City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: September 17, 2024
From: Zaynah Moussa, City Attorney
Department: City Attorney
Submitted by: Eva Muro, Legal Analyst
Subject
Amendment No. 2 to the Attorney Services Agreement with Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP for specialized outside legal services
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Administrator to execute Amendment No. 2 to the Attorney Services Agreement with Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (Burke Williams), in substantially the same form as submitted, to increase the total not-to-exceed amount by an additional $125,000.
Background
The City Attorney’s Office is staffed by the City Attorney and one Legal Analyst. For litigation and specialized legal matters, the City Attorney utilizes the assistance of outside counsel on an as-needed basis. On May 17, 2022, City Council approved an Attorney Services Agreement for litigation and specialized legal services with Burke Williams (Agreement). On September 5, 2023, the City Council approved Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement to increase the total amount not-to-exceed amount by an additional $125,000.
Burke Williams was selected after a November 2021 comprehensive competitive selection (Request for Proposals) process, in accordance with City purchasing procedures and good governance contracting principles. The term of the Agreement between the City and Burke Williams is May 20, 2022 through May 19, 2025. The City Attorney’s Office anticipates conducting a new RFP process for outside legal services in or around November 2024, in compliance with Vernon Municipal Code Section 3.32.220(B) which requires that professional service agreements be rebid every three years unless commercially unreasonable to do so.
The City Attorney’s Office estimates costs for outside legal services each fiscal year and seeks contract approval or amendment consistent with budget allocations approved by City Council. Based on pending legal matters assigned to Burke Williams and projected costs for Fiscal Year 2024-25, staff is requesting authority to enter into Amendment No. 2, which maintains all existing terms under the current Agreement and increases the not-to-exceed amount by $125,000, bringing the total contract amount to $400,000. Pursuant to Section 3.32.030(A), City Council approval is required for the proposed amendment as the total value of the contract exceeds $100,000.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact is not-to-exceed $400,000 in the three-year contract term. Sufficient funds are available in General Fund, City Attorney Department Professional Services – Legal Account No. 011-010-115-529200 for the current fiscal year.
Attachments
1. Burke Williams Amendment No. 2