BAXTER — A new city attorney will be taking over the duties for Baxter in November.
Earlier this year, the City Council discussed going out for bids for the city attorney services, which handles civil legal services and serves as a legal consultant at council meetings, after working with the same firm for many years.
Three firms, Breen & Person of Brainerd, Kennedy & Graven of St. Cloud and LeVander, Gillen & Miller of Eagan, submitted proposals. J. Brad Person, Breen & Person, has been the longtime Baxter city attorney.
Person was suspended for four months in late September for misconduct
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Brad Chapulis, city administrator, told the council Tuesday, Oct. 17, that after the completion of interviews with each of the firms, obtaining writing examples, and completion of reference checks, the recommendation was to go with LeVander, Gillen, and Miller.
Chapulis stated LeVander, Gillen and Miller demonstrated “substantial knowledge, skill, and experience in the areas of municipal law, civil litigation, eminent domain, and real estate.”
The firm has been around since 1929 serving municipal, corporate, and individual clients. The firm represents cities in the Twin Cities area and in Greater Minnesota.
Greta Bjerkness, who earned her Bachelor of Arts from the College of St. Benedict in 2005 and is a senior associate at the firm, will serve as the city’s lead attorney and primary contact. Bjerkness earned her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 2009.
Bjerkness has more than 12 years of legal experience, in which she has concentrated her practice in governmental law and real estate, the city reported. In addition, Korine Land would serve as Baxter’s secondary attorney. Land, who has been with the firm since 1996, has 27 years of experience. She became a shareholder in 2002, the city reported.
LeVander, Gillen, and Miller plan to start Nov. 1 so the city will have coverage from the firm a little earlier, given the circumstances. The contract runs through 2026.
Chapulis said the expenditures the city planned for these legal services for 2023 will be more than the $18,000 budgeted for the year “in part due higher than anticipated personnel-related services along with the implementation of the new civil contract and transition from the existing law firm.”
Chapulis noted some of the cost may be offset by the elimination of the existing retainer for the last two months.
For the coming 2024 budget, Chapulis said staff took into account the estimated hours and hourly rates submitted by the firms in their proposals for the service so those numbers will be accounted for in the upcoming city budget. In the contract, the hourly rate for attorneys was $170 in 2024, increasing to $175 in 2025 and $180 in 2026. Hourly rates for legal assistants was $120. Hourly rates for attorneys for specialized services will go from $205 to $215. And hourly rates for legal assistants for specialized services are $130 per hour.
The council unanimously approved the three-year contract for the new city attorney.
Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at @DispatchBizBuzz.
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