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06-01-04 Item 9I RESOLUTION NO. 2 3 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY 4 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, 5 FLORIDA, RELATING TO LEGAL SERVICES; DIRECTING 6 ADMINISTRATION TO INITIATE A REQUEST FOR 7 PROPOSALS FOR LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF 8 SOUTH MIAMI; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 9 10 WHEREAS, not withstanding the excellent representation the City receives from 11 its current legal counsel, it is the desire of the Mayor and City Commission to consider 12 comparing the legal services and costs provided by the City's current provider to those 13 being offered by other eligible firms and or attorneys. 14 15 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY 16 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA; 17 18 Section 1. That the administration is hereby authorized and instructed to 19 initiate a request for proposals for legal services in substantially the same form attached. 20 21 Section 2. That the administration is further instructed to advertise for sealed 22 bids for legal services and to submit the bids received to the City Commission for 23 acceptance or rejection. 24 25 Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval. 26 27 PASSED AND ADOPTED this day of , 2004. 28 29 ATTEST: APPROVED: 30 31 32 CITY CLERK MAYOR 33 34 Commission Vote: 35 READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM: Mayor Russell: 36 Vice Mayor Palmer: 37 Commissioner Wiscombe: 38 CITY ATTORNEY Commissioner Birts- Cooper: 39 Commissioner Sherar: 40 Additions shown by underlining and deletions shown by over- . REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS — CITY ATTORNEY The City of South Miami, an established Florida municipality of approximately 10,700 residents located in Miami Dade County, seeks proposals from qualified attorneys and law firms to act as City Attorney. Proposals should be submitted in accordance with the requirements and guidelines set forth below. The deadline for proposals is [30 days after day on which ad runs]. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS 1. Five (5) copies of the proposal, to be received by [30 days after day on which ad runs] at the following address: City of South Miami, c/o City Clerk's Office, 6130 Sunset Drive, South Miami, Florida 33143, (305) 663 - 6340. 2. The full name of the attorney or firm (Florida Bar membership required), with addresses and telephone and telecopier numbers. 3. A resume of the attorney /firm; and in the case of law firms, resumes of the individual attorney(s) who will work on City matters and a statement identifying the individual attorney who will attend meetings and have primary responsibility for City matters and whether that attorney(s) represents other municipalities. 4. A list of any other attorneys or law firms with whom the attorney /firm has a contractual relationship or other business affiliation; and, in the case of law firms, a list of all attorneys in the firm. 5. To be eligible to respond to this RFP, the proposing attorney or firm must demonstrate s /he can perform the scope of services described in the guidelines. In this regard, the respondent shall send a cover letter outlining the scope of services available from the attorney/firm (see Guidelines below); the relevant experience and expertise of the attorney /firm; and the form and amount of the compensation requested, including fee structure, method of billing, costs and the charge for costs which will be separately billed, all charges which are not included in the basic fee, including paralegal, faxes, photocopies or other charges, billing period and whether billing will be itemized. Please include a description of the attorney /firm's professional liability insurance coverage. -6. A disclosure of the following: (a) any relationships between the attorney or attorneys of the firm and any Commission member, his /her spouse, or family: (b) any relationship between attorney or attorneys of the firm and any business or entity owned by a Commission member of their family or in which a Commission member or their family has or had an interest; (c) any other information concerning any relationships between the attorney or attorneys of the firm and any Commission member which the Applicant deems might be relevant to the Commission's consideration; (d) such other governmental or quasi - governmental entities which are represented by the attorney or the attorneys of the firm, and the nature of the representation in such matters; and (e) a "conflict list" if same is maintained by the attorney or the firm. GUIDELINES 1. Under the City Charter, the Commission may appoint a City Attorney, who shall be an officer of the City who shall serve at the pleasure of the Commission. The City Attorney and such Assistant City Attorneys as may be necessary who shall act as the legal advisor for the municipality and all of its officers in matters relating to their official powers and duties. The City Attorney shall be a lawyer of at least five years practice in the courts of the State of Florida immediately preceding the tine of his or her appointment. He or she shall prepare or review all ordinances, resolutions, contracts, bonds and other written instruments in which the municipality is concerned and shall endorse on each his or her approval of the form, language and execution thereof. When required by the Commission; he or she shall prosecute and defend, for and in behalf the City, all complaints, suits, and controversies in which the City is a party, before any court or other legally constituted tribunal; he or she shall render such opinions on legal matters affecting the City as the Commission may direct; must agree to attend all required meetings and enter into such agreements as required by Commission as a condition of employment; and he or she shall perform such other professional duties as may be required by ordinance of resolution of the Commission. 2. The City Attorney is expected to provide the following minimum legal services: (a) Attendance at all meetings of the City Commission, including special and emergency meetings, and all required committee or agency meetings; (b) Preparation of resolutions and ordinances; (c) Preparation of legal opinions; (d) Preparation of contracts, employment agreements and other documentation; (e) Expert advice on local government law and procedures (including, without limitation; Chapter 166 Fla. Stat. Public Records Act, appropriations and procurement laws, competitive bidding law, Ethics Code for Public Officials, conflicts of interest and parliamentary procedure); (f) Advice on general questions of zoning, land use, labor, utilities; municipal finance litigation and other matters; and (g) Liaison with outside counsel, with required. Applicants who offer a scope of services greater than the minimum requirements should so indicate, in response to paragraph 6 above. 3. The City Attorney, whether an individual or a law firm, will be subject to strict conflict of interest standards to be developed by the Commission, in addition to existing law or ethnical guidelines. Among other things, the City Attorney will not be permitted to represent any client before the Commission or any Committee, department or agency of the City, and will agree not to undertake any other private representation which might create a conflict of interest with the City. The City Attorney may not represent any Commission member, individually, or, any member of their family or any business in which the Commission member of their family has an interest. 4. All proposals received will be considered public records. 5. The City will consider all proposals using such criteria as the Commission may adopt in its sole discretion. The attorney or law firm selected will be required to enter into a formal agreement with the City, prior to the execution of which the City shall reserve all rights, including the right to change its selection.