Minutes - Council Work Session - 06/04/2013

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Ratwik, Rozak & Maloney $48,000 per year plus $145 /hour for exclusions And $185 per hour work billed third party It was noted the City's current law firm is retained and has proposed at $48,000 per year and the exclusions are billed at $110 per hour. Additional work has averaged somewhat less than $20,000 per year over the retainer. Abatements and forfeitures are also covered under the current contract but would not be covered under the other two proposals. It was also noted that under the proposals of the two finalists, the City's expenditures for legal fees may increase $5,000 to $16,000 per year, an amount that would need to be added to future annual budgets. Councilmember Backous noted in Mr. Couri's letter, he indicated he thought the current law firm was behind, and he would like to better understand the intent of that statement. He asked whether support staff is covered in the retainer. City Administrator Ulrich stated a dollar amount is included for paralegal and secretarial assistance and the larger firm would have more staff to cover that work. Councilmember Backous asked if that support staff would be dedicated to Ramsey. City Administrator Ulrich stated he was unsure and added a question to address that issue. Councilmember Kuzma stated it was indicated that Couri & Ruppe represent the City of Nowthen and even though it was indicated there would be no conflicts, he would like a question to touch upon that issue. City Administrator Ulrich agreed, noting it may be a factor in the Council's decision. He stated he spoke to the Nowthen Clerk who indicated they had no issue with the firm also representing Ramsey. City Administrator Ulrich stated he called references and found both firms were top notch, and ranked in the 8 -10 category in all cases. Both firms were found to be responsive, dedicated to municipal law, and the difference is in RRM being significantly larger with eleven attorneys and Couri & Ruppe having two attorneys. City Administrator Ulrich stated both firms would do a good job with RRM's relevant experience being that of Lino Lakes and Couri & Ruppe's relevant experience being that of Albertville. Councilmember Backous asked if both firms provided a list of clients. City Administrator Ulrich stated each firm provided a list of about six clients. In addition, the Police Chief made contacts with Lino Lakes' staff. He stated it was mentioned that RRM does not spend a lot of time in Lino Lakes and does most of their work with e -mail and telephone correspondence. He stated they attend two to four Council meetings per year. Councilmember Tossey arrived at 6:11 p.m. Mayor Strommen noted that will be a change for the Council as well as staff in how they interact with the City Attorney and asked if that can be implemented. City Council Work Session / June 4, 2013 Page 2 of 22