CC_Minutes_2009_0112 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Regular City Council Meeting Monday, January 12, 2009 Page 19 deciding in favor of the residents, it indicated that the City Council was not doing their jobs, nor that their civil attorney was providing prudent and accurate legal advice. Councilmember Ihlan noted that the Council majority, exclusive of her lack of support, had concurred with that legal advice to the detriment of the com- munity itself; in addition to subsequent majority agreement for financial settle- ments, costing the City's taxpayers additional monies. Councilmember Ihlan spoke in opposition to any motion to extend contracts, spe- cific to the City's civil attorney, opining that it did not serve the public or City's interest to extend this contract. City Manager Malinen briefly reviewed the process for City ratification of the City Manager's recommendations for legal services; and spoke in support of the City Council's action extending the contract, based on the process to-date, and al- lowing for reconsideration and revision of the current policy. City Manager Ma- linen opined that, from staff's perspective and review of proposals, they were sat- isfied with the incumbent firms. City Manager Malinen further opined that, while lawsuits and appeals were not something anyone wanted to go through, at the end of the day, everyone from a staff perspective felt comfortable with the level of services received by the City. Following further City Council discussion, and confirming receipt of applicable waivers from each firm to discuss data deemed private under the Data Practices Act, it was majority City Council consensus that all bids received, in their en- tirety, be made part of these minutes for public review and information. Further discussion included costs quoted and/or reduced for 2009; quality analysis of existing bids; and analysis of performance included in the process. Mayor Klausing spoke in support of the motion; opining that the legal advice provided to a client doesn't guarantee final results; and performance of the City's civil attorney was not determined by a standard that their advice was always up- held 100% by the court system. Mayor Klausing reiterated past observations among Councilmembers that each individual did indeed take their jobs and the best interest of the community into consideration with each of their decisions, but that it was unrealistic that each member be in total agreement with all decisions. Mayor Klausing reiterated that if a Councilmember reached a different conclusion than their colleagues, that didn't mean they took their responsibility less seriously. Councilmember Pust advised that her analysis would have lead to her support of the incumbent firms; however, noted that she would be voting against the motion, due to her concerns regarding the