Agenda Item Title:
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City Council Office recommending the Council extend its Council Legal Services Agreement with Cowdell Law for an additional year
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Presenter:
Dustin Fratto, Council Executive Director
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Description/Background:
In early 2018 the council issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking "Legal Services for the Sandy City Council." Following the RFP process the Council selected Cowdell & Woolley, P.C. (now Cowdell Law) The initial contract lasted 6 months and has been extended on a handful of occasions and through a handful of dates, ultimately expiring June 30, 2022. At the advice of the city purchasing agent a new RFP was issued in the Spring of 2022, which ultimately resulted in the re-selection of Cowdell Law. with a contract term beginning on July 1, 2022 and expiring on June 30, 2023. The contract allows for up to three single year extensions.
In the interest of extending the Council legal services contract with Cowdell Law for an additional year, the Council Executive Director has begun negotiations with Cowdell Law. The results of those negotiations can be seen in the attached contract amendment. The primaries changes outlined in the attached amendment include the following:
1. The contract will be extended for an additional year, expiring on June 30, 2024.
2. The rate being paid to Cowdell Law will increase by an amount that is approximately equal to the COLA and merit increases proposed for non-sworn city employees (~9.75%). Should the employee compensation plan change prior to this contract being signed, staff will update the proposed rate.
The current rate being paid to Cowdell & Woolley is a flat monthly rate of $6500 ($78,000 annually). Due to inflation, increasing costs for goods/labor, Cowdell Law have negotiated an increase consistent with the COLA and merit increased for regular employees. Based upong the currently proposed compensation plan, that would mean the rate for Cowdell Law legal services would increase to a flat monthly rate of $7125 ($85,500 annually) pending Council approval. Council staff expected that the rate may increase for FY24, and preemptively requested additional funding to cover this increase. Assuming council approval, department 1300 and 1310 (Council) will have $87,120 to spend on professional services for FY24.
Using estimated calculations for the amount of time the firm historically spends supporting the council, even at the increased rate of $7125/month, included in the amendment, the council is paying the firm an effective rate of $171.80/hour.
- 40 weeks per year with meeting x 10 hours = 400 hours
- 12 weeks per year w/o meeting x 4.5 hours = 54 hours
- $85,500/454 hours = $188.32 per hour
In the past, Cowdell Law has indicated that their average hourly rates generally fall within the range of $300 - $325. As you can see the effective rate that has been negotiated is still a significant discount.
Fiscal Impact:
The negotiated change in the flat monthly rate will impact the City Council Office budget by an additional $7500 over the contract period (12 months). The council professional services line item for FY23 should have sufficient funds to cover this change.
Further action to be taken:
Should the Council, wish to move forward, staff will have the City Attorney's Office review the amendments to the legal services contract prior to bringing them back for final Council review and approval.
Should the council give future direction to do so, staff will execute the attached legal services agreement. If the council decides against executing the agreement staff recommends a follow up agenda item to further explore other options for council legal services.
This agreement will follow the fiscal year becoming effective on July 1, 2023 and expiring on June 30, 2024. The Council will have the option to renew the agreement for up to two (2) additional twelve (12) month terms, following the contraract expiration on June 30, 2024.
Recommended Action and/or Suggested Motion:
Recommendation
This is an informational report, the council should give staff direction on how to proceed prior to June 30, 2023.