task and the time billed for completion of the specific task. 7. Describe the computer resources currently utilized within your office. The City requires compatibility with Microsoft Office. The attorney is required to maintain Internet services for and file transmission. Current Clients/Conflicts of Interest 1. List all current or former clients residing in, having an interest in a business or owning an interest in property within the in the past three (3) years. 2. List all cities and other public clients for which you or your firm currently provides services under a fee for services basis or on a retainer basis. Identify any foreseeable or potential conflicts of interest, which would result from such representation and the manner in which you would propose to resolve such conflicts. 3. For the person to be designated as City Attorney, list all city clients as well as other public clients that person presently represents as City Attorney or general counsel. Please list the meeting dates and times for the City Council or governing body of these clients. Page 5 of 8

6 Compensation and Reimbursement Describe how the firm intends to provide legal services, either on a flat-rate monthly retainer (state the amount of the requested retainer), or on a different basis. Basic services, for the purpose of the proposal, shall include those legal services generally understood from the field of municipal law to fall within the category of general counsel work, and shall include, but not necessary be limited to the scope of services described in this proposal. Define what type of work you would consider to be extra or specialized work which would be billed in addition to basic services. If hourly rate billing is preferred, state the hourly rate for the designated City Attorney and associates for general work and for special services such as litigation, if such services will be billed at different hourly rates. Define the type and unit rates for reimbursement for expenses such as mileage, reproduction of documents, faxed documents, and work processing charges, if any. Professional References Provide six (6) professional references for the individual designated as City Attorney. Include for each reference an address and work telephone number. List public agencies from which contracts were lost by the individual or law firm in the last five (5) years. List the name of the organizations. Provide contact names and telephone numbers of persons who can be contacted. General Requirements 1. License to practice in Washington: An affirmative statement should be included in the proposal indicating that all assigned professional staff are properly licensed to practice law in the State of Washington. 2. Personnel: The designation of staff to the City Attorney may not be changed without the prior written consent of the Mayor. The city retains the right to approve or reject replacements and to require replacements to familiarize themselves with the city, City Staff and assigned projects at no cost to the city. Firm specialists identified in the response to the Page 6 of 8

7 proposal can only be changed with the express prior written permission of the city which retains the right to approve or reject replacements. 3. Right to request additional information: During the evaluation process, the City reserves the right, where it may serve the city s best interest, to request additional information or clarifications from proposers, or to allow corrections or errors or omissions. 4. Public record: All proposals submitted in response to this proposal may become the property of the upon submittal and a matter of public record pursuant to applicable law. 5. Additional services: The general service requirements outlined in the proposal describe the minimum work to be accomplished. Upon final selection of the individual or law firm, the scope of services may be modified and refined during negotiations with the city. Evaluation and Selection Process All proposals must be received in the City Clerk s office by 4:00pm on Friday, November 16, Proposals will be screened, and the top candidates will be selected by the Mayor or a committee appointed by the Mayor. Qualifications for the top candidates will be verified and references will be checked. The city anticipates approving the contract and appointing the next City Attorney prior to or shortly after January 1, In reviewing proposals, the City will consider: 1. Depth and breadths of experience and expertise in the practice of law, most specifically in those areas most often encountered in municipal government operations; 2. Capability to perform legal services promptly and in a manner that permits the Mayor, City Council, and staff to meet established deadlines; and to operate in an effective and efficient manner; 3. Degree of availability for quick response to inquiries that arise out of dayto-day operating questions or problems; 4. Degree to which firm and individual attorneys stay current through continued professional development and active communication with practitioners in the municipal law field; 5. Communication skills; 6. Cost of services, and; Page 7 of 8

8 7. Other qualifications/criteria deemed appropriate by the Mayor The City may conduct interviews with top candidates prior to making a final selection. The award of contract will not necessarily be based on the lowest fee proposed. The city reserves the right to negotiate the price, terms and Scope of Services with the successful proposer prior to making a final selection The terms and conditions of a contract with the individual or law firm selected will required the individual or firm to maintain general liability, automobile, worker s compensation and errors and omissions insurance. The contract will also contain provisions requiring the selected individual or law firm to indemnify the city and providing that the City Attorney is an independent contractor serving at the will of the Mayor. Provisions will also be included in the contract allowing the city to terminate the agreement, at its sole and entire discretion upon the provision of notice. Page 8 of 8