CC RES 96-016 RESOLUTION APPOINTING A PROSECUTING ATTORNEY FOR THE CITY OF ST. ANTHONY

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FosTER, OpLE, WENTzELL & BREvER, LLC • ATTORNEYS AT LAW Thomas E. Brever Suite 201 Anthony Place Joseph A.Wentzell' 2855 Anthony Lane So. Michael E. Ojile St.Anthony, MN 55418 Robert J. Foster Steven P.Carlson,of Counsel Telephone:(612)789-1331 Fax:(612)789-2109 January 25, 1996 Also Admitted in Texas Mr. Michael Morrison City Administrator City of St. Anthony 3301 Silver Lake Road St. Anthony, Minnesota 55418 Re: Proposal for 1996-97 City Prosecution Services Dear Mike: Pursuant to your request following our meeting with you and Chief Engstrom on January 18, 1996, this correspondence is to serve as our proposal for continuation of city prosecution services for the period of April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997. First of all, on behalf of the firm, I want to express our sincere appreciation for the • opportunity to have served as St. Anthony City Prosecutors for this past year. I also want to personally thank the City for this same opportunity. As a result of our most recent meeting, it is apparent that some changes or adjustments in our services are necessary. The Council, you and Chief Engstrom and his department can be assured that our office will make a more diligent effort to keep the city informed as to all aspects of our prosecutorial duties. Moreover, we will make sure to keep our police officers better informed on the progress of their cases and create a better environment for communication between our office and the department. This past year has served as an opportunity for us to review our procedures and practices. You can be confident that the necessary adjustments will be made to ensure the city receives the quality prosecution services it expects and is entitled to. Since the beginning of the contract period our attorneys have spend a total of 307 hours in the prosecution of St. Anthony matters. These hours do not include the considerable amount of time support staff has also dedicated to city prosecutions. Over the course of the past nine months and based on the current contract rate, we have calculated our effective hourly rate to be slightly more than $70.00 per hour. You may already be aware that our usual hourly rate for private clients is $140.00 per hour. While we certainly do not expect the City to pay a similar rate, we would like to see an • increase in our effective hourly rate. We believe an effect hourly rate closer to $80.00 per hour would more accurately reflect the going rate for prosecution services in the metropolitan area and help ensure the covering of our overhead costs associated with providing these services. This would require increasing our contract rate to somewhere between $2,600.00 to $2,800.00 per month.