Council Divided on City Attorney Hiring
Grove is still without the services of a City Attorney, at least for the next two weeks. A motion to hire Jot Hartley of the Hartley Law Firm of Vinita was rejected 3-2 at Tuesday's Council meeting and apparently the matter is dead until the next council meeting Oct. 2.
Council went into Executive Session at 6:31 and returned an hour later, then heard the motion by Terry Ryan to appoint Hartley as city attorney. Ryan and Mayor Gary Bishop both voted in favor of Hartley, while Councilmen Mike Davenport, Larry Parham and Gary Tripenssee voted nay.
City Manager Bruce Johnson had devised a formula and point scoring system to judge the city attorney candidates, included in the Request for Proposals to candidates. One source said that Hartley clearly was the winner using the point system, taking emotion completely out of the equation.
Hartley has more than 25 years of Municipal Law experience and currently serves as city attorney for Vinita, Ketchum, Bernice and West Siloam Springs. He received his law degree from OU in 1977. His proposal includes billing at special municipal rates at $130 an hour for Jot Hartley, and $125 an hour for associates. His firm drafted City ordinances for Ketchum and Bernice. The firm has previously reviewed Grove's Municipal ordinances relating to land use and zoning and if selected, would "conduct an immediate and total review of your ordinances," their proposal states.
Logan and Lowry, represented by David E. Jones, is believed to be high on the list of candidates, but does not list any municipal law experience on its resume. Jones received his law degree in 1990 from the University of Kansas. His proposal includes a monthly retainer charge of $1,750 for review of agendas, attendance at regular and special meetings of the City and GMSA. Other work would be billed at an hourly rate of $195 an hour for partners and $150 and hour for associates. His list of clients includes Precision Communications, headed by Troy Kyman, who is chairman of GrovePAC, the political action committee that backed councilmen Parham, Davenport, and Trippensee in April's election.
The formula devised by Johnson is as follows:
--35 points for experience and knowledge of Oklahoma state statutes and Grove Code of Ordinances
--10 points for monthly retainer and hourly rate
--25 points for professional qualifications and communication skills including total years of experience, honors or awards.
--35 points on past performance record.
(total 105 points available)
The previous city attorney, Ron Cates, billed at an hourly rate of $125 plus travel time and mileage from Owasso. Last year's legal services for the city totaled $57,042 including the trust authorities and defending the city against lawsuits.
(Editors Note: Since Tuesday night's vote at least two councilmen have expressed a desire to personally interview the top two candidates before voting again on the matter. What then, was the rush to bring this agenda item up before taking the opportunity to personally interview the candidates? One would think a personal interview would be mandatory before the decision to hire is made).
Council went into Executive Session at 6:31 and returned an hour later, then heard the motion by Terry Ryan to appoint Hartley as city attorney. Ryan and Mayor Gary Bishop both voted in favor of Hartley, while Councilmen Mike Davenport, Larry Parham and Gary Tripenssee voted nay.
City Manager Bruce Johnson had devised a formula and point scoring system to judge the city attorney candidates, included in the Request for Proposals to candidates. One source said that Hartley clearly was the winner using the point system, taking emotion completely out of the equation.
Hartley has more than 25 years of Municipal Law experience and currently serves as city attorney for Vinita, Ketchum, Bernice and West Siloam Springs. He received his law degree from OU in 1977. His proposal includes billing at special municipal rates at $130 an hour for Jot Hartley, and $125 an hour for associates. His firm drafted City ordinances for Ketchum and Bernice. The firm has previously reviewed Grove's Municipal ordinances relating to land use and zoning and if selected, would "conduct an immediate and total review of your ordinances," their proposal states.
Logan and Lowry, represented by David E. Jones, is believed to be high on the list of candidates, but does not list any municipal law experience on its resume. Jones received his law degree in 1990 from the University of Kansas. His proposal includes a monthly retainer charge of $1,750 for review of agendas, attendance at regular and special meetings of the City and GMSA. Other work would be billed at an hourly rate of $195 an hour for partners and $150 and hour for associates. His list of clients includes Precision Communications, headed by Troy Kyman, who is chairman of GrovePAC, the political action committee that backed councilmen Parham, Davenport, and Trippensee in April's election.
The formula devised by Johnson is as follows:
--35 points for experience and knowledge of Oklahoma state statutes and Grove Code of Ordinances
--10 points for monthly retainer and hourly rate
--25 points for professional qualifications and communication skills including total years of experience, honors or awards.
--35 points on past performance record.
(total 105 points available)
The previous city attorney, Ron Cates, billed at an hourly rate of $125 plus travel time and mileage from Owasso. Last year's legal services for the city totaled $57,042 including the trust authorities and defending the city against lawsuits.
(Editors Note: Since Tuesday night's vote at least two councilmen have expressed a desire to personally interview the top two candidates before voting again on the matter. What then, was the rush to bring this agenda item up before taking the opportunity to personally interview the candidates? One would think a personal interview would be mandatory before the decision to hire is made).
Labels: City Council
posted by Editor | 2:00 AM
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