TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter D. Lear, CPA, CGMA, City Manager
TITLE: Approve the City Attorney's Office Procurement of Legal and Professional Services from Multiple Firms for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 in the Estimated Budgeted Amount of $201,000.
Recommended Action
Approve the City Attorney's Office procurement of legal and professional services from multiple firms for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 in the estimated budgeted amount of $201,000.
Background Information
To ensure the provision of legal services for the City, the City Attorney's Office will have occasion to utilize outside counsel. The department currently has a total budget of $201,000 for these services, which include but are not limited to: litigation counsel, specialized counsel, the City's hearing officer, arbitrator fees, court reporter fees, and contract counsel hired through recruiting agencies as the need arises. All firms must meet Risk Management and Procurement requirements prior to utilizing their services. Rates for each firm will be provided to Procurement with each blanket request.
While these legal and professional services are exempt from competition per the City Code, it is the City Manager's policy to present all procurements exceeding $100,000 to Commission for approval. Further, this approval would facilitate the efficiency of the City Attorney's Office and the Finance Department.
Strategic Plan
Efficient & Effective Government
Financial Impact
These funds are proposed in the FY 2020-2021 budget for the City Attorney's Office in the following accounts:
Outside legal - non-litigation Account # 001-0200-514.31-02 $ 35,700.00
Outside legal - litigation Account # 001-0200-514.31-08 $150,000.00
Other professional services Account # 001-0200-514.31-05 $ 15,300.00
Procurement
Exempt from procurement by the following sections of the Code of the City of North Port, Florida:
Sec. 2-403(a)(3)o Legal services (i.e., law firms hire...
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