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21 RESOLUTION NO. ---- 2 3 A Resolution calling for the approval of an Agreement and 4 appointment of an Assistant City Attorney to handle 5 matters related to land use, zoning and development. 6 7 WHEREAS, the City Commission wishes to make the best and most efficient use 8 of its legal staff and financial resources in order to advance the numerous projects of the 9 City in the least duplicative, most expeditious and cost-effective manner possible; and 10 11 WHEREAS, the City Commission recognizes that the City Attorney is involved 12 with many issues including critically important lawsuits that require large amounts of time 13 allocation; and 14 15 WHEREAS, in most cities, land use issues consume much of the City Attorney 16 Office time budget; and 17 18 WHEREAS, the City is involved in many land use issues that require consultation 19 with experts in this specialized field of law; and 20 21 WHEREAS, the City's Land Development Code needs to be overhauled due to 22 the fact that it has become burdensome and contradictory due to numerous amendments 23 over the years; and 24 25 WHEREAS, the City Commission has previously authorized the City Attorney to 26 engage outside expert counsel to assist with land use related matters, within the 27 specifically budgeted $100,000 for this purpose in the 2016-17 fiscal year; and 28 29 WHEREAS, the City Charter enables the City Commission, acting on behalf of 30 the City, to hire a "City Attorney and such Assistant City Attorneys as may be necessary"; 31 and 32 33 WHEREAS, the City Commission deems it necessary and in the best interest of 34 the City at this time to appoint an Assistant City Attorney to more efficiently handle legal 35 matters related to land use, zoning, and development. 36 37 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY 38 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT: 39 40 Section 1. The City Commission hereby approves the attached Agreement, 41 appointing Gary M. Held, P.A. as Assistant City Attorney for land use. 42 43 Section 2. Gary M. Held, P.A. shall provide land use related legal services on 44 a part time basis up to the limit of $100,000 during the 2016-17 fiscal year. Gary M. 45 Held, P.A. shall provide legal services to the Planning Board, ERPB, and all land use 46 issues and any other issues at the request or direction of the City Commission. Gary M. 47 Held, P.A. shall advise on, but not be responsible for, ongoing revision of the Land 48 Development Code and the City's Comprehensive Plan. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Section 3. The City Manager and his staff are hereby authorized to issue payment for these legal services without the need for a special resolution for approval, and which shall be processed within 20 days of receipt. Gary M. Held, P.A. shall bill the City directly and be responsible for fitting services into the allotted amount. Total compensation for the fiscal year shall not exceed the amount budgeted for land use each year within the City Attorney's portion of the City Budget, unless specifically authorized in advance by the City Commission. Section 4. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court· of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution. Section 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ th_ day of _____ , 2016. ATTEST: CITY CLERK READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, LANGUAGE, LEGALITY, AND EXECUTION THEREOF: CITY ATTORNEY Page 2 of2 APPROVED: MAYOR COMMISSION VOTE Mayor Stoddard: Vice Mayor Welsh: Commissioner Edmond: Commissioner Harris: Commissioner Liebman: Tel.: 305.962.8900 Fax: 305.386.4930 gary@garyheldlaw.com Mayor Philip Stoddard City of South Miami 6130 Sunset Dr. South Miami, Florida 33143 {gary !M. !J{efr£ .Jtttorney at Law October 13,2016 Gary M. Held, P.A. P.O. Box 161303 Miami, Florida 33116 Retainer Agreement -Revised Dear Mayor Stoddard: Thank you for considering Gary M. Held, P.A., ("fIrm"), to represent the City of South Miami ("Client" or "you") as outside counsel in land use and zoning matters, as assigned and directed by you and accepted by me. This is an engagement letter proposing terms for the fIrm's retention to commence legal representation in this matter. Any matters involving court or non- City administrative or quasi-judicial proceedings will require separate written communication to confIrm the retention. Set forth below is our understanding with respect to the terms of our representation and the legal work that the fIrm and I will perform on behalf of the City. 1. Professional fees. My fees for professional services are based upon actual time spent. My regular billing rate is currently $400 per hour, and I am currently billing another municipality at $250 per hour. I propose to maintain my rate for South Miami at the discounted rate of $200 per hour, in consideration of the continuing need to prepare for and attend various staff and board meetings to accomplish this representation. Rates are effective during a fIscal year and may be adjusted as of the following October 1. You would be contacted in writing to confIrm any adjustments in my rates prior to their effective date. 2. Costs and disbursements. Although professional fees normally make up the majority of our statement, we will also incur costs and disbursements from time to time. Costs and disbursements are expenses that the fIrm pays or incurs during the course of our legal representation. These costs could include (but are not necessarily limited to) such items as computer research, outside copying services, messenger services, travel and parking expenses, and Federal Express or express mail charges. All expenses paid to third parties are billed at actual cost without any markup. In-house photocopying is billed at $0.10 per copy. The fIrm does not charge its clients for routine postage, facsimiles, or email. With respect to any costs or disbursements in excess of $1,000, you may be asked to pay such expenses directly. During the course of our representation, we may but under no Mayor Philip Stoddard City of South Miami October 13,2016 Page 2 circumstances will we be required to advance costs on your behalf. If this fIrm advances any costs, they will be itemized on your statement. 3. Billing. All bills shall be sent by email to salexander@southmiamifl.gov. Billing shall be sent at approximately the end of every month, provided services have been rendered and are unbilled for that month. In addition, when the unbilled statement for services exceeds $5,000 an email shall be sent to salexander@soutlillliamifl.gov. Costs, including travel expense, exceeding $100 for any particular item shall not be incurred without prior written approval by the City Manager. 4. Third-party consultants. experts. etc. We will consult with you and obtain your prior approval before retaining and incurring any liability to a third party consultant, expert witness, or other third party provider of expert or support services. 5. Retainers. As a general practice this firm requires fee and cost retainers whenever a signifIcant amount of attorney time must be devoted to a new project. These retainers will be waived as a courtesy to the City under these circumstances, but may be revisited in the event of any proposed representation involving significant projects or court proceedings. 6. Statements. Our statements for services rendered will list all professional fees due, with a description of the time spent for each day reflected in the billing period. Our statements will also itemize the costs and disbursements that are due along with the fees covered by the statement. Billing for some costs and disbursements may be delayed one or more months because of delays in our own receipt of invoices. We will send our statements to you on a monthly basis. All statements are due and payable upon receipt of the statement. If we do not receive full payment within 20 days of our transmittal of the statement, the statement will be considered to be past due. Please note that we may impose a late charge at the rate of 1 % per month on past due statements. All payments received will first be applied to late charges, then to costs and disbursements, and next to the oldest fees on the statement. If you have any questions regarding our statements, you should bring them to our attention promptly upon receipt of the statement. We encourage discussion of fee and billing issues because we want our charges to be as satisfactory to you as the rest of our representation. 7. Term o[representation. You maintain the right to terminate our representation at any time. If you do so, you would be responsible for the fees and expenses incurred in connection with our representation up to the time of the termination. We reserve the right to withdraw from our representation if, among other things, you should fail to honor the terms of our engagement, fail to cooperate or follow our advice on a matter we consider material, or if any circumstance arises that would in our view render our continuing representation unlawful, Gary 3Vt.. J-fefc{, P . .JI.. Mayor Philip Stoddard City of South Miami October 13,2016 Page 3 unethical, or undesirable. If we elect to withdraw, you would need to take all steps necessary to relieve us of any obligation to perform further, including if appropriate the retention of substitute counsel, and we would be entitled to be paid for all services rendered and costs and expenses incurred through the date of withdrawal. If you have any questions or comments regarding the terms of our engagement, please contact me. Otherwise, if you are in agreement with the terms that we have set forth in this letter, please confIrm this agreement by signing below and returning a copy of this letter with your signature to me. Thank you again for considering selecting this fIrm to provide the City of South Miami with legal representation. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or issues that you would like to discuss. Thank you. Sincerely, GARY M. HELD P.A. ACCEPTED AND AGREED BY:~' By:. ___________ _ Dated: ------------- (jary :M. :J-{efc{, P.5\..