The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutAGENDA REPORT 2024 0605 CCSA REG ITEM 10LCITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting of June 5, 2024 ACTION APPROVED STAFF RECOMMENDATION, INCLUDING ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 2024- 4248. (ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS) BY A. Hurtado. L. Consider a Resolution Approving an Annual Consumer Price Index Adjustment of 3.90% for Rates in the City Attorney Legal Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon. Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 2024-4248, approving a 3.90% CPI adjustment for rates effective July 1, 2024, in the legal services agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon. (Staff: PJ Gagajena, Assistant City Manager) ROLL CALL VOTE REQUIRED Item: 10.L. MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: PJ Gagajena, Assistant City Manager DATE: 06/05/2024 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Consider a Resolution Approving an Annual Consumer Price Index Adjustment of 3.90% for Rates in the City Attorney Legal Services Agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon BACKGROUND/ DISCUSSION On November 7, 2012, the City Council approved a legal services agreement (Agreement) with the firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon (RWG) for City Attorney services. The Agreement sets rates for various types of legal services provided with an annual adjustment consistent with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the April-to-April period for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region to be effective July 1 at the start of each fiscal year. Pursuant to the Agreement, any annual adjustment of 3.0% or more in a one-year period requires prior written approval of the City Council. For this most recent period from April 2023 to April 2024, the CPI adjustment is 3.90%. This increase is consistent with inflationary rates for goods and services such as food and gasoline. Pursuant to the Agreement, the 3.90% adjustment would be subject to City Council review and approval because the total increase is equal to or exceeds 3.0% in a one-year period. Therefore, RWG requests the City Council approve the 3.90% increase effective July 1, 2024. A summary of the proposed new hourly rates effective July 1, 2024, are shown below. Type of Service 2023 Old Rates 2024 New Rates General Services First 20 Hours $221 All Attorneys $230 Excess Hours $262 Associates $272 $281 All Other Attorneys $292 Special Services $254 Associates 1-3 years of legal practice $264 $281 K. Ennis/Z. Heinselman and Associates $292 Item: 10.L. 412 Honorable City Council 06/05/2024 Regular Meeting Page 2 4-7 years of legal practice $348 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $362 $200 Paralegals $208 Type of Service 2023 Old Rates 2024 New Rates Code Enforcement Litigation $262 Associates $272 $301 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $313 General Litigation $254 Associates 1-3 years of legal practice $264 $281 Associates 4-7 years of legal practice $292 $387 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $402 $200 Paralegals $208 Staff has confirmed the CPI adjustment and calculations contained in the correspondence from RWG (Attachment 1). ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it does not constitute a project, as defined by Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines. Therefore, no environmental review is required. FISCAL IMPACT Legal services fees are budgeted in total and not by a specific provider. The proposed FY 2024/25 Budget contains $238,750 for total legal services across all providers and is anticipated to cover the costs related to the RWG CPI increase. COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE This action does not support a specific strategic directive. STAFF RECOMMENDATION (ROLL CALL VOTE REQUIRED) Adopt Resolution No. 2024-____, approving a 3.90% CPI adjustment for rates effective July 1, 2024, in the legal services agreement with Richards, Watson & Gershon. Attachment 1: Correspondence from RWG dated May 23, 2024 Attachment 2: Draft Resolution No. 2024-____ 413 Kevin G. Ennis T 213.626.8484 F 213.626.0078 E kennis@rwglaw.com 350 South Grand Avenue 37th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 rwglaw.com May 23, 2024 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL tbrown@moorparkca.gov Troy Brown City Manager City of Moorpark 799 Moorpark Avenue Moorpark, CA 93021 Re: Annual CPI Adjustment in City Attorney Contract Rates Effective July 1, 2024 that requires City Council Approval Dear Troy, As you may know, the Legal Services Agreement between the City of Moorpark and Richards, Watson & Gershon dated November 16, 2012 (“Agreement”) provides for automatic annual rate increases based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. Specifically, Section 5 of the Agreement provides as follows: 5.Compensation. RWG shall be compensated for the performance of legal services in accordance with the rates for service set forth on Exhibit A, attached to this Agreement and incorporated herein as though set forth in full. The terms of this Agreement and the rates for service shall apply to legal services performed for City Agencies and other entities affiliated with the City that may be established. Commencing July 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the hourly rates set forth on Exhibit A, shall automatically increase by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers; Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County). The calculation shall be made using the month of April in this year over the month of April in the prior year. Any such annual adjustment that equals or exceeds three percent (3%), and any other adjustments in the rates, shall require prior written approval of the City Council. As you may know, in 2018 the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics eliminated the Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside Consumer Price Index and replaced it with the Los Angeles-Long 414 Troy Brown, City Manager City of Moorpark May 23, 2024 Page | 2 Beach-Anaheim Consumer Price Index. We have therefore used the Los Angeles-Long Beach- Anaheim Index for purposes of the rate adjustment. Based on the foregoing, our office prepared a spreadsheet to determine the change in the Consumer Price Index (All Urban consumers for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region) over the applicable time period (April 2023 to April 2024). A copy of the spreadsheet is attached as Attachment A. That spreadsheet shows the CPI changed 3.90% over the applicable time period. As it is more than three percent (3%), the adjustment in rates by 3.90% is not automatic and does require City Council approval. After applying a 3.90% increase to our existing rates, the old rates (up to June 30, 2024) and the new rates (effective July 1, 2024) are shown below: Type of Service 2023 Old Rates 2024 New Rates General Services First 20 Hours $221 All Attorneys $230 Excess Hours $262 Associates $272 $281 All Other Attorneys $292 Special Services $254 Associates 1 – 3 years of legal practice $264 $281 Kevin Ennis/Zachary Heinselman and Associates 4-7 years of legal practice $292 $348 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $362 $200 Paralegals $208 Code Enforcement Litigation $262 Associates $272 $301 Senior attorneys and Shareholders $313 General Litigation $254 Associates 1-3 years of legal practice $264 $281 Associates 4-7 years of legal practice $292 $387 Senior attorneys and Shareholders $402 $200 Paralegals $208 415 Troy Brown, City Manager City of Moorpark May 23, 2024 Page | 3 Also attached as Attachment B, is a revised version of Exhibit A to the Agreement showing the changes in rates in legislative format. Please let me know if you need any clarification or assistance from me in my private capacity in preparing or presenting this to the City Council. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, Kevin G. Ennis Attachments 12853-0001\2966389v3.doc 416 Attachment A Spreadsheet showing CPI Changes 417 CITY OF MOORPARK CPI INCREASE 3.9% ADJUSTMENT IN CONTRACT RATE, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2024 CURRENT CPI NEW RATE INCR.RATE Series Id:$200 3.90%$208 $221 3.90%$230 Series Title:$237 3.90%$246 Area:$254 3.90%$264 Item:$262 3.90%$272 Base Period:$281 3.90%$292 Years:$301 3.90%$313 $348 3.90%$362 $387 3.90%$402 Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2014 239.857 241.059 242.491 242.437 243.362 243.528 243.727 243.556 243.623 243.341 241.753 240.475 2015 239.724 241.297 243.738 243.569 246.093 245.459 247.066 246.328 245.431 245.812 245.711 245.357 2016 247.155 247.113 247.873 248.368 249.554 249.789 249.784 249.700 250.145 251.098 250.185 250.189 2017 252.373 253.815 254.525 254.971 255.674 255.275 256.023 256.739 257.890 258.883 259.135 259.220 2018 261.235 263.012 264.158 265.095 266.148 265.522 266.007 266.665 268.032 269.482 268.560 267.631 2019 269.468 269.608 271.311 273.945 274.479 274.380 274.682 274.579 276.054 278.075 277.239 275.553 2020 277.755 278.657 276.589 275.853 276.842 278.121 279.899 280.116 279.366 279.947 280.102 279.560 2021 280.178 281.347 282.648 285.808 287.620 289.218 290.890 291.333 292.209 294.961 296.790 297.925 2022 301.209 302.164 306.679 308.302 310.649 314.072 313.415 313.608 315.033 317.014 314.633 312.601 2023 318.591 317.571 317.873 320.089 320.514 322.055 321.931 324.050 324.984 324.545 323.341 323.456 2024 326.640 328.232 330.671 332.572 CPI increase 12.483 % of CPI increase 3.90% Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA All items 1982-84=100 2014 to 2024 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) Original Data Value CUURS49ASA0 Not Seasonally Adjusted All items in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted Prepared: 05.20.24 418 Attachment B Revised Exhibit A to Legal Services Agreement 419 Agreement between City of Moorpark and Richards, Watson & Gershon Page A-1 12853-0001\1732960v11.doc Exhibit A – Rates (Effective July 1, 2024) RWG shall be compensated and reimbursed as follows: General Services. For General Services as defined herein, the rate for the first twenty (20) hours of time per month, irrespective of the attorney who performs the work, shall be at $221$230 per hour. General Services include: (i) attendance of the City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney at City Council meetings and other meetings of the boards, committees and commissions of the City and City Agencies as they are directed to attend by the City Council or City Manager; (ii) services by the City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney in assigning, supervising and coordinating the work of other attorneys providing services to the City; (iii) legal services in connection with the enforcement of the municipal code, excluding Code Enforcement Litigation, as defined below; and (iv) all other communications with staff and legal services provided to the City and City Agencies except those services that are within the categories of Special Services, Code Enforcement Litigation, General Litigation or Bond Counsel and Disclosure Counsel Services, as defined below. For General Services in excess of the first twenty (20) hours of time per month, irrespective of the attorney performing the work, the rate shall be at the rate of $281$292 per hour for shareholders and senior attorneys and $262$272 for all other attorneys. Special Services. Special Services includes: (i) real estate matters, labor and employment law services, water and water rights services, and environmental law services, including but not limited to, Hazardous Waste, Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act issues; (ii) services in connection with complex land use matters, which are defined to mean the drafting and negotiation of development agreements and the drafting and negotiation of land use entitlements for land use projects of 100 or more residential units or in excess of three (3) acres; and (iii) any legal services project that the City Manager and the City Attorney agree is anticipated to require more than 20 hours of services on the project. Special Services excludes any legal services in the categories of Code Enforcement Litigation, General Litigation, and Bond Counsel and Disclosure Counsel Services, as defined below, with the exception that review of bond counsel and disclosure counsel work prepared by another firm under separate contract with the City shall be provided as special services. Except for the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney, attorneys providing Special Services shall be billed at the following rates: $254$264 per hour for associates in the first through third year of legal practice $281$292 per hour for associates in the fourth through seventh year of legal practice $348$362 per hour for senior attorneys and shareholders $200$208 per hour for paralegal services With respect to the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney, any services (including travel time) they provide on matters that otherwise would be defined as Special Services, shall be billed as General Services unless the City Manager provides advance 420 Exhibit A to Agreement between City of Moorpark and Richards, Watson & Gershon Page A-2 12853-0001\1732960v11.doc written approval that specific aspects of the City Attorney’s or Assistant City Attorney’s work may be billed as Special Services. Code Enforcement Litigation. For legal services provided in connection with the preparation, filing and litigating civil and criminal lawsuits to enforce the municipal code, including criminal prosecutions complaints, the rate will be a flat blended rate of $301$313 per hour for senior attorneys and shareholders and $262$272 per hour for associates. General Litigation. General Litigation includes the representation of the City, City Agencies, or both, in court and other legal proceedings, including, without limitation, arbitration and mediation, and in administrative proceedings before other bodies, but shall exclude legal services in the category of Code Enforcement Services, as defined above. Litigation shall be provided at the following rates: $254$264 per hour for associates in the first through third year of legal practice $281$292 per hour for associates in the fourth through seventh year of legal practice $387$402 per hour for senior attorneys and shareholders $200$208 per hour for paralegal services Travel Time. Travel time to and from City Hall by the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney will be charged as follows: (1) the first (1st) through third (3rd) round trip each calendar month will not be charged the City; and (2) the fourth (4th) and subsequent round trip in the same calendar month will be charged at the applicable hourly rate for the service. Travel time for attorneys other than the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney to and from City Hall and any travel time to destinations other than City Hall for any attorney, including the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney, will be charged at the applicable hourly rate for the service. Travel time for any attorney not permanently working from the Los Angeles Office will only include the time from the Los Angeles Office to City Hall or other destination and will not include time to and from the attorney’s originating office. Billing Increments and Accounts. Time incurred in providing these services will be billed in increments of one-tenth of an hour to billing accounts set up as specified by City staff. Reimbursable and/or Other Costs. Mileage will be billed at the standard rate established by the IRS for deducting the operating expenses of an automobile used for business purposes. This rate established by the IRS currently is 65.567.0 cents per mile. Copying costs will be charged at 5 cents per page. There will be no charge for facsimiles. All other costs, such as long distance telephone charges, messenger and delivery services, and legal research services will be charged only at the firm’s actual out-of-pocket expenses, with the exception that the City will not be billed for telephone calls within Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The firm will not charge for word processing and similar clerical tasks, and for the costs of first-class postage. 421 Exhibit A to Agreement between City of Moorpark and Richards, Watson & Gershon Page A-3 12853-0001\1732960v11.doc Bond Counsel and Disclosure Counsel Services. Bond counsel services include a review of the proceedings for the issuance and sale of bonds, step-by-step as taken, the preparation of all resolutions and other documents relating to the issuance and sale of the bonds, the drafting of the trust indenture and all closing documents, including the appropriate certificates and receipts, and the drafting of the approving legal opinion regarding the bonds at closing and all other services customarily provided by bond counsel. Our fee for performing services as bond counsel with respect to each series of bonds will be $35,000 plus 0.20 percent of the principal amount from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000, plus 0.10 percent of the principal amount in excess of $10,000,000 up to $35,000,000, plus 0.05 percent of the principal amount of bonds in excess of $35,000,000. For disclosure counsel, our services include the preparation of the official statement and the continuing disclosure agreement. On the basis of the information that is made available to us and without undertaking to determine independently the accuracy, completeness or fairness of that information, we provide a letter at the closing and the delivery of the bonds addressed to the issuer and indicating that nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the official statement contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Our fee for performing services as disclosure counsel with respect to each series of bonds will be the greater of $20,000 or one-half of our bond counsel fee. The proceedings will be structured so that our fees and expenses will be paid or reimbursed from sale proceeds of the bonds. Outside Counsel, Experts and Consultants. In the event that it is necessary in the opinion of the City Attorney or City Council to retain outside legal counsel, professional consultants, experts, or other specialists, and RWG is authorized by the City Council to hire such person or entity, RWG shall pay the actual cost for the services and shall include the direct cost payment amount on RWG’s regular monthly invoice or on a separate invoice, at the direction of the City Manager, for payment by the City. Such outside services shall not be retained by RWG without prior authorization of the City Council. In the event RWG hires outside legal counsel, professional consultants, experts or other specialists, City and City Agencies hereby agree that RWG shall not be liable (including without limitation, vicariously liable) or otherwise responsible for the acts, omissions, negligence, including but not limited to, professional negligence, of those persons or entities. In agreements between RWG and the outside legal counsel, professional consultant, expert or other specialist, RWG shall seek to obtain indemnification of RWG, the City and City Agencies for the acts, omissions, negligence, including but not limited to, professional negligence, of those persons or entities. RWG and City (and City Agencies in appropriate circumstances), shall meet and confer and develop a mutually agreeable form of indemnification to be used in each contract with any outside legal counsel, professional consultants, experts or other specialists. RWG shall obtain the City’s (and City Agency’s in appropriate circumstances) prior written consent to any revisions to a mutually agreed form of indemnification. RWG shall have 422 Exhibit A to Agreement between City of Moorpark and Richards, Watson & Gershon Page A-4 12853-0001\1732960v11.doc no obligation to retain any legal counsel, professional consultant, expert or other specialist that refuses to accept an approved form of indemnity. Shared Research or Legal Opinions. In the event of litigation or an issue that affects more than one client of RWG and RWG proposes to create a pooled billing account for that litigation or work, the City Manager shall be provided with a written statement of the method by which RWG proposes to bill for the service, including the City’s or City Agency’s pro rata share of the time billed to that pooled account.. In the event that the City Manager does not accept the proposal and does not want to be included in the pooled billing account, but subsequently requests that work be done on the matter that was the subject of the proposal, the City shall be billed in accordance with this Agreement and not in accordance with the terms of the pooled billed account. 423 ATTACHMENT 2 RESOLUTION NO. 2024-___ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A 3.90% ANNUAL CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ADJUSTMENT FOR RATES IN THE CITY ATTORNEY LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH RICHARDS, WATSON & GERSHON WHEREAS, the City Council approved a legal services agreement with the firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon (RWG) on November 7, 2012, for the provision of City Attorney services, and that Agreement was fully executed on November 16, 2012; and WHEREAS, said legal services agreement provides that the service rates for City Attorney services shall be adjusted annually on July 1 consistent with the Consumer Price Index (CPI); and WHEREAS, the applicable CPI adjustment for the 2023 – 2024 one-year period is 3.90%; and WHEREAS, said legal services agreement requires City Council approval of any annual adjustment of 3.0% or more. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City Council hereby approves an annual Consumer Price Index adjustment to the rates set forth in the legal services agreement with the firm of Richards, Watson & Gershon by 3.90% effective July 1, 2024, as listed in Exhibit A, attached hereto. SECTION 2. This resolution shall become effective on July 1, 2024. SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution and shall cause a certified resolution to be filed in the book of original resolutions. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5th day of June 2024. ________________________________ Chris R. Enegren, Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Ky Spangler, City Clerk Exhibit A: New Service Rates 424 Resolution No. 2024-___ Page 2 EXHIBIT A: NEW SERVICE RATES Type of Service 2023 Old Rates 2024 New Rates General Services First 20 Hours $221 All Attorneys $230 Excess Hours $262 Associates $272 $281 All Other Attorneys $292 Special Services $254 Associates 1-3 years of legal practice $264 $281 K. Ennis/Z. Heinselman and Associates $292 4-7 years of legal practice $348 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $362 $200 Paralegals $208 Code Enforcement Litigation $262 Associates $272 $301 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $313 General Litigation $254 Associates 1-3 years of legal practice $264 $281 Associates 4-7 years of legal practice $292 $387 Senior Attorneys and Shareholders $402 $200 Paralegals $208 425