HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 2019-2923 RESOLUTION NO. 2019- Z� 23
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
SUNNY ISLES BEACH,FLORIDA,ELIMINATING BY MARCH 31
THE CITY'S IN HOUSE LEGAL DEPARTMENT IN TANDEM
WITH ISSUANCE OF RFP 19-02-01 SOLICITING PROPOSALS
FROM OUTSIDE LAW FIRMS BY MARCH 4TH; PROVIDING
THE MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER WITH THE AUTHORITY
TO DO ALL THINGS NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE THE
TERMS OF THIS RESOLUTION INCLUDING THE RETENTION
OF LEGAL COUNSEL TO ASSIST IN SAME; PROVIDING FOR
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, former City Attorney, Hans Ottinot, had announced his separation from the
City, effective February 7th; and
WHEREAS, on January 17, 2019,the City Commission accepted his separation and, after
discussion, indicated the Commission's desire to select and appoint an outside law firm as the new
City Attorney; and
WHEREAS, the City, in need of interim legal services and legal advice pending the
appointment of a new City Attorney, by Resolution 2019-2910 appointed Julia Grachova Interim
City Attorney and Lotoya Brown Interim Deputy City Attorney; and
WHEREAS, the City then issued RFP 19-02-01 for Legal Services and responses are due
by March 4, 2019.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SUNNY ISLES BEACH,FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Incorporation of Recitals. All recitals set forth herein are incorporated into this
resolution.
Section 2. Elimination of the In House Legal Services of the City. The City Commission
hereby eliminates the In House Legal Department to be accomplished no later than March 31. All
amounts of compensation time,vacation,and sick leave due to employees of this Department shall
be furnished in accordance with the personnel policies and procedures already adopted and
established by the City.
Section 3. Authorization of Mayor and City Manager. The Mayor and City Manager are
hereby authorized to do all things necessary to effectuate the terms of this Resolution, including
but not limited to, both an after-the-fact ratification of retention of outside legal counsel for this
transition and continuing retention of same through selection of the new City Attorney.
Section 4. Effective Date. This Resolution will be become effective upon adoption.
Page 1 of 2
Reso opposing SB 246 and HB 101
PASSED and ADOPTED this 21st day of Februar 2019.
Geor?°- H. Scholl, Mayor
ATTE.' •
11,1 fr
Mauri *o Betanc i r, CMC, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM
AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
44Limet_ d 'X.10e;.
J ity Attorney
bIwa(( A-• Dh'sy% + ,�rYA
Moved by: \v I Cc t oQ— �VEC (\/
Seconded by: Cf 3(0IEg itSCAlGP.<F-
Vote:
Mayor Scholl ✓ (Yes) _ (No)
Vice Mayor Svechin (Yes) (No)
Commissioner Goldman (Yes) (No)
Commissioner Lama Yes) (No)
Commissioner Viscarra V (Yes) (No)
Page 2 of 2
Reso opposing SB 246 and HB 101
SUNNY �Jir City of Sunny Isles Beach
L A /' 1;� 18070 Collins Avenue
I Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 33160
si .
A9)."-i4.--4;1,0' 46 (305)947-0606 City Hall
c'r►p, sir.�` (305)949-3113 Fax
MEMORANDUM
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: George"Bud" Scholl, Mayor
DATE: 2/21/2019
RE: Elimination of In-House Legal Department
RECOMMENDATION:
The attached resolution is presented for your approval.
REASONS:
After receiving a letter dated January 4, 2019 from our former City
Attorney of his desire to leave the City, two workshops were held on
January 11, 2019 and January 16, 2019 to consider the options on how
best to meet the future legal needs of the City. During the workshops,
one of the options considered was selection of an outside law firm to
serve in the position of City Attorney, which is permitted by the City's
charter. On January 17th at its monthly Commission meeting, a majority
of the City Commission voted to select and appoint an outside law firm
as the new City Attorney.A Request for Proposal (RFP)was prepared
to solicit Legal Services and subsequently issued on February 4th,with
responses from law firms due March 4th. It is our goal to have new
counsel selected and in place by March 31, 2019.
Given that the City Attorney is a charter position, through this resolution,
I am now seeking the Commission's official elimination of the in house
legal department no later than March 31, and to do whatever is
necessary to accomplish this. In that regard and as you recall, all the
events surrounding this matter were unexpected and this created an
immediate need for outside legal counsel and advice. Lynn M.
Dannheisser, our current COMP consultant, was also our founding City
Attorney and she has had over 35 years of experience as a city
199
attorney. Due to the immediacy of the circumstances, her familiarity with
the City, its personnel, and the events surrounding this transition, I
asked her to assist with, among other issues created by the separation,
the preparation of the RFP for new legal counsel and to provide 'Nu)
additional support to our interim City Attorney and interim Deputy City
Attorney. We will need her continuing assistance, along with labor
counsel,to proceed with what we hope will be a seamless transition.
I appreciate the stellar manner in which this transition is being
conducted by this Commission and our staff.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Resolution
Item Number: 10.M.
`qui)
200