Spalding County RFQ County Attorney Ad 2027 0.pdf

Spalding County, GA – RFQ – County Attorney P a g e | 1

Spalding County Board of Commissioners 2027 005 Request for Qualifications for County Attorney Services

August 21, 2026

Spalding County is seeking a well-qualified law firm to serve as County Attorney for the Spalding County Board of Commissioners. The County Attorney represents Spalding County in all legal matters. Spalding County is presently insured under ACCG’s Risk Management program.

Litigation matters that are covered by that program allow ACCG to provide legal representation in those cases; the County Attorney monitors those cases and provides additional services upon request and direction of the Board.

Responses to this solicitation are due no later than 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

Sealed responses are due to Dr. Steve Ledbetter, County Manager, 119 E. Solomon Street, Griffin, Georgia 30223. Upon receipt of proposals, a review team will evaluate the proposals and recommend to the Board of Commissioners the top-ranked firm or firms for an interview.

The complete RFQ document is available for review at the Spalding County website (https://www.spaldingcounty.com) or the Georgia Procurement Registry website at (https://ssl.doas.state.ga.us/gpr/).

Legal ad to run a total of four (4) weeks.

Please run the attached legal ad for the following dates:

Saturday, August 22, 2026 Saturday, August 29, 2026 Saturday, September 5, 2026 Saturday, September 12, 2026 https://www.spaldingcounty.com/ https://ssl.doas.state.ga.us/gpr/

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I. Purpose

Spalding County Board of Commissioners (“County”) is soliciting statements of qualifications from qualified firms to provide legal services for Spalding County, Georgia. It is the intent of the County to engage legal counsel services from an individual attorney or attorneys from a qualified law firm(s). The County may select multiple firms to serve its specific needs, but its preference is to select a single entity for general legal services.

II. Instructions to Respondents

A. All responses to this Request for Qualifications shall be sent to:

Spalding County Board of Commissioners Attn: Procurement Director 119 E Solomon Street Griffin, Georgia 30223

B. Please place one (1) original and four (4) copies of your response in a sealed envelope and clearly labeled in the lower left corner “Solicitation No. 2027-005 Request for Qualifications – Legal Services, September 15, 2026. No faxed, emailed, or telephone statements will be accepted.

C. All responses must be received by September 15, 2026 @ 2:00 p.m. ET, at which time they will be opened. It is the responsibility of the respondent to ensure that the RFQ is received by Spalding County by the date and time specified above. Late responses will be returned to the respondent unopened. To ensure a fair review and selection process, firms and individual attorneys submitting qualifications are specifically requested not to make other contacts with Spalding County staff regarding this request.

D. Any questions regarding this Request for Qualifications shall be in writing by email to mcampbell@spaldingcounty.com. No questions shall be received after 5:00 p.m. ET, Friday, August 28, 2026. Responses will be provided in an addendum by 5:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday, September 1, 2026. No other County Staff or officials associated with this project should be contacted regarding this RFQ. DOING SO, MAY RESULT IN

DISQUALIFICATION.

E. All addenda, notices, additional information, etc. will be posted to Spalding County’s website at www.spaldingcounty.com under the Purchasing Departments bid opportunities.

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III. Time Schedule

The following schedule is supplied as a guideline rather than a set of absolute deadlines. The County reserves the right to modify or alter the schedule as needed.

Event Date & Time Issue RFQ – First Advertisement Issue Friday August 21th, 2026

Legal Ad Saturday, August 22nd, 2026 Questions Due Friday, August 28th, 2026 Second Advertisement Saturday, August 29th, 2026 Addendum/Responses to Questions Tuesday, September 1st, 2026, 5:00pm ET Third Advertisement Saturday, September 5th, 2026 Fourth Advertisement Saturday, September 12th, 2026 Deadline for submittal of RFQ Tuesday, September 15th, 2:00 pm ET Selection of respondent(s) to interview Week of September 15th – 18th, 2026, 5:00 pm ET Interviews Tuesday, September 22nd & Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026 BoC Award Monday, October 5th, 2026, 6:00 pm ET

IV. Terms and Conditions

A. The County reserves the right to reject any and/or all proposals, call for new proposals, to waive any informalities in a proposal, and to select the qualified parties. The County reserves the right to accept, reject, and/or negotiate all proposals or parts of proposals deemed by the Board to be in the best interest of the citizens of Spalding County.

B. The County reserves the right to request clarification of information submitted and to request additional information from any respondent.

C. The County reserves the right to award any contract to the next most qualified respondent if the successful respondent does not execute a contract within thirty (30) days after the selection of the respondent.

D. Any proposal may be withdrawn up until the date and time set above for opening of the

RFQ responses. No proposal may be modified or withdrawn for a period of one hundred-twenty (120) calendar days thereafter.

E. The professional services contract resulting from acceptance of a proposal by the County shall be in a form supplied or approved by the County and shall reflect the specifications in this RFQ. The County reserves the right to reject any proposed agreement or contract that does not conform to the specifications contained in this RFQ, and which is not approved by Spalding County Board of Commissioners.

F. Ownership of all data, materials, and documentation prepared for and submitted in response to this RFQ shall belong exclusively to Spalding County and will be considered

Spalding County, GA – RFQ – County Attorney P a g e | 4 a public record and subject to public inspection in accordance with Georgia public records laws. Exceptions may be requested by the applicant, citing applicable statutory authority for holding specific information in confidence. The approval of exceptions will be in the sole discretion of the County.

G. By submitting their qualifications, all proposing parties certify that their proposals are made without collusion or fraud and that they have not offered or received any inducements from any other person or party in connection with their proposals, and that they have not conferred on any Spalding County employee or official having official responsibility for this procurement transaction of any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services, or anything of value of more than nominal value, present or promise, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

H. By submitting their qualifications, all proposing firms certify that they are not currently debarred from submitting bids or proposals on contracts by any agency of the State of Georgia and the federal government, nor are they an agent of any person or entity that is currently debarred from submitting bids on contracts by any agency of the State of Georgia or the federal government.

I. Those submitting responses do so entirely at their expense. There is no expressed or implied obligation by the County to reimburse any individual for any costs incurred in preparing or submitting bids or providing additional information when requested by the County.

V. Scope of Services

The office of the County Attorney provides timely, effective, and ethical legal representation, advice and counsel to the Board of Commissioners, County Manager, County departments, Constitutional Officers, Elected Officials, and other public agencies, as mandated and authorized by the County ordinance and State statues. The office of the County Attorney provides a broad range of legal services directed at promoting the public service objectives of the County, while protecting the County from loss and risk.

The applying attorney or firm must be licensed in the State of Georgia and demonstrate that the respondent is a current member in good standing with the Georgia State Bar. This person or persons must be able to effectively work with and coordinate the work of other attorneys with specialized expertise such as land use or labor. Under the proposed agreement, Counsel will provide the following:

A. Provides legal advice, counsel, services, and consultation to the County Manager, County Commissioners, County departments, Constitutional Officers, and Elected Officials on a wide variety of civil assignments, including but not limited to: general civil law, labor law, general state and federal laws, relating to grant and contract issues, public disclosure issues, laws against discrimination, property/real estate law, contract law, purchasing and procurement, criminal law, statutory law related to service delivery and intergovernmental agreements, and law that may affect County governance ensuring Counsel’s advice includes methods to avoid civil litigation.

B. Ensure that the Board of Commissioners, County Manager, County departments, Constitutional Officers, and Elected Officials are priority clients to the selected respondent.

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C. Answers requests for legal opinions in writing and verbally. Prepares written legal opinions at the request of the County Manager, County Commissioners, County departments, Constitutional Officers, and Elected Officials. Availability to answer staff questions by telephone or email.

D. Appears before courts and administrative agencies to represent Spalding County’s interests.

E. Works cooperatively with any special legal counsel retained by Spalding County for special projects. Coordinates with other special counsel, as needed, to ensure proper management of legal issues, and proper coordination and transition of legal information among special counsel.

F. Provides guidance and legal advice on the Sunshine Law, the Freedom of Information Act, Robert’s Rules of Order, and Spalding County’s rules, policies, and procedures.

G. Assist staff to understand the legal roles and duties of their respective offices and interrelationships with others.

H. Assists the County Manager, County Commissioners, County departments, Constitutional Officers, and Elected Officials to maintain ethical standards and appearance of fairness standard, and to avoid potential conflicts of interest, prohibited transactions, and the appearance of prohibited transactions.

I. Prepares and reviews contracts, leases, intergovernmental agreements, resolutions, ordinances, proclamations, and other legal documents for correctness and acceptability.

Negotiates said contracts, leases, intergovernmental agreements, resolutions, ordinances, proclamations, and other documents upon request.

J. Reviews and re-drafts of various policies for legal correctness and acceptability. This would include, by way of example, but not limited to personnel policies, family medical leave, etc.

K. Representation at all County Commissioner meetings and/or work sessions. Attend other meetings as requested, by way of example, but not limited to; special meetings called by Spalding County Board of Commissioners, service delivery meetings, SPLOST meetings, Planning & Zoning meetings, etc.

L. Perform other legal services and tasks as requested.

VI. Submission Requirements

A. Summarize the respondent’s unique qualifications in providing legal services including brief history of the firm, size, structure, and areas of practice.

• Complete resumes for three (3) qualified attorneys designated by the firm at which

Spalding County will select one of the three as the point of contact or lead attorney if the firm is selected.

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• Provide information on certifications or licenses, educational institutions conferring law degree and year of degree, professional background, and professional associations.

• Provide information about the range of services offered and available support staff.

• Provide details of any ethics violations or board actions against the firm, its attorneys, and employees within the last ten (10) years.

B. Legal Experience

• Provide experience advising local and county governments.

• Provide experience advising clients providing similar services through local taxation, fees, local, state, and federal funds.

• Provide examples of expertise in the civil aspects of municipal law.

• Provide at least three (3) professional references including the names, addresses, and telephone numbers, email addresses, preferably references similar to Spalding County for the firm.

• Provide at least three (3) professional references including the names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, preferably references similar to Spalding County for each of the three (3) qualified attorneys designated by the firm which Spalding County will select one of the three as the point of contact or lead attorney.

C. Provide information on the following to demonstrate the respondent’s availability and capacity to provide timely legal services.

• Provide a statement describing how the respondent proposes to provide legal services to the County. Address issues such as office location, accessibility to Spalding County Board of Commissioners and County Staff, Board Meeting attendance, and other meetings including any virtual meetings that may be required. Counsel must be available by phone, cell phone, and email.

• Provide documentation of workload capacity commensurate with the level of service required by the County.

• Provide information about the respondent’s availability and capability to perform at short notice and to ensure timely response and completion based on the County’s schedules and deadlines.

D. Understanding the required services and quality assurance.

• Provide a list of all local agencies or clients the respondent now represents which may cause a potential conflict of interest with Spalding County Board of Commissioners.

• Describe how the respondent protects client confidentiality. This applies to all information and communications, including electronic communications, unless

Spalding County, GA – RFQ – County Attorney P a g e | 7 available to the public through a public records request and otherwise not subject to specific exemption.

• Describe the respondent’s intended approach to communicate with the County regarding progress reports, status reports, recommendations, status of opinions, etc.

VII. Selection Criteria

The relevant experience of each assigned party will be evaluated as it relates to the scope of services. A committee will review the responses to the Request for Qualifications and will make a recommendation to the Spalding County Board of Commissioners. The committee may elect to conduct interviews with any shortlisted person(s) or firm(s).

Proposals will be evaluated based on the criteria and scoring system shown below:

EVALUATION CRITERIA WEIGHT GIVEN

Respondent Qualifications 20 Experience of the attorney 30 Respondent’s availability and capacity to provide timely legal services 40

Understanding the required services and quality assurance 10

VIII. Contract

A. Contract Negotiations: Upon selection of the most qualified respondent based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the type of professional services required, the County will negotiate payment terms which it determines is fair and reasonable and negotiate any other portion of the contract deemed necessary. In the event the County is not able to negotiate successfully with the top ranked respondent, the County shall cease negotiations with that respondent and either begin negotiations with the next ranked respondent or may choose to cancel the solicitation in its entirety. Award shall be made to the respondent whose submittal and subsequent negotiation is most advantageous to the County. The County reserves the right to renegotiate terms as needed to obtain the most cost-effective services.

B. Contract Term: The contract term is two (2) years at the hourly rate proposed with the option to renew up to an additional one-year extension upon mutual agreement from both parties. A signed contract extension should be executed within thirty (30) days of the original contract term.

C. Termination of Contract: This contract may be terminated, in whole or in part, at any time by mutual written consent, or by the County, with or without cause, upon giving sixty (60) days’ written notice to the successful respondent. If this contract is terminated, the County shall be liable only for payment under the payment provisions of the contract for services

Spalding County, GA – RFQ – County Attorney P a g e | 8 rendered and accepted material received by the County before the effective date of termination.