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Home My WebLink About13. NB-1 - PROVIDE DIRECTION REGARDING THE POSITION OF THE CITY ATTORNEY1 CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: JANUARY 2, 2018 ITEM NUMBER: NB-1 SUBJECT: PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE PREPARATION OF A DETAILED STAFF REPORT REGARDING THE POSITION OF THE CITY ATTORNEY DATE: DECEMBER 13, 2017 FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENTATION BY: COUNCILMEMBER JOHN B. STEPHENS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: COUNCILMEMBER JOHN B. STEPHENS RECOMMENDATION: Councilmember John Stephens requested that an item be placed on the agenda to discuss the position of the City Attorney and explore options for filling that position. Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction to staff on the preparation of a detailed staff report regarding the City Attorney position. BACKGROUND: Currently in Costa Mesa, the position of the City Attorney is appointed by the City Council and is a contract position. Jones & Mayer has been the contract City Attorney since 2004. According to Section 12 of the contract between Jones & Mayer and the City, “Jones & Mayer shall at all times serve under the terms of this Agreement at the pleasure of the City Council, and the City Council hereby reserves the right to terminate this Agreement at will, with or without cause, by providing written notice to Jones & Mayer. Upon receipt of any termination notice, Jones & Mayer shall cease all services under this Agreement except as may be specifically approved by the City.” Attachment A is a survey of all cities in Orange County and the type of arrangement they have established for city attorney services. The table below is a summary of the survey. Type of City Attorney Service Number of Cities with this Arrangement In-House 3 Elected 1 Hybrid 1 Contract 29 The table shows that of the 34 cities in Orange County there are 29 cities that contract out the city attorney position and three that have an in-house city attorney. The City of Huntington Beach is the only Orange County city with an elected city attorney. The City of Santa Ana has a hybrid city attorney’s office where there is a contract city attorney and in-house deputy city attorneys. 2 ANALYSIS: The options for filling this position are as follows: 1. Elected City Attorney A City Attorney can be an elected position voted by the electorate for a set term. This would require the City Council to authorize this as a ballot measure for an upcoming election. 2. In-House City Attorney The City Council can also designate the City Attorney as a City Employee. The process would be for the City Council to approve a job description and authorize and fund the position. This would be an at-will position and hired by the City Council the same as the City Manager position. 3. Contract City Attorney & Issue a Request for Proposal for Legal Services The City can issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for legal services and continue to maintain the City Attorney as a contract City Attorney. The process would be to have the Council approve the RFP, review the proposals received, conduct interviews and select a firm and designated City Attorney. 4. Continue with the Current Law Firm The City Council can continue with the contract with Jones & Mayer and not make a change at this time. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED: 1. The City Council can direct staff to prepare a more detailed report on the options available for the City Attorney position. 2. The City Council can receive and file this report and maintain the status quo. FISCAL REVIEW: The Table 1 below shows the amount the City has paid Jones & Mayer for legal services for the last five years. Table 1: City of Costa Mesa Legal Services Costs for FY 2012-13 to FY 2016-17 Fiscal Year Total Cost FY 2012-13 $1,386,813 FY 2013-14 $1,721,305 FY 2014-15 $1,940,042 FY 2015-16 $1,718,612 FY 2016-17 $2,535,871 3 By way of comparison, legal services costs for the last five years for five Orange County cities is listed below along with the City of Costa Mesa. This is shown in Table 2 below. Table 2: Legal Services Costs Comparison for FY 2012-13 to FY 2016-17* Fiscal Year Costa Mesa (Contract) Buena Park (Contract) Irvine (Contract) Newport Beach (In-House) Orange (In-House) Tustin (Contract) FY 2012-13 $1,386,813 $234,690 $1,370,666 $1,706,853 $1,146,818 $1,148,322 FY 2013-14 $1,721,305 $325,625 $1,092,863 $1,446,374 $1,263,975 $1,382,309 FY 2014-15 $1,940,042 $446,461 $1,624,327 $1,487,893 $1,134,935 $1,428,462 FY 2015-16 $1,718,612 $663,918 $1,131,621 $1,504,782 $1,300,651 $1,071,190 FY 2016-17 $2,535,871 $914,030 $1,698,049 $1,583,007 $1,971,846 $912,878 *Note: This is a sample list of cities and it is a straight cost comparison of the total amounts paid to the City Attorney in each city for each fiscal year. For the cities of Newport Beach and Orange with in-house City Attorney services, the totals are department budget actuals per fiscal year, including salaries and benefits and maintenance and operations costs. Table 3: Legal Services Hourly Rate Comparison Further cost analysis on Table 3 below shows the general legal services hourly rates for each of those same cities, including Costa Mesa. City Hourly Rate for General Legal Services Costa Mesa $177 Buena Park $200 Irvine $215 Newport Beach No Hourly Rate Specified $237,800 base salary, plus benefits and PERS Orange No Hourly Rate Specified $217,740 base salary, plus benefits and PERS Tustin $218 CONCLUSION: Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction to staff on the preparation of a detailed staff report regarding the City Attorney position. THOMAS R. HATCH TAMARA S. LETOURNEAU City Manager Assistant City Manager Attachment A: Survey of Orange County Cities – City Attorney Position City City Attorney Firm Contract, In House, Elected Aliso Viejo Scott C. Smith Best Best & Krieger Contract Anaheim TBD - Appointment in process In House. Directly appointed by the City Council. Brea James Markman Richards Watson Gershon Contract Buena Park Patrick "Kit" Bobko Richards Watson Gershon Contract Costa Mesa Tom Duarte Jones & Mayer Contract Cypress Anthony Taylor Aleshire & Wynder Contract Dana Point Patrick Munoz Rutan & Tucker Contract Fountain Valley Colin Burns Harper & Burns Contract Fullerton Richard D. Jones Jones & Mayer Contract Garden Grove Omar Sandoval Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart Contract Huntington Beach Michael Gates In House. Elected - 4 year term, not subject to term limits. Irvine Jeffrey Melching Rutan & Tucker Contract La Habra Richard D. Jones Jones & Mayer Contract La Palma Joel Kuperberg Rutan & Tucker Contract Laguna Beach Philip Kohn Rutan & Tucker Contract Laguna Hills Gregory Simonian Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart Contract Laguna Niguel Terry Dixon Terry Dixon, Attorney at Law Contract Laguna Woods David Cosgrove Rutan & Tucker Contract Lake Forest Mal Richardson Best Best & Krieger Contract Los Alamitos Cary Reisman Wallin, Kress, Reisman & Kranitz Contract Mission Viejo Bill Curley Lozano Smith Contract Newport Beach Aaron Harp In House. Directly appointed by the City Council. Orange Wayne Winthers In House. Directly appointed by the City Council. Placentia Christian Bettenhausen Jones & Mayer Contract Rancho Santa Margarita Gregory Simonian Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart Contract San Clemente Scott C. Smith Best Best & Krieger Contract San Juan Capistrano Jeffrey Ballinger Best Best & Krieger Contract Santa Ana Sonia Carvalho Best Best & Krieger Hybrid: Contract City Attorney supervises in house deputy city attorneys and staff. Seal Beach Craig Steele Richards Watson Gershon Contract Stanton Mal Richardson Best Best & Krieger Contract Tustin David Kendig Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart Contract Villa Park Todd Litfin Rutan & Tucker Contract Westminster Richard D. Jones Jones & Mayer Contract Yorba Linda Todd Litfin Rutan & Tucker Contract Orange County City Attorneys ATTACHMENT A