RFP City Attorney Final Copy.pdf

CITY OF ST. MARYS, GEORGIA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES – CITY ATTORNEY

RFP Issue Date: March 2, 2026

Proposal Due Date: March 23, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST

Anticipated Council Consideration: April 6, 2026

I. INVITATION

The Mayor and City Council of the City of St. Marys (the City) invite interested legal firms or qualified individuals to submit written proposals to provide contracted legal services to the City.

The successful firm must be able to provide a designated, primary individual to serve as City

Attorney and he or she should have the capability to provide expertise in general municipal law, zoning and land use law, personnel and human resources law, contracts, and other such issues common to local government in Georgia.

If interested in this opportunity, three (3) printed copies of the proposal (1 original, 2 copies) and an electronic copy, must be received. Proposals MUST be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked “City Attorney Proposal” and addressed as follows: City of St. Marys Attn:

Sarah Lee, 418 Osborne Street, St. Marys, GA 31558. Emailed questions or other forms of electronic communication and other responses to this Request for Proposals will b e s e n t t o s l e e @ s t m a r y s g a . g o v . Deadline for bid proposals will be March 23, 2026, at 3:00

PM EST local time.

The Mayor and Council reserve the right to reject any or all proposals, to request additional information concerning any proposal for purposes of clarification, and to waive any irregularities if such action serves the best interest of the City as determined solely by the Mayor and

Council.

II. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Sealed proposals must be received no later than March 23, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST.

Submit:

• One (1) signed original

• Two (2) printed copies

• One (1) electronic copy (USB flash drive)

Proposals must be clearly marked: “City Attorney Proposal – 2026”

Submit to:

City of St. Marys

Attn: City Manager

418 Osborne Street

St. Marys, GA 31558

Emailed submissions will NOT be accepted. Late proposals will not be considered.

III. PROCUREMENT TIMELINE

RFP Issued: March 2, 2026

Proposal Deadline: March 23, 2026 – 3:00 PM

Evaluation Period: March 24 – April 3, 2026

Council Consideration: April 6, 2026

IV. SCOPE OF SERVICES

A. General Legal Services Requested. The City Attorney is expected to perform all general legal representation for the City as required. Such general legal representation includes, but is not limited to:

1. Legislative work associated with City Council meetings, including preparation or review of ordinances and resolutions, and written policies and procedures, together with research work, as necessary, associated with the preparation of those documents. This activity shall include providing assessments of legal likelihoods in support of city risk analyses.

2. Prepare oral or written opinions on legal matters as required by City Council and/or the City Manager.

3. Negotiate and prepare agreements, leases, contracts, or similar documents.

4. Review and comment on contract form(s) between the City and independent contractors.

5. When requested by City Council or by the City Manager, perform investigations that may require interviewing witnesses, taking testimony, reviewing reports, and legal research.

6. Provide legal counseling, guidance and opinions to the City Manager and

Department Directors regarding the operations of the City; provided, however, in the event of an emergency problem, all requests made by Department Directors for such legal counseling, guidance and opinions shall be channeled through the City Manager.

7. Participate in meetings and/or telephone conferences with the City Manager and/or

City staff as requested by the City Manager, as required.

8. Provide staff assistance, legal research and counseling related to the acquisition or sale of real property, preparation of leases, deeds and easements; utility franchise agreements; referendum questions, contracts, surety/performance/payment bonds, insurance policies, bills of sale, liens, waivers, subordinations, and other legal instruments; liability situations; grant guidelines; arbitration; and other matters as necessary requiring legal advice.

9. Maintain legal files and provide to the City Manager copies of all correspondence, and all pleadings and orders in all litigation the City Attorney is handling for the City. On a monthly basis, the City Attorney will provide a summary written report on the status of all litigation that the City Attorney is directly handling or is overseeing on behalf of the city. Furthermore, the City Attorney shall notify the Mayor, Council and City Manager within 48 hours of any ante- l i tem notice, any notice of claims, and/or any legal actions that have been initiated against the City.

10. Keep the Mayor, City Council and the City Manager informed of legislation or judicial decisions that have the potential to impact on the city.

11. Oversee, in a cost-effective manner, litigation in which the city is represented by the city’s insurance carriers.

12. Perform other professional duties as may be required, including, but not limited to, conducting legal research as required for the performance of duties representing the city.

13. With the exception of requests for Legal Services issued by City Council acting as a body, the City Manager shall act as a “gatekeeper” for the City in requesting Legal

Services or assistance of the City Attorney, coordinating the flow of work to the City

Attorney and establishing the relative priorities to be placed by the City Attorney on each task for which the assistance of the City Attorney is required. No member of the city staff may require the efforts of the City Attorney on behalf of the city unless expressly authorized by the City Manager. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the mayor and any member of City Council may request Legal Services and opinions of the City Attorney regarding City matters upon approval of City Council.

14. Attend all regular City Council, Planning Commission, and Board of Appeals meetings, all Special Meetings, work sessions and executive sessions, and any other

City meetings as requested by the Mayor, City Council, or the City Manager.

15. Participate in special projects as authorized by the Mayor, City Council, or City

Manager, including, but not limited to, the negotiation for sale of real estate, including fee ownership and easements and acquisition of interest in real estate through the exercise eminent domain by the City.

B. Other Legal Services. The City Attorney shall provide representation on behalf of the

City in the following services.

1. The City Attorney or Authorized Representative shall be the City’s representative in all litigation in any court and all other hearings, meetings, or other such functions as enumerated in this RFP.

2. The City Attorney or Authorized Representative shall also represent the City in proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction and in hearings before administrative tribunals where the City is a party or intervener in respect to the issues that are pending before such court or administrative tribunal when directed to do so by City Council. The

City Attorney may also represent the municipality in other pending legal proceedings, not specifically enumerated herein, at the request of the City Council or City Manager.

3. Litigation matters, meaning all actions filed in Superior Court or State Court against the City. The City Attorney or a designated attorney from the City Attorney’s office will represent the city in all litigation matters involving the city’s elected officials, officer and personnel acting during city business. Separate billing will begin on litigation matters only after the date of filing of an action. If the City, its elected officials, officers and personnel are named as parties to the litigation, the City Attorney is to be included as an attorney of record and will appear either personally or through a designee before the applicable court for any hearing or trial to protect the interest of the City and its officials.

4. Other Experts. The City Attorney may determine in certain cases whether it is necessary or desirable to retain the Legal Services of others who have expertise in the matter under review.

Fees incurred by such professionals will be approved by City Manager and billed separately to the City. The anticipated services and fees for any professional used in this manner will be submitted to the City Manager for review and approval prior to utilization of the professional.

5. Real Estate, Title and Closing Matters

V. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum ten (10) years representing Georgia municipalities

• Licensed and in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia

• Demonstrated municipal law expertise

VI. PROPOSAL CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

1. The firm or individual must have a minimum of ten (10) years of experience serving Georgia municipal government clients.

2. Please provide an employment history (past ten years) for the individual to be designated City

Attorney as well as for any individual who may provide the City with supplemental legal services. In addition, please include the following:

a. Attorney’s Name

b. Name, Address and Phone Number of Firm

c. Length of Employment in Present Capacity

d. Area of Specialization

3. Please describe the qualifications for the individual to be designated as City Attorney and those of any associated party(s) who will be used in a subordinate capacity. At a minimum this information should include:

a. Legal education and training, and type and years of practice to include the date of admission to the Georgia Bar.

b. Years of municipal or other local public-sector law practice as a full-time, contracted or part-time local government attorney and/or private law practice with specialization in local government law.

c. General description of tasks associated with past practice as a local government attorney.

d. A statement of types of clients currently or previously represented other than local government clients.

e. General d e s c r i p t i o n o f e x p e r i e n c e i n l i t i g a t i o n r e p r e s e n t i n g l o c a l government including types or categories of cases litigated.

f. Office Location and accessibility/availability to St. Marys.

g. A description of any complaints filed or pending with the Georgia Bar or any out of state

Bar Association and the disposition of any complaint that may have been filed. Also, a description of any laws u i t in which you have any personal involvement currently or in the past.

4 . Please state the hourly rate(s), together with costs reimbursement(s) you

5. propose for rendering legal services to the City of St. Marys, including rates for lead

Counsel, all other attorneys and staff and travel time to the Council meetings in St. Marys.

5. The selected firm shall provide to the City of St. Marys evidence of Commercial General

Liability insurance. Coverage should include $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 aggregate, as applicable. For the full term of the contract, the firm shall procure and maintain errors and omissions liability insurance appropriate to the legal profession.

6. Please describe how you would provide for professional liability insurance, indemnity for the

City, amendment, extension and/or termination of the contract.

7. Please define the normal time frame for responses by the City Attorney to direction and/or inquiry by the Mayor and City Council or the City Manager. Note that, except for Council directions in a meeting format, all such instruction to the City Attorney involving billable hours must be approved in advance by the City Manager.

8. Please provide a list of all public clients for which the firm currently provides services.

9. Please provide one signed and dated original, two copies of your Proposal, and one copy of digital media.

10. Please do not contact any Councilmembers regarding the RFP, any questions should be directed to the City Manager.

11. Please note that all RFPs will be subject to the Open Records Act.

VII. EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. To be considered, all proposals are due and must be submitted on or before, March 23, 2026, at 3:00 pm EST. Proposals received after this date and time, regardless of reason, will not be considered.

2. Proposals should be submitted in a sealed envelope which is clearly marked, “City Attorney

Proposal” and addressed or delivered to:

City of St. Marys

Attn: Sarah Lee

418 Osborne Street

St. Marys, GA 31558

3. All Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by the Mayor and Council.

4. The following will be taken into consideration during the evaluation process

a. Qualifications and information contained in the Response.

b. Complete and clear answers in the Response.

c. Familiarity with laws and regulations governing municipal governments.

d. Demonstrated expertise and experience in municipal law.

e. Range of services offered and available support staff; Demonstration of workload capacity commensurate with the level of service required by the City.

f. Professional reputation for providing high-quality services, ability to work cooperatively with City Council, City Manager, and department heads.

5. The Mayor and Council, or its designee, will commence negotiation beginning with its first choice. If negotiations fail, Council will then move to the second choice, etc. However, at any point in the process Council reserves the right to reject any and/or all proposals as previously stated.

6. Preference will be given to specific overall local government experience of the individual providing City Attorney Services and associated individuals, as well as factors such as total projected cost of service, accessibility to the city, immediacy of availability and responsiveness to the Request for Proposals.

7. Assuming a successful response and the selection and negotiation of a contract for City Attorney, it is anticipated that the City Council will announce the selection at a Council Meeting during the month of April 06, 2026.

VIII. GENERAL CONDITIONS

• Proposals remain valid for ninety (90) days.

• All proposals subject to Georgia Open Records Act.

• Compliance with O.C.G.A. §13-10-91 (E-Verify) required.

• Final selection subject to approval by Mayor and City Council on April 6, 2026.

IMMIGRATION AND SECURITY FORM

(GEORGIA SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE ACT AFFIDAVIT)

Contractor’s Name:

State Entity’s Name:

State Solicitation/

Contract No.:

City Attorney RFP

CONTRACTOR AFFIDAVIT

By executing this affidavit, the undersigned Contractor verifies its compliance with O.C.G.A. §13-10-91, stating affirmatively that the Contractor identified above has registered with and is participating in a federal work authorization program*, in accordance with the applicability provisions and deadlines established in O.C.G.A. 13-10-91.

The undersigned further agrees that, should it employ or contract with any subcontractor(s) in connection with the physical performance of services pursuant to this contract with the State Entity, Contractor will secure from such subcontractor(s) similar verification of compliance with O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 on the attached Subcontractor Affidavit. Contractor further agrees to maintain records of such compliance and provide a copy of each such verification to the State Entity at the time the subcontractor(s) is retained to perform such service.

EEV / E-VerifyTM Company Identification Number

BY: Authorized Officer or Agent Date

(Contractor Name)

Title of Authorized Officer or Agent of Contractor

Printed Name of Authorized Officer or Agent

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN

BEFORE ME ON THIS THE

_____ DAY OF ______________________, 20__

________________________________________ [NOTARY SEAL]

Notary Public

My Commission Expires:

*any of the electronic verification of work authorization programs operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or any equivalent federal work authorization program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security to verify information of newly hired employees, pursuant to the

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), P.L. 99-603

Entity’s Name:

Solicitation Name or

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRACTOR: Identify all subcontractors used to perform under the state contract. In addition, you must attach a signed and notarized affidavit (third page of this form) from each of the subcontractors listed below. The contractor is responsible for providing a signed and notarized affidavit to the State

Entity within five (5) days of the addition of any new subcontractor used to perform under the identified state contract.

Subcontractors:

Subcontractor’s

(Your) Name:

Entity’s Name:

Solicitation Name or

SUBCONTRACTOR AFFIDAVIT

By executing this affidavit, the undersigned Subcontractor verifies its compliance with O.C.G.A. §13-10-91, stating affirmatively that the Subcontractor which is engaged in the physical performance of services under a contract with the Contractor identified above on behalf of the State Entity identified above has registered with and is participating in a federal work authorization program*, in accordance with the applicability provisions and deadlines established in O.C.G.A. 13-10-91.

EEV / E-VerifyTM Company Identification Number

BY: Authorized Officer or Agent Date

(Subcontractor Name)

Title of Authorized Officer or Agent of Contractor

Printed Name of Authorized Officer or Agent

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN

BEFORE ME ON THIS THE

_____ DAY OF ______________________, 20__

________________________________________ [NOTARY SEAL]

*any of the electronic verification of work authorization programs operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or any equivalent federal work authorization program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security to verify information of newly hired employees, pursuant to the

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), P.L. 99-603

Affidavit Verifying Status

For City Public Benefit Application

By executing this affidavit under oath, as an application for a City of St. Marys, Georgia Business License or

Occupation Tax Certificate, Alcohol License, Taxi Permit or other public benefit as referenced in O.C.G.A. Section 50-

36-1, I am stating the following with respect to my application for:

Business License

Georgia Occupational Tax Certificate

Alcohol License

Taxi Permit or

Other public benefit

Please check one

Name:

Name of natural person applying on behalf of individual, business, corporation, partnership, or other private entity

1. I am a United States citizen

OR

2. I am a legal permanent resident 18 years of age or older or I am an otherwise qualified alien or non-immigrant under the Federal Immigration and Nationality

Act 18 years of age or older and lawfully present in the United States. *

In making the above representation under oath, I understand that any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation in an affidavit shall be guilty of a violation of the Code

Section 16-10-20 of the Official Code of Georgia.

Signature of Applicant Date

SUBCRIBED AND SWORN

BEFORE ME ON THIS THE Printed Name

DAY OF ,20

Alien Registration number for non-citizens

*Note: O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1 (e)(2) requires that aliens under the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act, Title 8 U.S.C., as amended, provided their alien registration number. Because legal permanent residents are included in the federal definition of “alien,” legal permanent residents must also provide their alien registration number. Qualified aliens that do not have an alien registration number may supply another identifying number below: