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Home My WebLink About11-27-2018 Item 06 - Contract Amendment - Hanley & Fleishman Meeting Date: 11/27/2018 FROM: Christine Dietrick, City Attorney Prepared by: Kelly White, Legal Assistant/Paralegal SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR CONTRACT DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES RECOMMENDATION Authorize the City Attorney to execute a Second Amendme nt to the Legal Services Agreement with the law firm of Hanley and Fleishman, LLP (Original Agreement effective April 1, 2017, First Amendment executed June 6, 2017) adding an additional 12 months to the agreement and increasing the not -to-exceed amount by $72,000 to $180,000. DISCUSSION Background On June 6, 2017 the City Council authorized (Attachment A) the City Attorney to execute a First Amendment to a month-to-month agreement (Attachment B) with the law firm Hanley and Fleishman, LLP for code enforcement, development review and other general municipal law support services to facilitate the efficient and responsive operation of the office, as described in the agreement. Over the 18 months of the agreement, Hanley and Fleishman have proven to be a co st-effective resource. Most notably taking on the filing of misdemeanor criminal citations and making numerous court appearances every week in support of those filings. This has freed regular staff of the department to work on other issues, as envisioned b y Council when they approved the 2016-17 Budget and the Organizational Efficiency, Effectiveness & Transparency Initiative SOPC which gave the department the funding to support the agreement. Contract Amendment Because of their performance to date, the City Attorney recommends extending the term of the current month-to-month agreement by twelve months (to October 31, 2019) and to increase the not -to-exceed amount to $180,000. The City Attorney recommends this amendment (Attachment C) as a means to accomplish the goals for which the department has been given contract and staffing budget. The contract remains terminable for convenience or financial need with 30 days’ notice. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to t he recommended action in this report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15278. Item 6 Packet Pg. 191 FISCAL IMPACT Funding for this work was approved as part of the 2017-19 Financial Plan. Currently, there is $72,000 available to support this request . The overall budget of the agreement will not exceed $180,000. ALTERNATIVE Do not authorize the second amendment to the Agreement, the consequences of which would be to limit the department’s ability to efficiently accomplish the code enforcement, development review and other general municipal law support services expected of it, including the timely filing of misdemeanor criminal citations and related court appearances. Attachments: a - June 6, 2017 Council Agenda Item - Staff Report b - 20170606_FirstAmend-Agreement_HanleyFleishman_DeputyCA c - SecondAmend-Agreement_HanleyFleishman_DeputyCA Item 6 Packet Pg. 192 Meeting Date: 6/6/2017 FROM: Christine Dietrick, City Attorney SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY CONTRACT RECOMMENDATION Authorize the City Attorney to execute a First Amendment to the Legal Services Agreement with the law firm of Hanley and Fleishman, LLP (Original Agreement effective April 1, 2017) adding a term of 18 months and a not to exceed amount of $108,000. DISCUSSION Background The City Attorney’s Department was recently authorized (attachment C) to execute a month-to- month agreement (attachment A) with the law firm Hanley and Fleishman, LLP for code enforcement, development review and other general municipal law support services to facilitate the efficient and responsive operation of the office, as described in the attached contract. After evaluating several different service delivery alternatives, contracting for these services was determined by the City Attorney to be the most efficient use of funds budgeted to the department to accomplish the goals of improved legal support for code enforcement, development review and a broad range of issues, while additionally freeing up in-house time to provide greater legal support and responsiveness on the most significant City projects, pending litigation, election issues, and Council and advisory body advice and support. Additionally, as part of the 2016-17 Budget, Council approved the Organizational Efficiency, Effectiveness & Transparency Initiative SOPC (attachment D), which included $150,000 in additional temporary staffing dollars each fiscal year, for three years, for legal and administrative support in the City Attorney’s Department in addition to its three full-time, permanent employees to address significant increases of volume and complexity of legal services requested of the office over the past several years. Efficient use of these dollars to date to fund the salaries of a Temporary, part-time Assistant City Attorney at a significantly discounted hourly rate as compared to market attorney rates, and a part-time, contract Administrative Assistant I, has left surplus budget which the City Attorney believes would be best used to further fund the agreement with Hanley and Fleishman; significantly enhancing the objective of supporting the varied legal needs of the City in a cost effective and flexible manner. Contract Amendment In order to ensure the continued ability of the department to fund the current month-to-month agreement with Hanley and Fleishman, the addition of a time frame (18 months) and not-to- exceed amount ($108,000) was deemed necessary. The City Attorney recommends this amendment (attachment B) as a means to accomplish the goals for which the department has been given contract and staffing budget. The contract remains terminable for convenience or Item 6 Packet Pg. 193 financial need with 30 days’ notice. FISCAL IMPACT With funds already approved in the current budget (Fiscal Year 2016-17), and included in the proposed two-year financial plan (2017-19), there is no impact of this request. ALTERNATIVES Do not authorize signature of the First Amendment to the Agreement, the consequences of which would be to limit the department’s ability to use the funds in its budget to accomplish the efficiency and legal support for which it was intended. Attachments: a - Agreement Hanley Deputy City Attorney b - First Amendment Hanley Fleishman c - City Manager Report Hanley Contract Deputy City Attorney d - 2016-17 Efficiency SOPC Item 6 Packet Pg. 194 Item 6 Packet Pg. 195 Item 6 Packet Pg. 196 Item 6 Packet Pg. 197 Item 6 Packet Pg. 198 Item 6 Packet Pg. 199 SECOND AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT This Second Amendment to Agreement is made and entered in the City of San Luis Obispo on November 1, 2018, by and between the CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, a municipal corporation, herein after referred to as City, and Hanley and Fleishman, LLP, a limited liability partnership, hereinafter referred to as Consultant. W I T N E S S E T H: WHEREAS, on April 1, 2017, the City entered into an Agreement with Consultant for professional legal services to serve as a contract deputy city attorney; and WHEREAS, on June 6, 2017, the parties executed a First Amendment to said Agreement; and WHEREAS, the City has received excellent and efficient service to date from Consultant under said Agreement; and WHEREAS, the parties seek to modify certain provisions of the Agreement between them. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of their mutual promises, obligations and covenants hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows: 1. The “COMPENSATION.” Section is modified to read “…a sum not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) per month, or $180,000 over the term of the Agreement. 2. The last sentence of the “TERM AND TERMINATION.” Section is modified to read “This Agreement shall continue until termination, until October 31, 2019, or until modified by written Agreement of the parties.” 3. All other terms and conditions of the Agreement, as amended hereby, remain in full force and effect. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be executed the day and year first above written. CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO By:________________________________ J. Christine Dietrick, City Attorney Signed on __________________________ HANLEY AND FLEISHMAN, LLP By: ________________________________ Roy A. Hanley Its: Item 6 Packet Pg. 200