New Port Richey City Council Favors Bryant Miller Olive Lawyers for City Attorney Work

Negotiate with the lawyers who have provided legal services to the New Port Richey government for the past months to see if they will serve the city at a lower price.

That’s the instruction four of five City Council members voted to give after interviewing three applicants for the city attorney job May 17.

The Council plans to vote on a contract with the firm at its next regular meeting, June 7.

Michael Davis and Susan Churuti, of Bryant Miller Olive’s Tampa Office, have been serving as interim city attorney and deputy interim city attorney since Feb. 1, shortly after longtime City Attorney Thomas Morrison chose not to renew his contract.

The interim attorney contract with Bryant Miller Olive ends May 31, with the option to extend. Bryant Miller Olive applied for the new city attorney contract along with eight other firms.

Churuti and Davis were interviewed Tuesday along with Jay Daigneault, of Hubbard, Brandt, Trask, Yacavone, Metz & Daigneault, of Dunedin, and Nicole Nate, standing in for Andrew J. Salzman and Caitlin Sirico, of Zimmet, Unice and Salzman, of Palm Harbor.

Schneiger said that Bryant Miller and Olive have been used for 65-70 hours  monthly since they started serving the city. Among the issues the city faces in protecting itself legally are the realities that the city code has not been kept current and union contracts have not been regularly reviewed.

Councilman Bob Langford favored staying with the two attorneys from Bryant Miller and Olive. They have stayed under budget since they were hired, he said.

“I think we’re getting the biggest bang for our buck that we could hope for at this point,” Langford said.

The Bryant Miller Olive attorneys offered two options for a contract.

One option is to have Bryant Miller Olive charge the city a flat of rate $7,500 per month, the same rate it charges the city under its interim contract.

The services provided would include attending meetings of the city council and boards, reviewing resolutions, advising staff, reviewing ordinances and contracts and researching. The services would not include litigation, bond work and labor law. There would be no cost for travel time from Tampa to Pasco County.

Litigation would cost $265 per hour for attorney work, $75 per hour for paralegal work and $50 per hour for law clerk work.

The other option charges a retainer of $6,600 per month for 25 hours of regular work. Overtime would cost the city $265 per hour for attorney, $75 per hour for paralegal and $50 per hour for law clerk.  The litigation rates are the same as the other option.

As the lawyers from the other two firms sat in the City Council chambers, Councilwoman Ginny Miller made the motion to have Schneiger go back to Bryant Miller Olive to renegotiate its proposed contract.

“If I was queen,” she said beforehand, “I would ask our current attorneys to see if we can beat them up a little on the price.”

There’s a better chance for a reduction in an hourly rate if the city stays with Bryant Miller Olive, she said..

Langford seconded Miller’s motion. He pointed out that the city has been using Bryant Miller Olive at a high number of hours, and the city’s problems are not going away.

"These situations are not going to change," Langfrd said. "We know that."

DeBella Thomas, the lone vote against going back to Bryant Miller Olive, felt that the bids submitted by the three firms did not give an “apples to apples” comparison and wanted to reject all bids and ask the lawyers to resubmit them using a uniform standard. Of the bids discussed Tuesday, Daigneault seemed to fit the city's budget best.

Here are the options offered by the other two firms interviewed Tuesday:

Hubbard, Brandt, Trask, Yacavone, Metz & Daigneault, of Dunedin

• Option A: Monthly retainer­­–$3,125 for as many as 25 hours of general, administrative and litigation duties.

Matters not in retainer: Attorney–$135 an hour. Paralegal: $75 an hour. Reimbursement: photocopies. Long distance work, postage: Actual cost. Travel outside of Pinellas and Pasco Counties: State per diem and mileage.  Lodging and airfare expenses.

• Option B: Monthly retainer–$5,000 for as many as 25 hours of service. Matters not included in retainer: $125 per hour. Reimbursement: Same as Option A.

Zimmet, Unice and Salzman, of Palm Harbor (Has a Trinity office)

• $150 per hour for attorneys and $95 for paralegals or a monthly retainer of $3,500 for 25 hours of work. $150 per hour for overtime. City would be responsible for expenses in both scenarios.