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, and then for a three-year term, expiring Sept. 30, 2018. The City Administration has negotiated with the firm for an extension of services beyond the current expiration in order to provide a proposed contract to the City Commission for consideration.
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 Exhibit“A” to it.
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 five (5) years, extending the agreement to Sept. 30, 2023. There are no material changes proposed in the five-year extension.
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. | | |