Agenda - Council Work Session - 05/07/2013

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Couri & Ruppe Legal Services Proposal March 28, 2013 Page 2 of 13 General Experience For the past twelve years, our attorneys have concentrated their practice in municipal law. As a result, we have become very well versed in the multitude of statutes and cases that make up the body of municipal law, and have dealt with most issues that the City of Ramsey is likely to face. This allows us to provide guidance to the City and to answer most questions very quickly without resorting to hours of expensive research. Our attorneys have literally attended thousands of City Council, Planning Commission and Town Board meetings over the years. We understand the importance of providing sound legal advice to the City Council at public meetings and have a keen appreciation for the relationship between the City Council and the public which it is elected to represent. We view our job as providing a range of legal options to the City Council on any given issue and recommending that option which we believe is best suited to achieve the City Council's objectives. We fully understand that the City Council alone sets policy, and that as a component of City Staff, once a decision has been made it is our job to help implement that decision within the confines of the law. Municipal Clients Couri & Ruppe currently represents eight cities on a regular basis: Albertville (since 1991), Avon (since 2006), Blornkest (since 2008), Kingston (since 2004), Nowthen (since 2010), Onamia (since 2007), Rockford (since 2002), and St. Augusta (since its incorporation in 2000). We also represent the City of Howard Lake on special development projects. We represent a number of townships and have represented counties, lake improvement districts, and other governmental entities in the past. Experience with Municipal Clients At Couri & Ruppe we have considerable experience in a number of areas of Municipal Law and litigation, including the following areas: • Contracts — We have drafted and reviewed hundreds of contracts covering virtually all aspects of City government, including construction contracts, professional service contracts, purchase contracts, employment contracts, rental contracts, real estate purchase and sale contracts, wastewater plant management contracts, police service contracts, fire service contracts, and street maintenance contracts.