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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 City Attorney Office Evaluation AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL Meeting Date: Meeting Type: D~partment: Staff Contact: Staff Phone No: Estimated Time: ITEM TITLE: CITY ATTORNEY OFFICE EVALUATION ACTION REQUESTED: June 18, 2007 Work Session Human Resources Bill Spiry 726-3787 30 Minutes Review annual evaluation results with the. City Attorney firm of Leahy & Associates. ISSUE STATEMENT: The results of the annual evaluation have been received, tabulated and are now ready for Council review and discussion with the City Attorney's Office. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: City Attorney Office Annual Evaluation 2007 Summary of Evaluation Ratings DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: The firm of Leahy & Kieran received high marks recently during the annual review of its performance of the city attorney duties which are summarized on Attachment 1. Twenty evaluations were distributed; of those, 18 were returned indicating ratings of excellent., good and did not observe. This annual evaluation represents the second year of a three year contract which expires June 30, 2009. Staff and the City Attorney's Office are currently in discussions regarding hours and rates for the fiscal year 2007/08. Following those discussions, staff will be presenting a request for Council ratification of the City Attorney's contract on July 2. SUMMARY 2007 Annual City Attorney Evaluation 1. General Legal Counsel . Readily available and provides timely responses to requests for assistance. . Provides written opinions that are clear and timely . Anticipates potential legal issues. . Provides oral opinions th~t are understandable and specifically address the issue. . Helps to minimize and avoid litigation. . Reviews council materials and is prepared to make appropriate recommendations. . Responds to emergency priorities. 18 Excellent _Good _Satisfactory _Unsatisfactory _Did not Observe Comments: ~ Joe Leahy has been very helpful and responsive on all Justice Center and PeaceHealth issues. ~ Given the variety and complexity of issues the CAO does a fabulous job of sorting out the major issues from minor ones and provides excellent service. ~ Always very well prepared. We receive prompt, helpful information to our requests for assistance. We know we can always contact the City Attorney's office by phone and ask for assistance or for confirmation that the decision we are making is correct. Joe, Matt and Meg are all familiar with Code Enforcement issues. ~ I don't know how Joe balances all the competing demands on his time to be responsive, even to emergencies such as the Mountain Gate fill, slope crisis that developed in late February 07 and is just now moderately. ~ Excellent work on FSl BOLI issue, and on the Heary issue with Justice Center. 2. Legislative Counsel. . Opinions to the Council regarding legislation are clear and timely. . Ordinances and resolutions are clean and implement the Council's direction. . Ordinances and resolutions are timely. . Advice to Council atwork sessions and Council meetings is clear and timely. 13 - Excellent 4 - Good _Satisfactory _Unsatisfactory 1 - Did not Observe Comments: ~. The only occasion of less than supportive service was the slight confusion in responding to some of the issues surrounding a code amendment dealing with vicious dogs. ~ Clarity and timeliness superb...with the addition of pertinent rationale and creative augmentation of issues and "whereas" that provide emphasis and political punch, too. ~ Code Enforcement does not often require ordinances or resolutions but when they have been necessary they are correct, timely and thoughtful. ~ Staff relies heavily on CAO to prepare and present legislation and staff recommendations to Council - countless times per year. ~ Work on ordinances around dog and street vacation issues has been solid and well thought out. Attachment 1 Page 1 of3 3. Litigation. . Represents City and Litigation consistent with Council direction and Council goals. . Avoids unnecessary litigation through tactful handling of potential claims against the City. . Works effectively with Council to solve litigation. . Works with the Human Resources Department/Risk Management to minimize potential for litigation and to solve existing litigation. . Alerts Council to potential litigation issues. 13 - Excellent 3 - Good _Satisfactory _Unsatisfactory 3 - Did not Observe Comments: ~ The office has been successful in compensating for the lack of dedicated in hours risk management resources. ~ Helps dramatically reduce/avoid litigation with preventive actions anticipating and ~ Cooperation and assistance from the City Attorney's Office in matters of litigation is exceptional. Our trips to Circuit Court have resulted in successful resolution in each and every instance. But even more important, advice from the City Attorney's Office has often allowed us to resolve issues without costly litigation. ~ So much of this kind of work is such that Council does not hear about it - much of it is personnel issues. But also with developers, contractors, others who r:night sue the City in litigation. Other PW staff will mention specific cases of litigation. 4. Citizen Requests. . Responds to citizen requests in a courteous, clear and timely manner. . Follows Council direction with respect to handling of citizen matters 16 - Excellent _Good _Satisfactory _Unsatisfactory 2 - Did not Observe Comments: ~ Joe and other legal staff (Christy Monson, for example), provided good legal advice and good leadership in formatting advisories, recommendations, and discussions with staff, Council, and the community. ~ Great ambassador for the City. ~ Code Enforcement handles a wide variety of complaints and we have learned that when we are "stumped", the City Attorney's Office is a great resource. We also appreciate that their office will check with us prior to giving out advice to citizens to confirm that they are correct and consistent. ~ CAO helps us a lot with code enforcement issues with citizens. Frequently, he writes a letter to them and it stimulates a quick response. Attachment 1 Page 2 of3 5. Any other comments or concerns not already covered. ~ The City Attorney has consistently provided excellent service in a timely manner. ~ As a general comment, the City imposes substantial burdens on the Office of the City Attorney, and on some occasions the demands of the City test the limits of the resources that the City Attorney can make available. It is commendable that in the face of these demands the Office continues to provide, in general, excellent service. ~ CAO services this year are up a notch in comparison to last. Support and counsel has been good to excellent. Very pleased with services. Also, since Jon Hilt brand left more contract/risk review has been left to the CAO - they (Joe) has been doing a great job. ~ Always cordial, helpful during Councilor Orientation, helpful when asked questions. ~ Joe & Meg have served the City well and continue to do so. ~ I have worked with about a dozen city attorneys and county counsels over the past 30 years during my career. I rank Joe as one of the top two for reasons that I believe are shared by most (if not all) Springfield staff. When you evaluate the performance of public attorneys, they seem to fall into two distinct camps. In one camp, there are the lawyers who are so conservative that they see a law suit "behind every bush." After all, lawyers who don't protect their public clients don't find themselves keeping those clients very long. "Risk" can be an especially scary thing to some public lawyers. In the other camp, there are the lawyers who recognize "risk" but also have the experience and critical thinking skills that allow them to make practical decisions that balance risk with common sense, all while reasonably protecting their clients. These are the public lawyers who help find practical ways to accomplish things instead of dwelling on why things can not be done. Joe Leahy is a role model for the group in this second camp. In the planning and development business, it is always very easy to find reasons not to allow something. I have been impressed with Joe's creativity and common sense approach to the various challenges we ask him to sort out for us. Joe works hard to accomplish things and to make himself conveniently available to me and DSD staff when we need his advice...and frequently this is on short notice. His years of experience in municipal government bring the added bonus of being able to offer wise counsel on policy matters that are not always linked to a legal issue. At the same time, he is extraordinarily careful to not step over the line and substitute his judgment for a policy matter that doesn't call for a legal opinion. Joe is a quick study and master of detail. I have enjoyed watching him take out his pen and yellow pad then chart out the critical points of some pretty complex issues, as I did last week in a meeting with Dan Brown and me. Joe's analytical skills are certainly one of the main reasons he enjoys so much credibility with staff. Joe has his own private practice, but he is very much an integral member of our team. It is a pure pleasure to work with him. The only area I can identify where improvement is possible, is with his social gaming obligations. Joe is quick to collect when the Ducks win, but slow to come around when they don't. ~ Throughout the many years with the City, the CAO has consistently met or exceeded my expectations in the quality and manner in which they have provided services to our work unit. They have always made themselves available and their response/advice is always timely. ~ It is always a pleasure to work with out City Attorney's Office. Everyone in the office, including the clerical staff is efficient, helpful and friendly. ~ We are indeed fortunate to have an experienced, long-term legal firm as our representative. The CAO is not only a factor in the success of the City organization, but is very much involved in community issues. ~ I am very happy with Joe, et al. Attachment] Page 3 of3