Summary The City of Alachua has contracted with the law firm of Robert A. Rush, P.A. to provide legal services to the City since mid 2003. Pursuant to the Agreement, attorney Marian B. Rush is designated by the City to be the City Attorney. The City renegotiated a contract with the firm effective Aug. 23, 2010 for a two year extension, expiring Oct. 1, 2012 and then renegotiated a subsequent contract effective Sept. 24, 2012 for a three-year term, expiring Sept. 30, 2015. The City Administration has negotiated with the firm for an extension of services beyond the current expiration.
Since Oct. 1, 2010, the City has divided the legal services with the firm into hourly and retainer. Prior to the Oct. 1, 2010 contract, the City had been charged for all services at an hourly rate. However, since Oct. 1, 2010, customary activities of the City Attorney have been billed as a monthly retainer amount of $10,000, totaling $120,000 annually. Other services have been billed at an hourly rate or on a contingency basis as described in the Agreement and reflected in Schedule “A” to it.
The City Commission held a workshop on June 18, 2012 to discuss the City Attorney contract and directed the City Administration to work with the City Attorney to address concerns and items discussed during the workshop. The City Administration met with the City Attorney to negotiate terms of the agreement to accomplish this goal, which were incorporated into the existing agreement that was approved on Sept. 24, 2012. Such revisions included establishing clear authorization/direction by the City Commission for hourly services to be billed. It is important to note the City Attorney must receive direction from the City Commission in order to begin any hourly litigation services.
As it relates to hourly services, the $175 per hour rate currently charged for the City Attorney has been set since Oct. 1, 2010 (reduced from $185 per hour prior to Oct. 1, 2010). The proposed agreement continues to provide the $175 hourly rate for the City Attorney.
As in all of the prior contracts with Robert A. Rush, P.A., the proposed agreement can be terminated by either the City or the firm upon 30 days written notice from one to the other.
The proposed contract is for a term of three (3) years, extending the agreement to Sept. 30, 2018. Other than ministerial, the only substantive modification to the contract is new language that provides the City Attorney will hold office hours at City Hall for a minimum of four hours per week for the purpose of interacting with and responding to inquiries from staff. This provision was negotiated as part of the retainer services without an increase in fees.
Florida Statute 287.057 governs the procurement of commodities or contractual services. Contracts for legal services, including attorneys, paralegals, expert witnesses, appraisals or mediation services are specifically not subject to the competitive bidding or solicitation requirements of this statute under subsection 287.057 (5)(f) 5 of this statute.
While there is no way to predict the expenses that may be incurred for litigation matters, the proposed agreement continues to guarantee that the City will not expend more than $120,000 annually for general legal matters (retainer services) as outlined in the agreement. All litigation services will continued to be determined by the City Commission on a case by case matter.
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