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CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
DATE: FEBRUARY 17, 2016 NEW BUSINESS
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION ON CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES
FROM: David H. Ready, City Manager
BY: Chief of Staff/City Clerk
SUMMARY
At the February 3, 2016, City Council meeting, Mayor Moon requested the City Manager
place a discussion item on the next regular meeting agenda to discuss in-house vs.
contracted city attorney services.
RECOMMENDATION:
Direct Staff as appropriate.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
City of Palm Springs Charter Section 407 requires the City Council appoint a city
attorney, and Section 408 authorizes the City Council to enter into a contract with the
City Attorney.
In 2005, the City Council, after an RFP process, appointed Douglas C. Holland as the
City Attorney, and entered into a contract with the law firm of Woodruff, Spradlin &
Smart for legal services.'
The current agreement provides a monthly retainer for the services of
Douglas C. Holland in the amount of $25,679, and requires the City Attorney to be on-
site, 3-days per week for transactional and general services. The billing rate for a
partner or associate attorney and all other work performed by attorneys is $206 per
hour, and the rate for legal assistants is $133 per hour, along with reimbursement of
' The Agreement provides an annual CPI increase not to exceed four (4) percent per year. Section 9
provides the contract remains in effect until terminated by either party, and the City may terminate the
contract at any time without cause. The current agreement is posted on the City's website, under City
Attorney.
ITEM NO.�_
City Council Staff Report
February 17, 2016-- Page 2
City Attorney Services
costs. The City, however, is not charged for clerical staff, and as a cost containment
measure, the City is not charged for travel time or mileage.
While the vast majority of the city attorney work is performed by Woodruff, Spradlin &
Smart at the above rates, the City retains the services of other law firms for specialty
work. Other firms have included the following and their respective billing rates for
partner:
Liebert, Cassidy & Whitmore (Labor Negotiations) $325 per hour
Best, Best & Krieger(RDA) $325 per hour
Kane, Ballmer & Berkman (RDA) $350 per hour
Below are total costs for legal services for this fiscal year to date and the previous three
fiscal years.
FY 2012-13 FY 2013-14 FY 2014-15 YTD 2015-16
Woodruff(General and Transactional) $ 778,528 $ 765,356 $ 931,720 $ 446,601
Woodruff(Litigation) $ 679,784 $ 1,520,801 $ 1,737,697 $ 654,342
All other Legal Firms $ 116,602 $ 366,866 $ 585,120 $ 140,100
TOTAL LEGAL COSTS $ 1,574,914 $ 2,653,023 $ 3,254,537 $ 1,241,043
The annual costs for legal services are not entirely predictable; due to the number and
severity of any claim or litigation filed, and the number and complexity of special
projects required by the City Council or City Staff, in any given year.
If the City Council were to consider transitioning to an in-house, city employee city
attorney, an organizational model would likely be as follows:
Salary Benefits Total
City Attorney $ 240,000 $ 96,000 $ 336,000
Assistant City Attorney $ 150,000 $ 60,000 $ 210,000
Legal Assistant/Paralegal $ 90,000 $ 36,000 $ 126,000
Administrative Assistant $ 75,000 $ 30,000 $ 105,000
Other Costs (described below) $ 100,000
Contract Svc. — Specialty Labor/Personnel $ 90,000
TOTAL ESTIMATED COSTS $ 967,000
2 City Staff has not performed a comprehensive compensation/benefits study for the position of city
attorney or other positions. The estimated city attorney salary is based on the median salary of the
benchmark cities: Burbank, Downey, Riverside, and Escondido.
112
City Council Staff Report
February 17, 2016 -- Page 3
City Attorney Services
Cost analysis for comparison would be the costs for the Woodruff general and
transactional services (i.e. $931 ,720 for FY 2014-15) to the total estimated costs for in-
house city attorney department (i.e. $967,000), as all other legal services costs such as
litigation and specialized legal services are assumed to continue to be contracted legal
services and not performed by in-house city attorney staff.
Such an organizational model may include the city attorney office be responsible for:
City Council and Staff general and transactional services, contract management of
outside legal counsel, planning, planning commission, code enforcement, general
personnel, airport, claims, etc.
The City would still require outside legal counsel for labor negotiations, litigation
services, and specialty attorneys, with costs noted above. Additionally, it is unknown if
the City could retain the competitive hourly rate of $206 per hour for litigation, currently
paid pursuant to the current comprehensive legal services contract with Woodruff,
Spradlin & Smart.
Other costs such as supplies, equipment online library and legal research databases,
memberships, training and temporary staff for leave, etc., is estimated at $100,000 per
year. In addition to salary, benefits, and other costs, the city would need to provide
office space for the City Attorney and Departmental Staff and all related overhead costs
and office start-up costs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The costs of legal services are discussed above. No fiscal impact at this time relating
specifically to this discussion item.
MES THOMPSON DAVID H. READY, h.D.
Chief of Staff/City Clerk City Manager
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