HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-17-1999 Contract Attorney Staff reportSARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NO. —°
MEETING DATE: MARCH 17, 1999
ORIGINATING DEPT.: CITY MANAGER
AGENDA ITEM
CITY MANAGER:
DEPT. HEAD:
SUBJECT: Contract City Attorney screening and selection process
RECOMMENDED MOTION(S):
Review recommendations from staff and provide direction as appropriate.
REPORT SUMMARY:
The City has received 14 proposals for contract legal services in response to its solicitation issued
in early February. The Council would now like to perform an initial screening of these proposals
to develop a list of semi-finalist firms to further interview. I suggest that the goal of the Council
be to develop a list of between three and six semi-finalist firms.
To assist with the screening of the proposals, the Council has requested that I develop objective
criteria against which each proposal can be measured. Based on the information the City
requested each respondent firm to provide in its proposal, I am developing such criteria in the
form of a rating/scoring sheet which the Council can use as it reviews each proposal. This will be
provided to you early next week in advance of your meeting.
In the meantime, I am providing you a copy of a memo I requested from the City Attorney
explaining the Council's ability to legally conduct the recruitment/selection process in Closed
Session. If there are any questions about the City Attorney's memo, please contact him directly.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
None at this time.
ADVERTISING, NOTICING AND PUBLIC CONTACT:
Nothing additional.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ACTING ON RECOMMENDED MOTION(S):
N/A.
FOLLOW UP ACTIONS:
Review staff recommendations and provide direction.
ATTACHMENTS:
Memo from City Attorney dated March 12.
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MICHAEL R. NAVE
STEVEN R. MEYERS
ELIZABETH H. SILVER
MICHAEL & RIBACK
KENNETH A WILSON
DAVID W. SKINNER
STEVEN T. MATTAS
MICHAEL F. RODRIQUEZ
CLIFFORD F, CAMPBELL
RICK W. JARVIS
KATHLEEN FAUBION, AICP
ARNE 0, SANDBERG
BENJAMIN P. FAY
DANIEL A MULLER
UANE M. RANDOLPH
PATRICK WHRNELL
KATHARINE G. WELLMAN
JOHN W, TRUXAW
GARY A WATT
JUUE L NARRYMAN
ADAM U. LINDGREN
DIANE 8. ROLEN
CLAIRE 6. BARDOS
KEVIN R. MODEM.
JULIA L BOND
KATHY E. MOUNT
MEYERS, NAVE, RIBACK, SILVER & WILSON
A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
OF COUNSEL
ANDREA J, SALT2MAN
CERTIFIED APPELLATE SPECIALIST
STEFANIE Y. GANDOLFI
TO: City Council
City Manager
City of Saratoga
GATEWAY PLAZA
777 DAVIS STREET, SUITE 300
SAN LEANDRO, CALIFORNIA 94577
TELEPHONE: (510) 351-4300
FACSIMILE: (510) 351-4481
FROM: Michael S. Riback
City Attorney
MEMORANDUM
NORTH RAY OFFICE
555 FIFTH STREET, SUITE 290
SANTA ROSA, CA 96401
TELEPHONE: (707) 545-8009
FACSIMILE: 1707) 545.0817
CENTRAL VALLEY OFFICE
6260 CLAREMONT AVENUE
STOCKTON, CA 96207
TELEPHONE: (209► 961-4080
FACSIMILE: 1209► 961-3009
DATE: March 12, 1999
RE: Legality of Conducting City Attorney Recruitment/Selection Process In
Closed Session
The City Manager has requested an opinion from me regarding the legality of the
City Council conducting the City Attorney recruitment/selection process in closed
sessions.
The Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) governs
meetings conducted by local legislative bodies. Generally, the Act requires that the
public's business be conducted in public. However, the Act also contains specific
exceptions from the open meeting requirements where government has a demonstrated
need for confidentiality. A demonstrated need is deemed to exist where there is an
expressly authorized statutory exception to conducting business in public. In that
instance, business may be conducted in closed sessions.
One of the expressly authorized statutory exceptions to the public meeting
requirement is the "personnel exception" (Section 54957). This exception provides for
closed sessions regarding the "appointment, employment, evaluation of performance,
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TO: City Council, City Manager
FROM: Michael S. Riback, City Attorney
RE: Legality of Conducting City Attorney Recruitment/Selection Process In Closed Session
DATE: March 12, 1999
PAGE: 2
discipline, or dismissal of a public employee...".
The Brown Act defines the term "employee" to include "an officer or an
independent contractor who functions as a officer or an employee ...". (Section 54957)
The City Attorney position in the City of Saratoga is filled by contract. The contract City
Attorney is appointed to the position of City Attorney and functions in the same manner
as a full-time City Attorney. The contract City Attorney position is therefore an
"independent contractor" and falls within the definition of "employee" as used in Section
54957.
The Brown Act therefore expressly authorizes dosed session conduct of the City
Attorney recruitment process (including receiving, reviewing, and screening of proposals,
and interviewing candidates).
Michael S. Riback
City Attorney
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