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RATWIK, ROSZAK & MALONEY <br />Please describe how you arrived at the retainer amount given in your proposal. <br />Joe Langel, Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney (RRM), stated the retainer is the same amount as <br />proposed by the current attorney. He explained they looked at the hours, meetings, and <br />information available on line and think, given the work involved, they can do it within that dollar <br />figure. He noted the City usually asks for a four -year retainer and while it is tough to do that, <br />they could do it for a couple of years and see where they are at. He explained that retainers are <br />tricky because while you can know what the last person was doing, they may do it differently. <br />Mr. Langel stated they are concerned with doing it timely, which may require putting more <br />people on it and spending more time. Mr. Langel stated he thinks they are good at $48,000. <br />Why is your retainer for Red Wing quite a bit higher than proposed for Ramsey? <br />Mr. Langel stated he and Mr. Quiring are not involved in negotiating that retainer and for <br />whatever reason, Red Wing is a high consumer of legal services. He explained their effective <br />rate on that client was pretty low even though the retainer amount was high, noting Red Wing <br />has a lot of unique challenges, such as a Port Authority, a nuclear plant, and an airport across the <br />river in Wisconsin. Mr. Langel stated Red Wing consumes a lot of legal services and that <br />retainer is a lot higher than being proposed in Ramsey because their staff calls for everything. <br />Mr. Langel stated with Lino Lakes, which has a larger population than Red Wing, would be <br />more in common with Ramsey. He noted cities like Ramsey and Lino Lakes have professional <br />staff and do not need to be "babysat" by a lawyer. Mr. Langel stated he is not concerned with <br />the discrepancy in the Red Wing retainer. <br />What parts of the retainer, if any, would you recommend to be revised to give savings to the <br />City? <br />Mr. Langel stated it will always cost the most to have an attorney attend meetings. In Lino <br />Lakes, they started getting away from having the City Attorney attend Council meetings to save <br />money but a lot depends on staff's level of comfort. He acknowledged that a face -to -face <br />discussion is different than a telephone call and more can be accomplished. Mr. Langel stated he <br />spoke with Lino Lakes about attending staff meetings every once in a while because there is a lot <br />"hanging in the air." He had suggested attending on a monthly basis to get everyone on the same <br />page. Mr. Langel stated you have to "play it by ear" but that is the single biggest issue that could <br />result in savings. He reviewed the list of Ramsey meetings they are expected to attend in <br />addition to having office hours. <br />Mr. Langel stated from the current retainer, they did not make a distinction in personnel issues <br />that go more than three hours. In addition, legal research and opinions that go beyond eight <br />hours are also in the retainer. <br />City Council Work Session / June 4, 2013 <br />Page 6 of 22 <br />