REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
CITY OF YPSILANTI
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI
FOR
ATTORNEY SERVICES
CITY OF YPSILANTI LEGAL OFFICER
ISSUED BY:
April L. McGrath, Assistant City Manager
City of Ypsilanti
1 S. Huron Street
Ypsilanti, Mi 48197
(734) 483-7290
amcgrath@cityofypsilanti.com
March 3, 2008
PROPOSAL DUE DATE
March 28, 2008
3:00pm EST
Introduction
The City of Ypsilanti is requesting proposals (RFP) from qualified firms of attorneys licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan to act as legal officer for the city and perform legal services as set out in the City Charter, Section 4.07 and this RFP.
The City of Ypsilanti is a Michigan Home Rule City. The City has a City Charter and City Code of Ordinances. The City Charter provides for a city manager form of government. The City Council is comprised of a mayor elected at large, and six council members elected by ward. The city has a population of 22,000 and more residents. The City Charter provides for a legal officer as follows:
Legal officer.
There shall be a legal officer of the City appointed by the City Manager subject to confirmation by the City Council and not subject to the requirements of the merit system. The legal officer shall serve as chief legal adviser to the Council, the Manager, and all City departments, offices, and agencies, shall represent the City in all legal proceedings, and shall perform any other duties prescribed by State law, by this Charter, by ordinance, or by resolution.
The successful applicant will start as Ypsilanti City Attorney, legal officer at the beginning of the City 2008-2009 fiscal year starting July 1, 2008. The contract will be for three years with the option of a one or two year extension if agreed upon by both parties.
Firms are not required to submit proposals for all legal areas, selections of interests will be accepted.
Attorney services shall include the following:
General legal services:
1. Provide general legal advice and support to the City Manager, City Council and Department Heads. The city legal officer works closely with the city manager.
2. Prepare and provide formal and informal written opinions and advice to the City Manager, City Council, Department Heads, Boards and Commissions as required.
3. Provide training to Department Heads, Boards and Commissions as required.
4. Research and draft ordinances and resolutions as needed.
5. Attend all City Council meetings, Department Head meetings and goal setting meetings. Review agendas in advance and be prepared to provide legal advice for any questions during the meetings. Act as meeting parliamentarian.
6. Attend Board and Commission meetings and neighborhood meetings as other citizen meetings as required.
7. Act as Freedom of Information Coordinator and answer Freedom of Information requests as needed. Be familiar with and give opinions and direction with regard to the Michigan Open Meetings act, Freedom of Information Act and Home Rule City Act.
8. Provide a monthly written report summarizing the actions completed and on-going concerns of the City. Reflect the nature of all actions taken during the month and specify the departments served personnel within the department contacted, council members advised and time spent.
9. Review and advise City on all Contracts.
10. Provide own library and continuing education.
11. Billed hours on this section in 2006/2007 were hours 1386.
City Prosecution legal service:
1. Provide legal and support services for the City in 14A-2 District Court to prosecute all city ordinance violations and civil infractions. Organize and maintain all police reports, tickets, complaints, related correspondence, pleadings, etc. Review police reports, tickets and other materials and authorize complaints and warrants as required. Review facts and prepare administrative search warrants as necessary. Appear in court for all necessary pre-trial hearings and motions. Provide discovery for defendants and defense counsel. Prepare for and conduct arraignments/pretrials, motion hearings, evidentiary hearings, formal hearings, bench trials settlement conferences, jury selection and jury trials as needed. Research and answer all motions and briefs. Review discovery and FOIA requests regarding city cases.
2. Provide legal services to defend the City in all 14A-2 court cases.
3. Act as chair of monthly Bench-Bar meetings. Keep records and assign hosts. Prepare monthly agendas.
4. Manage the city court docket and receive telephone calls and requests from defendants and attorneys, discuss cases, approve or disapprove requests for adjournments and other matters.
5. Attend building enforcement meetings where City enforcement issues are addressed as part of a team approach including building, fire, police, planning and attorneys.
6. Presenter at John’s School (All males who are convicted of soliciting a prostitute are ordered to attend the John’s school).
7. Train police officers as needed (Minimally, each new officer receives training within the first two weeks of their employment).
8. Street Outreach Court – Review, telephone conferences, and court appearances as necessary. The Street Outreach Court is an alternative court located downtown Ann Arbor which assists needy persons in getting back on track. All participants (judges, staff, prosecutors, etc) are volunteers. The City is not billed for the word done by the City Attorney’s office in participating in the Street Outreach Court although the cases would otherwise be 14A-2 cases.
9. Billed hours on this section in 2006/2007 were 1211 hours.
Labor Relations:
1. Act as legal representative to the city for labor negotiations.
2. Represent the City in grievance and Act 312 Arbitrations
3. Advise the City Manager and staff on all labor related matters.
4. Billed hours on this section in 2006/2007 were 462 hours.
Litigation.
1. Represent the City in all non 14A-2 litigation and monitor insurance cases.
2. Represent the City in all appeals from District to Circuit Court and in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
3. Represent the City in all administrative tribunals and the tax tribunal.
4. Represent the city in all arbitration matters.
5. Represent the City in all pre-litigation and matters involving attorneys.
6. Billed hours for Litigation services 2006/2007 were 1590 hours.
Proposal.
Applicants must furnish a sealed written proposal for legal services in accordance with this RFP with 5 copies and an electronic copy on disc delivered with the proposal.
Applicants must deliver the proposal and copies to the office of Ypsilanti City Clerk, 1 South Huron Street not later than 3:00pm EST on the 28th day of March, 2008. Applicant is responsible to have the city clerk date stamp the proposal envelope. Proposals must be in the City Clerk’s office on the date and time specified and late proposals will not be considered.
Post marks will not be considered.
Proposal must be signed by responsible attorney and must be valid for 120 days.
In the proposal please provide the following information:
1. Name, address, telephone number, fax number and email address of the firm. Length of time at present location.
2. Name, email and telephone number of firm contact attorney.
3. Martindale Hubbell rating of the firm.
4. Number of years the firm has been in practice.
5. Brief history of the firm and practice areas.
6. Experience of the firm in representing municipalities.
a. indicate any continuing legal education in the past two years relevant to municipal law.
7. Municipalities currently represented.
8. Municipalities represented in the past.
9. Experience of the firm in labor law.
10. Court experience of firm
11. Location of firm offices
a. proximity to Ypsilanti City Hall (distance)
b. travel time from firm office to City Hall
c. description of office facilities with description of number of offices and conference rooms available for consultation, depositions, meetings, etc.
d. description of firm computer capability.
e. describe name of word processing and other programs used.
12. Firm composition.
a. names of attorneys
b. number of support staff
13. Firm practice. List any features of your firm that would recommend your firm to provide legal services to the City of Ypsilanti.
14. Resumes. Attach a current resume for each firm attorney.
15. Insurance. Does the firm have mal-practice insurance? If so attach a copy of the declaration page.
16. Discipline. Indicate for each firm attorney if there has ever been any disciplinary case against the attorney that resulted in a finding of misconduct.
a. Indicate whether the license to practice law of any firm attorney has ever been suspended. Provide details of dates and causes.
17. Conflict of interest. Indicate if the applicant firm has ever brought or threatened legal action against the city of Ypsilanti. If so indicate when, the nature of the proceedings and the result.
a. indicate if the applicant firm represents any client with a contract with the city. If so indicate the party and nature of the contract.
b. indicate if you have any relative working for the city.
c. indicate if you have ever worked for the city and describe your present relationship to the city.
d. indicate if you have any adverse interest to the city.
18. Give the name, address and telephone number of three references.
19. Include an executive bid summary of not more than two pages.
20. Bid Amount.
a. Provide bid amounts for each category. Please provide either or both:
i. total annual bid for category services, or
ii. Hourly dollar amount of bid.
b. Provide a breakdown of any addition costs that would be billed to the City.
i. Indicate if the additional costs are actual or if there is a charge added for overhead.
21. Letter of Transmittal. The letter of transmittal should contain the following information:
a. A clarification of which legal areas you are submitting a proposal
b. A positive commitment that should you be selected you are able to perform the services requested
c. The names of the persons authorized to represent the respondent, their titles, addresses and telephone numbers. This may be important if different from the individual who signs the transmittal letter.
22. Any additional data the proposer feels may be helpful in the selection process.
Submit the proposal on letter size paper using at least a font size of 12 points. Print on one side only. Proposals shall be limited to 10 pages plus an executive summary and transmittal Letter. Provide tabs for each major section. Submit 5 paper copies of the proposal and a copy on disc in Word format in a sealed envelope addressed to City Legal Services, c/o Ypsilanti City Clerk, 1 South Huron Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 before 3 pm, Eastern Standard Time, March 28, 2008. There will be no formal bid opening. Bids will be opened March 28, 2008 at 4:00pm EST, at the office of the Ypsilanti City Clerk.
The City of Ypsilanti reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids or
parts of bids and to waive any and all irregularities, informalities, inconsistencies,
and to negotiate contract terms with the successful applicant(s), and to disregard
all non-conforming, non-responsive or conditional proposals. The City reserves
the right to accept any bid and price shall not be the sole determining factor.
The City reserves the right to accept part of a bid and reject other parts.
Acceptance of any proposal will be based on level of experience, qualifications,
costs and other factors. The City of Ypsilanti reserves the right to accept a
proposal, which it determines in its sole discretion, to be in its best interest.
Successful applicant must agree for all members and employees of the applicant
law firm to not become involved in the advocacy of the political campaign of any
candidate for election to the Ypsilanti City Council. In addition to not make any
contribution of any kind designed to further the candidacy of any individual
seeking election to the Ypsilanti City Council. Public or private participation in
the advocacy of political candidates for the office of Ypsilanti City Council
(including the Mayor) shall be prohibited as a condition of employment.
METHOD OF EVALUATING PROPOSALS
Proposals will be evaluated with a strict emphasis on quality. Attributes which will be analyzed include:
1. Firm’s experience with governmental entities
2. Firm’s governmental resources available
3. Involvement in municipal government activity and organizations
4. Demonstrated knowledge of legal standards in each area of interest, specifically issues related to government
5. Quality of staff included in assignment
6. Reference responses
After technical qualities have been evaluated, a firm or firms will be selected based on subjective determination of the best interest(s) of the City of Ypsilanti.
Please note that should the City of Ypsilanti receive more than 10 proposals the City will narrow the scope of proposers to begin with those having city government experience.
