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12. Designation of City Attorney CITY of -- .�\ _ 690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 ' MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Don Ashworth, City Manager ' DATE: June 26 , 1989 SUBJ: Selection of City Attorney This office has been debating how best to approach and the form of recommendation to give regarding the selection of a City ' Attorney. I had sent out my previous memorandum regarding the interview process in hopes that Council members who may be interested in the interviews would feel comfortable in joining ' Mr. Dean and myself on June 14th and 19th. Recognizing the busy schedule of Council members, it is understandable that attendance could not be achieved. ' State law establishes the City Attorney position, whether con- sultive or not, as an employee of the City. One primary dif- ference does exist in state law in that the "City Manager ' s ' decision to hire or fire the City Attorney is subject to confir- mation by the City Council" . Minnesota statute is significantly different in regards to other consultive services such as finan- cial advisor or auditor. In those instances the contract is with the City Council and, accordingly, generally occurs only after a specific interview process between the Council and consulting firm. [ Setting a date to interview both the financial advisor ' and City auditor firms will be included on the July 10th agenda. ] In light of the above, this office endorses the recommendation ' and findings of Mr. John Dean. The analysis completed by Mr. Dean was in actuality a joint effort. This office would recom- mend the selection of Grannis, Grannis , Farrell and Knutson as the City Attorney for the City of Chanhassen. As a final note, I would like to concur with Mr. Dean ' s statement that the process has been worthwhile, i .e: - Staff input: Early in the selection process, a staff sur- vey was carried out as to the performance of the City ' Attorney. Specifically, departments were asked to respond to how effective and efficient responses had been from the City Attorney' s office regarding a comprehensive list of 1 t Mayor and City Council I June 26, 1989 Page 2 typical City work functions . Employees were also asked how responses or work assignments could be improved in the future. All of the responses were very positive for Grannis but, more importantly, there were a number of good suggestions which I am planning on inaugurating; and Cost: We previously have not used a retainer system. The proposal process provided an opportunity for Grannis to relook at our account and to determine what form of retainer could best be utilized by the City while still providing a reasonable return for the firm. I would suggest that we accept the retainer proposal which will have the effect of reducing hourly rates from $85 . 00 per hour to a blended rate of $78. 00; and - Role of City Attorney: Almost every City operates dif- , ferently. It was an interesting process to hear each of the attorney firms discuss the role they play in each of the different communities for which they current act as attor- ney. I am not sure as to whether we will be considering implementation of any of these or not, but the process did provide input which may be helpful in how we address < ' issues in the future;and - In-House Attorney: The interview process forced this office into completing an analysis of whether an in-house attorney would be financially feasible or not. Although our overall expenditure level would appear to warrant this type of position, we simply do not have adequate long term funding to carry out this type of position at the current time. 1 I I 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Don Ashworth, Chanhassen City Manager FROM: John Dean DATE: June 21, 1989 RE: Selection of City Attorney ' BACKGROUND In January of this year, the City Council expressed an interest in reviewing ' the contracts of consultants who provide services to the City. Among the consultant contracts which the Council requested be reviewed was the contract for legal services (city attorney). In accordance with the Council's directive, you have caused to be prepared a Request for Proposals (RFP) for city attorney services. Notice of the RFP was published in the League of Minnesota Cities magazine in May. The City received a large number of responses to the notice. Ten proposals were submitted by law ' firms on or before the June 2, 1989, deadline for submittal. Following the application deadline, you and I met to review the Proposals; and to select from among the proposers a number of firms to be called back for oral interviews. ' Ultimately, six firms were selected for interviews. They were: 1. Krass & Monroe Chartered 2. Head, Hempel, Seifert & Vander Weide ' LA- Hoff & Allen 4. Wurst, Pearson, Larson, Underwood & Mertz Grannis, Grannis, Farrell & Knutson, P.A. 6. Albrecht & Albrecht Chartered 1 Interviews were conducted on June 14 and June 19. The format of all of the interviews was the same: MEMORANDUM June 21, 1989 Page 2 a) brief opening remarks from the proposer; b) a series of questions which were generally asked of all proposers; and ' c) brief concluding remarks from the proposer. In conjunction with the selection process, you prepared a staff survey which had two purposes: ' 1. Evaluation of existing legal services; and 2. Evaluation of how legal services might be better supplied. 1 RECOMMENDATION Having carefully reviewed the written proposals and having been present at all of the interviews, it is my recommendation to you that the law firm of Grannis, ' Grannis, Farrell & Knutson, P.A. be selected as the Chanhassen City Attorney. ANALYSIS As you know, I have represented cities and other units of government for over 18 years. My experience in such matters had led me to believe that there are a number of factors which make for good city attorneys and for a successful and ' long term relationship with municipal clients. They include the following: 1. Strong and experienced primary attorneys who have a sound understanding ' of the legal issues facing local government; understand the limits of their role as legal advisor; and a sensitivity to their relationship with the council ' and staff. 2. Legal support within the firm to handle a broad range of issues such as labor, complex land use matters, anti trust, civil rights litigation and similar I issues. 3. A strong eomittment to the practice of municipal law as a significant and 1 important activity of the firm. I ■ ' MEMORANDUM June 21, 1989 Page 3 4. A fee structure for municipal legal services which is within the capacity p � of ' the City to afford. (It should be noted, however, that hourly rates can be somewhat misleading. An experienced municipal attorney can frequently 1 resolve a question in shorter time and charge the City less, even at a higher hourly rate.) ' I have endeavored to consider the various proposers in light of these factors. The attempt to rank the firms which were interviewed was not easy due to the fact that they all were reputable and high quality firms with experience in municipal ' law. However, among the six firms interviewed, in my opinion, three seem to rank the highest based upon application of the above-listed factors. They were: ' 1. Grannis, Grannis, Farrell & Knutson, P.A. 2. Hoff & Allen 3. Krass (Sc Monroe Chartered In the abstract, I would have no difficulty recommending any of these firms ' to serve as your city attorney. All are experienced, have significant municipal ' involvement and would provide legal services at a very reasonable rate. However, one factor stands out prominently and necessitates my recommendation of the ' Grannis firm. The Grannis firm, with Roger Knutson, has been the City's attorney for many years, and has, based upon all of the information provided to me, consistently provided high quality legal services at reasonable and competitive rates. Changing attorneys, even when done for reasons of unsatisfactory performance, is very disruptive. Time and effort which could be directed to other matters must be expended to develop a comfortable working relationship; and there NMI - - 1 MEMORANDUM June 21, 1989 Page 4 is no assurance that a satisfactory relationship will ever be established. The Grannis firm, with Roger Knutson, has established such a relationship over the ' years, they are well known and have an excellent reputation and they compare favorably with all of the other firms interviewed. Consequently, it is my , recommendation to you that you recommend Grannis, Grannis, Farrell BSc Knutson, P.A. for appointment as the Chanhassen City Attorney. RECAPITULATION If the Council ultimately confirms the appointment of the Grannis firm, has this entire selection process been a waste of time? I think not. The process has ' served a number of important objectives. 1. I believe that councils have a duty to their constituencies to periodically review their consultant services to determine whether the services are • effective and reasonably priced. 2. Consultants need to know that their performance will be subject to periodic , evaluations, and that they will be judged against other consultants providing similar services. This will tend to keep costs down and performance high. 3. The interviews with other firms has resulted in a sharing of ideas and approaches which can benefit the relationship which the city attorney has with staff and the council. ' 4. A well organized, thorough and fair process, such as the one which you have conducted , will enhance the reputation of the City. I have received several comments complimenting you on the selection process. ' CH130-007 ' I • 5t-.4 E R Coo,, 4* ALLEN J. WALLiNr' V CARVER COUNTY COURTHOUSE 600 EAST 4TH STREET - BOX 9 Carver County Sheriff / CHASKA, MINNESOTA 55318-2190 I 1_ (612) 448-3435 N E SO�r .7../A, I COUNTY OF CAMQ IJune 14, 1989 I Mr. Donald Ashworth City Administrator City of Chanhassen Chanhassen, MN. 55317 IRe: Jean Shively IDear Don: Please accept the following as a formal letter of recommendation behalf of Jean Shively for the position of City Attorney. Ion I personally have had the opportunity to work with Jean quite closely over the last couple of years. She has reperesented this I department in various civil matters and advises on labor and other management areas. I She has always shown me high professional standards and a willingness to take the extra time to ensure all parties involved in a legal matter fully understand her position. I Jean has demonstrated her ability to work effectively in the government and political process. I have known her to take a stand on issues which are sometimes volatile and contoversial . She relies Ion legal logic and pragmatic wisdom when making a decision. My own sense is that the time is right for the City of Chanhassen to employ in-house legal counsel. With the myriad of legal issues I and related discussion that occur daily the ready access of a staff attorney would be well received by other city officials. It would seem that counsel on stafff would allow you to better formulate I long range policy to deal with growth related issues and labor management. I I beleieve Jean's wide breadth of experience with governmental legal issues and her personal knowledge of the many factors infulencing the change occuring in Chanhassen will allow her to come into this position and quickly add her expertise. I JUN 1 v 1989 I Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunit y p y Em to er L,I I Y OF CHANHASSEN 1 There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that she will be a valuable asset to the City of Chanhassen. Please feel free to give me a call if I can provide any additional information. Sin erel �°° 1 / /dames D. Castleberry Chief Deputy JDC:lm 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I • IMACKALL , CROUNSE & MOORE LAW OFFICES FREDERICK L THORSON RAYMOND C. LALLIER I WINSTON E.MUNSON 1600 T C F TOWER GARY G O'HAGAN CLAY R MOORE KARL K HEINZERLING CONNOR F. SCHMID 121 SOUTH EIGHTH STR EET DAVID J DUDDLESTON LORENS 0 BRYNESTAD THOMAS J LALLIER SIDNEY KAPLAN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55402 MARY LYNN JAHNKE WOODBURY H.ANDREWS SUSAN M SWIIT I GEORGE R A.JOHNSON SHEILA A ENGELMEIER ANDREW R CLARK TELEPHONE 612.333-1341 NED J CARROLL J MICHAEL COLLOTON DEAN L BUSSEY TELECO PIER 333-6173 FRANK A.DVORAK MICHAEL C GLOVER ROBERT D GISVOLD JEFFREY L.SHLOSBERG MARVIN C. INGBER AMY J JOHNSON I H.RICHARD KORSH SHERYL L GOETZINGER TIMOTHY D. MORATZKA BRADLEY J SCHMIDT MARTIN V AYDELOTT DANIEL S. MILLER SHANE H.ANDERSON GLENN R DRURY OF COUNSEL ROBERT 5 LEE FLOYD E NELSON t JAMES T. SWENSON ERIC 0 MADSON JAMES M HANNAH JOHN C UTLEY VA M HI GGINS ARLIN B WAELTI STEPHEN F GRINNELL MICHAEL S FROST STEPHEN P KELLEY June 13, 1 989 HENRY C MACKALL(1883-1979) MICHAEL J DWYER ROBERT M CROUNSE (1893-1974) TIMOTHY M BARNETT PERRY R MOORE 11894-1969) IMr. Don Ashworth, City Manager Chanhassen City Hall I 690 Coulter Street Chanhassen, Minnesota 55317 IDear Mr. Ashworth: Thank you for your cordial response. I We hope you will keep our firm in mind in the event of special problems where our expertise may be sufficiently cost- effective or important to Chanhassen. IIf a future opportunity to bid on the general contract presents itself, we would appreciate the opportunity to again Isubmit a proposal. Very truly yours, IMACKALL, CROUNSE & MOORE I By ei0001.„1„,„,, 7 csii,40.4„/ Connor F. Schmid ICFS:jh I I JUN 16 1989 ICITY.OF CHANHASSEJY . I 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1