Tonight's special Commission meeting was for the purpose of choosing a new Village attorney. There were three finalists. There was a solo private practice lawyer, who is really an employee of Broward County, but who can do private work. There was an attorney with a firm, but he himself doesn't have any personal municipal clients right now. And there was a large firm specializing in representing municipalities. Each finalist had good credentials and more than adequate experience. And there was a range of fee schedules, ranging from about what we pay now per hour ($165) to considerably more than that ($250). The large firm that charges $250 per hour said they could negotiate the fee.
Each firm or attorney made a presentation, and each answered questions from Commissioners. Then, the Commissioners voted. There was some discussion before votes were taken.
Roxy Ross liked the idea of a firm with depth and with local contacts. The other Commissioners were more preoccupied with cost. And the other Commissioners also all noted another factor: they liked the idea of a more personal touch. They liked the idea that the Village is that special place, that should have special and individualized treatment. They seemed to like the idea that we would somehow have what we could pretend was someone's undivided, or not too divided, attention.
Interestingly, one of the attorney finalists mentioned the idea of municipalities that like to have voting on their own special day, when they are the only thing on the ballot. But that attorney reminded us that that kind of specialness comes at a fiscal cost. We've been there ourselves, and we came to realize that what it cost us to be that special was a lot of money, and the participation of many of our citizens. So we voted to move our election to the general election. It may seem somehow relatively impersonal, but it's a lot cheaper, and we get a lot more votes.
So that was the choice among the three finalists. Tracy Truppman chose the private practice guy. The other four chose the guy who presented to us by himself, and we'd be "[his] Village:" his only client. No one wanted the firm that sent three attorneys to present, and had 300 more in the firm, with "economy of scale" (that was the term they used) to attend efficiently to our needs.
No, the feeling was that we had to try to preserve that feeling of specialness. The one we surrendered to save money and get more turnout on voting day. The one we surrendered when we outsourced sanitation, and saved ourselves a good deal of money, and a lot of efficiency in the Public Works Department.
I myself didn't initially want the large group. Not that it matters what I thought, but I just thought they seemed too slick, and all business. But after they presented, I decided I was wrong. We're not looking for friends. We're looking for expert and efficient legal advice. Slick and all business is exactly what we want.
It costs us to pretend to be some little and charming waifs. We wind up with ineptitude, inefficiency, poorly kept streets, and miserable-looking medians. What we need is what we managed to avoid tonight. But we got second best. Roxy knows him, has worked directly with him, and likes his work. And she voted for him. That was good enough.
Fred,
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the decision made at last night’s meeting, I strongly disagree with your premise that "We Compromised." No way – not this time.
We had two equally outstanding candidates presented by 1 attorney from Gray Robinson and 3 attorneys from Weiss Serota. Both firms enjoy long and distinguished records in Florida municipal government law, and both are associated with the highest rated lawyers in the field.
The candidate selected, John Herin presented last night for himself and his firm Gray & Robinson, which includes over 300 attorneys, 47 of whom are dedicated to Government Practice, serving municipalities throughout the State. He, himself [until last night anyway] did not currently serve as general counsel (City Attorney) for any other municipality, so in that sense we would be [actually became] "[his] Village" -- not his only municipal client.
We often have settled for “good enough” on the excuse of limited resources – I’ll give you that. Fortunately, “good enough” did not enter into the equation. A solid choice was made last night; one which I hope will serve the Village for as long as our previous Village Attorney.
Rox,
DeleteI understand completely what you're saying, and I stand corrected.
This post was mostly, in proportion of words, about the choice of a new Village attorney. But that wasn't really my main point. My real main point was the last paragraph. I trust you completely and totally, except when you make mistakes, and I have total confidence in your endorsement of Gray & Robinson. What was interesting about these presentations was the style of them. John Herin did his homework in more ways than one. And it would have behooved the Weiss Serota crew to have studied us just slightly, too. Herin showed up alone, allowing us to get that relatively folksy vibe, which he accentuated with his comment about our being "[his] Village." It was the perfect bait for us, and two of your colleagues took it. They have all, with what Chuck insists is the possible partial exception of Will, shown they do not have the brains or the sense to listen to you, and follow your lead. I have not the slightest confidence, by the way, in anything Tracy, Jenny, Will, or Harvey say. They have no idea what they're doing or what the real issues are. But you endorsed the function we needed, and John Herin made it palatable for the BP folk, because he allowed himself to be perceived in the homey way we tell ourselves we like.
Fred
So just to be clear, and to reiterate my corrected understanding of last night's choice, let me tell you what I now believe. All three attorneys or groups of them were solid and understand the task. Any of them could respond appropriately to the kinds of questions that come up at Commission meetings, and would be fully capable of pursuing or researching loose ends. Two of them had admirable depth of resources, and high flexibility. Those two choices could be considered essentially equal, except you (again, I'm ignoring your Commission colleagues, who do not deserve consideration) felt more familiar and personally comfortable with the representative from Gray & Robinson. So he got the slight edge from you, and I feel completely confident about your choice.
DeleteFred