City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: MARCH 7, 2023 FROM: CITY ATTORNEY WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: OUTSIDE COUNSEL EXPENDITURE REPORT
ISSUE:
The issue for City Council consideration is the Outside Counsel Expenditure Report for the period of October 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, as provided in the outside counsel policy approved by City Council on June 16, 2015.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council receives and files the attached report.
BACKGROUND:
In the continuing effort of transparency and accountability, City Council approved the City Attorney’s recommendation of quarterly reporting of the outside counsel expenditures. This report includes the current spending for the prior quarter and the cumulative spending from inception of the matter grouped by law firm name. All closed matters are highlighted and will not be included in the next report. All law firms that are highlighted in orange will be removed from the attorney panel upon the specific matter(s) being completed. It should be noted that bond counsel and contingency payments are not paid through the City’s accounts payable division and therefore must be manually added to information derived from the City’s accounting system. In the case of bond counsel payments, the payments are typically made directly by the bond trustee from bond proceeds. In the case of contingency payments, the payments are typically deducted from the funds received prior to deposit by the City.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT: The retention of experienced outside legal counsel and the accurate tracking of all outside legal counsel expenditures supports all priorities of the City of Riverside’s Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – Riverside is transparent and makes decisions based on sound policy, inclusive community engagement, involvement of City Boards & Commissions, and timely and reliable information. This report of outside legal counsel expenditures supports and aids the making of such decisions.
Equity – Use of outside counsel that specialize in specific areas of the law benefits the entire community by ensuring that such efforts comply with all aspects of the law.
Fiscal Responsibility – The City Attorney’s Office is expending funds in a careful and judicious manner balanced against the need for specialized legal counsel when the circumstances warrant.
Innovation – The retention of specialized legal counsel to provide specialized legal advice supports City innovation efforts by ensuring that such efforts comply with all aspects of the law.
Sustainability & Resiliency – The retention of specialized legal counsel to provide specialized legal advice supports City goals of sustainability and resiliency by ensuring that such efforts comply with all aspects of the law.
FISCAL IMPACT:
FY 20/21
TOTAL
QTR 1
QTR2
QTR3
QTR4
687,692
1,002,666
893,398
628,463
$3,212,219
FY 21/22
QTR 1
QTR 2
QTR 3
QTR4
TOTAL
857,745
553,639.77
398,734.57
175,471.02
$1,985,590.36
FY 22/23
QTR 1
QTR 2
QTR 3
QTR4
TOTAL
218,981.21
235,104.47
-
-
$454,082.68
Prepared by: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachment: Outside Counsel Expenditure Report