Proposal:

Amend Contract for Employee Relations Litigation and Negotiation Services

Synopsis:

This recommendation is to amend the Goldstein, Kennedy & Petito contract to add an amount not to exceed $200,000 to cover extraordinary litigation expenses involving ongoing lawsuits, legal challenges relating to the June 30, 1994, layoffs and reductions in classifications and contract negotiations.

Committee:

Administrative, November 22, 1996, Recommended for Approval

Recommended Action

1. Appropriate $200,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the District General, Services and Supplies Major Object, Professional and Special Service Account designated for Employee Relations Litigation.

2. Authorize the Chairman to execute an amendment to the contract with the law firm of Goldstein, Kennedy & Petito adding an amount not to exceed $200,000.

James M. Lents, Ph.D.
Executive Officer

Background

The AQMD’s three-year employee relations legal services contract reflected an expectation that costs would likely be highest during the contract’s first year. Much of the costly counsel-intensive activity that has occurred since the beginning of this fiscal year was unanticipated. To reduce costs associated with the legal services, AQMD has shifted some of the cases to AQMD staff attorneys. This action has saved the AQMD approximately $75,000 in outside legal services. As AQMD attorneys become more experienced in employee relations legal services, staff expects to reduce the level of reliance on outside legal services; however, because of the legal complexity of the employee relations field, AQMD will continue to rely on outside employee relations legal services for the most complex cases and activities.

However, extraordinary litigation activity relating primarily to (1) ongoing lawsuits, (2) legal challenges to the AQMD relating to the June 30, 1994, layoffs and reductions in classification that attempt to reverse these actions, (3) pending arbitration hearings regarding layoffs and reductions, and (4) ongoing labor negotiations with two unions, have resulted in increased costs. These costs have been high because of the need for aggressively litigating these matters to defend the AQMD against very costly consequences.

Resource Impacts

There is available in the Undesignated Fund Balance $200,000 which can be appropriated to the District General Professional and Special Services Account for the purpose of amending the contract with the Goldstein, Kennedy & Petito law firm by an amount not to exceed $200,000 to cover extraordinary litigation expenses. Since this litigation may not be concluded by the end of this fiscal year, any amount that remains will be carried forward to next fiscal year.