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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/19/2017 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY JUNE 19.2017 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday June, 2017 at 6 16 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie,Moore, Stoehr. Woodrow and Pishioneri.Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi,City Attorney Man'Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sown and members of the staff 1 In-House City Attorney Analysis. Gino Grimaldi.City Manager, presented the staff report on this item. The City Council recently approved a two y ear contract for City Attorney services with Leahy, VanVactor, Cox&Melendy At that time, the City Council also gave direction to staff to examine the option of having an in-house City Attorney Office. The City Council also indicated that if it was determined that having an in-house City Attorney Office was not feasible:the contract for City Attorney services would go through a compe1tii e bidding process. According to the City Charter,the City Attorney reports directly to the Mayor and City Council. The Council Briefing Memorandum examines the financial feasibility and the policy issues regarding the creation of an in-house City Attorney Office The ongoing cost to operate an in-house City Attorney Office is similar to the cost of the second year of the current contract looking at a one-year cost. However, the amount of attorney time available would increase from 2,124 to approximately 4,000 hours depending on the amount of vacation and sick leave used by the two attorneys. This increased capacity could be used to take on additional duties such as risk management, telecommunications law, and legal services for the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission. The City Attorney Office could develop expertise in other areas reducing the reliance and expense of using outside Counsel. The current City Charter requirement that the City Attorney reports directly to the Mayor and City Council has served the community yen well providing the City Council and the city organization with an independent review of legal issues Bringing the City Attorney Office would not alter the current reporting relationship. Mary Bridget Smith, City, Attorney, said she drafted the Council Briefing Memorandum with the assistance of the City Manager's Office and the Finance Director. She acknowledged that this is awkward She loves the firm and values the relationship with the City. As she was working through this,her duty to the Council is that they are her client Her goal is to try to give them objective advice about what they want to do, and they can determine the path If they do anything, she would recommend that they do not change that the City Attorney is an appointive office of the Council. That ensures the Council will get legal advice that is objective and pointed towards their goals and y inion. She noted that the hours in their current contract are billable hours, not employee hours There would Vr City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 19,2017 Page 2 be increased capacity, but it w ill be a little different. There would still be a need for some outside counsel in certain situations She provided an example. She doesn't anticipate that would go away. Councilor Moore said she is very happy with the relationship the City has with their office. She is concerned with a contracted service versus an employee and the increases in benefits and PERS. She would like more information on the costs and benefits Mr. Grimaldi said they would get the standard benefit package which averages about 45°o, including benefits and payroll taxes Ms. Smith said there would he three people: City Attorney; Assistant City Attorney; and staff support Councilor Pishioneri said there are different processes for contractors compared to hiring employ ees. He asked how they could be hired without a conflict of interest Mr. Grimaldi said there would be no conflict of interest The City could justify that we are transitioning the City Attorney into the City organization and then enter into a contract negotiation with that person, similar to the City Manager. They are not required to ad)ertise for the position. Other employees would be hired. It would make the most sense to hire the existing employees and transfer them over to the City. It is not unlike when two public organizations merge. There is a state statute about moving employ ees from one to the other. Councilor Pishioneri said he understood the City Attorney would work for the Council, but asked about the rest of their staff Mr Grimaldi said it would be the same as with the City Manager's Office. The City Manager works for the Council and it's his responsibility to hire the other employees for that office. Councilor Pishioneri asked if the Council would do regular evaluations of the City Attorney's Office and ha)e the ability to renew or end the contract Ms Smith said that was correct As it is currently,the Council has a contract with the firm and if they aren't happy and end the contract,that is for the full office. Councilor Pishioneri said he likes keeping the office separate. He noted the increase if it is staff time and asked if Ms. Smith saw a rise in availability if they were w ith the City,and how much more they could take on and stay within the paid hours. Ms. Smith said currently, the City is the main client for her and Kristina Kraaz. She no longer takes new clients There is probably some room for an increase,but not much. Councilor Pishionen said he would like to see those numbers to make sure it makes sense financially He wants to see what's in it in terms of hours Councilor Wylie said she worked for the City of Eugene and Lane County when they had in-house attorneys She liked the current city attorney's history, experience and knowledge of the Cit. She felt they had appropriate supervision and were more objective than an in-house attorney might he. The attorney should be responsible for legal issues only and remain objective. We have had excellent service and a cooperath e working relationship so she is not sure why they would want to change. She doesn't see what the City is going to get. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 19,3017 Page 3 Councilor Stoehr asked if the City Attorney would work at City Hall. Ms. Smith said her preference if the City Attorney was mos ed into the City is that it be her and Kristina Kraaz and their legal assistant Councilor Stoehr confirmed that their firm would operate independently. He asked how outside counsel would be selected when the need arises. Ms Smith said it depends on the situation and subject matter. She has cultivated relationships and knowledge about experts in the field After consulting w ith the City Manager's Office, they would choose whoever was the best fit at the best price. Councilor Stoehr asked what would happen if the best person to handle the outside counsel piece was in the office of Leahy.VanVactor and hlelendv. Ms. Smith said they have on occasion done litigation that was above and beyond the retainer if they are the right choice. Her job is to make sure the City is represented correctly. It is not a conflict of interest,but internally they need to know the have the hours to do the job. Sometimes it saves the City money. Generally, when outside counsel is needed it is\ery specialized Councilor Wylie said she hadn't been counting on Ms Smith as the in-house attorney, so that was why she had the concerns. Ms. Smith said she did work in-house prior to coming to the firm and has seen both sides. That's why she thinks keeping the structure of the City Attorney reporting to the Council is best. Councilor VanGordon asked about the budgetary authority Mr. Grimaldi said they would he treated like any other department. Councilor VanGordon said he wants to understand the additional capacity of bringing someone in- house. That would help bring a lot of clarity. Ms. Smith said some of the increased capacity would be an additional member of the Executive Team. They would also get more capacity in risk management and some labor negotiations Councilor VanGordon asked if there would be enough capacity to take on the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission I MWMC). Ms. Smith said there would. Councilor VanGordon asked if it would mean more hours, or just more hours that would reduce our risk. Mr Grimaldi said bringing the City Attorney in-house allows them to be able to get ahead of issues more often That is hard to quantify, but there is a value of having them involved on a daily basis. Councilor VanGordon asked about the last few raises for the City Attorney's office. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 19,2017 Page 4 Ms. Smith said their office asked for a big correction last y ear. She explained the increase in hours and rate requested and approved This increase was in part to help their office retain assistant city attorneys and have continuity of service. There had not been incremental increases over time, so that's why they asked for a larger increase. Councilor VanGordon said he feels like he wants to go forward, but would like some of the financial questions answered, such as what would the additional capacity he used for, and how the City will benefit. If ey en-thing remains equal,there may not be a need to make a change. Councilor Moore said it sounds like hay ing them in-house would act as a preventatiy e in some situations when sitting in on meetings. It could save the City money in the long run by intervening She agrees there are some advantages, but there are still questions She asked for Mr. Grimaldi's input Mr. Grimaldi said in addition to what has been said, continuity would be an advantage. If they follow the pattern, they would go out every 3 to 5 years to bid for attorneys. Ile is not sure that is the best approach because they could lose continuity. Councilor Woodrow said there is no black and white answer about total costs and savings because there is a lot of subjectivity in the risk management area. This sounds good to her. She has had good experience with in-house attorneys Having them on hand and in-house w ith the continuity enhances that subjective area that comes out in other ways that will save in the long run Councilor VanGordon asked about next steps. Mr. Grimaldi said Council has to determine what kind of process they want to hire a City Attorney. If they want to hire the person already doing the work,they would discuss a contract Ms. Smith said they are currently under contract with her firm until the next fiscal y ear She wanted to meet with Council before the summer break to get an idea where they were. If the sen ice was to leave their firm, there would be some work and planning needed by the office. If they choose to put it out to hid. that would probably occur in the fall so it made more sense to have this discussion now. If the Council has consensus to keep her on,they could begin contract negotiations for next year and work on the transition Councilor VanGordon said his questions are more about transition planning He likes the people they hay now and is fine going forward. Councilor Pishioneri said he is happy to move forward with those serving as City Attorney now He would still want to see the additional gains for the City Hay ing the City Attorney as part of the Executive Team would be a huge benefit,but he needed more information about the hours. Mayor Lundberg said the Council was fine moving forward looking at the option She wants to make sure they bring back that information before Council makes the decision. Mr. Grimaldi said they would bring that information back in early fall Ms. Smith said she would get more detailed information about the increased capacity and cost, as well as information on what would be done in-house and what would need outside counsel She will also bring information on how much is spent on legal overall, and how would that change. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 10,'017 Page 5 Mayor Lundberg said they also need information on the personnel needed, a clear idea of the structure and a draft contract. Ms Smith said if they end up evaluating this throughout the fall, the may need to go out for hid. 1 hey could push it out depending on how the discussion goes in the fall. Councilor Pishioneri said he is not interested in going out to hid at this time. lie would like to explore the in-house option further first ADJOURNMPN F The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 p.in. Minutes Recorder—Am SOwa i el •Christine L Lundberg Mayor Attest- Ciru�r w� Amy Sow City Recorder