Laserfiche WebLink
Item No. S H <br /> Staff Report No. 97'moqe, <br /> Meeting Date: February 10, 1997 <br /> Type of Business: CA <br /> WK: Work Session;PH:Public Hearing; <br /> CA: Consent Agenda;CB: Council Business <br /> City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> To: Honorable Mayor and members of the City Council <br /> From: Bruce A. Kessel, Finance Director <br /> Item Title/Subject: Retainer for legal fees <br /> Date of Report: February 5, 1997 <br /> At the present time, the City has a contract with Hughes and Costello for services performed as <br /> our prosecuting attorney. The contract is for$3,000 per month, including expenses. <br /> For other legal services, the City has used a variety of firms, with Kennedy and Graven being the <br /> firm most often used. Over the past year, legal fees for such services with Kennedy& Graven <br /> have varied from less than two thousand to as high as eight thousand per month, with the total <br /> cost for services performed in 1996 being approximately$67,000. Due to issues facing the City <br /> in the next year, it is anticipated that there will continue to be a need for legal advise, and as <br /> such, it has been proposed that the City enter into a contract with Kennedy and Graven under <br /> which the City would pay a monthly retainer of$3,000 per month which is based upon a regular <br /> • billing rate of$100 per hour, and other specified services would be billed at rates from$115 to <br /> $125 per hour. - <br /> Staff feels that our relationship with Mr. Long and Kennedy & Graven should be confirmed by a <br /> written agreement and feels that the proposed agreement sets forth terms that will be in the best <br /> long term interest of the City. The staff wishes to be able to continue to use, on a limited basis, <br /> some of the other attorneys such as Mr. O'Meara of Briggs & Morgan since they have a working <br /> knowledge on some areas such as TIF, but our goal is to consolidate the non-prosecuting legal <br /> work with one firm as much as possible to improve the level of service, and to minimize <br /> potential conflicts and higher fees by having two or more legal firms involved in reviewing and <br /> providing legal advise on the same topic. Staff feels that Mr. Long is very responsive and <br /> addresses the concerns of the staff and the City. <br /> Recommendation: <br /> Approve the proposed contract (contract distributed with the February 3 work session report) <br /> with Kennedy & Graven for legal services effective for services performed on or after January 1, <br /> 1997. <br /> Bruce A. Kessel <br /> 0 Finance Director <br />