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6.4.H. - Page 1 <br /> RE PO RT <br /> To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br /> From the Cit Mana er <br /> September 10, 2012 <br /> SUBJECT <br /> Establishing Temporary and Limited Duration Contract Attorney Position and Pay <br /> Schedule <br /> RECOMMENDATION <br /> Adopt Resolution Establishing Contract Attorney Position in the Department of the City <br /> Attorney to be Appointed as Needed on Temporary and Limited Duration Basis and <br /> Adopting a Pay Schedule. <br /> BACKGROUND <br /> From time to time, the City Attorney's Department uses funds within its established <br /> budget to hire a contract attorney to work in-house to handle special projects and <br /> overflow assignments. Experienced and capable attorneys can be hired on a contract <br /> basis to work in-house at rates that are substantially cheaper than hiring special counsel <br /> to perform this work. For example, recently, the City Attorney's Department hired a <br /> former city attorney with more than 25 years of experience to perform such work at the <br /> rate of $90 an hour, which would have otherwise cost a minimum of $210 an hour for a <br /> less experienced attorney with a public sector background from a solid firm. (Special <br /> counsel is still needed for particular work such as complex litigation and specialized <br /> expertise but that work is not performed in-house.) The contract attorney was assigned <br /> to handle special development projects, draft ordinances, and more recently has <br /> handled overflow work during the City's recruitment to fill a vacancy of an in-house <br /> attorney position. <br /> The hourly rate of pay for an in-house contract attorney is generally established by <br /> reference to existing positions and established salary schedules. For attorneys with at <br /> least two years of experience, the rate of pay is the hourly base rate of the Deputy City <br /> Attorney classification. For attorneys with at least five years of experience, the City uses <br /> the hourly base rate of pay of the Assistant City Attorney classification. <br /> However, there is no established rate of pay for more experienced attorneys serving in <br /> a higher level assistant capacity and who would likely be matched to the Senior <br /> Assistant City Attorney classification which is established by and recognized in the <br /> City's Municipal Code, but which classification is now defunct. (RWC MC §23.2) Without <br /> an established pay schedule for the Senior Assistant City Attorney classification, the <br />