Title
Contract for Federal Lobbying Services (B)
Explanation
The City of Gainesville originally entered in a contract with Marilyn Berry Thompson through the law firm of Jorden Burt et.al. to provide federal lobbying services and related government liaison services in April 1992. Through the years, the contract has been renewed and currently involves both General Government as well as utility lobbying services. The last one-year contract extension, for which the City Commission waived the Purchasing rules, was approved in August 2004 and is scheduled to end September 30, 2007.
City staff is pleased with the services provided by Marilyn Berry Thompson (MBT) and her staff. Through the fifteen years of the contract, the City of Gainesville has secured over $53 million in incremental federal support up to and through the FY 2007 Congressional appropriations and grant cycle. Staff is recommending a new three-year contract. The current annual fee for General Government's portion of the contract is $105,000 and GRU's portion is $30,000.
Fiscal Note
Staff is proposing the City contract with JordenBurt for three years, FY 08 to FY 10. The fee for General Government for FY 08 will increase to $110,000. The fee for General Government for FY 08 & FY 10 is proposed to increase by $5,000 annually, resulting in a General Government fee of $115,000 for FY 09 and $120,000 for FY 10. The fee for Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) will remain the same at $30,000 annually. MBT will continue to pay all expenses without reimbursement. Also, staff is recommending that the professional services by Marilyn Berry Thompson be considered as a specified source or non-competitive contract under the City's Purchasing Policies for the following reasons:
* Extensive history with the City of Gainesville, requiring a new vendor an extensive learning curve relating to past legislative initiatives.
* Established relationships with existing elected officials and staff involved in legislative processes are already in place.
* Established track record and knowledge of the Washington legislative process, which has led to successful outcomes for the City of Gainesville.
* Firm's current activities is handling certain existing initiatives for the City of Gainesville and in researching new ones already authorized by staff and the City Commission. Such ongoing work could be adversely impacted if a change in vendors were to be made at this time.
Recommendation
The City Commission authorize the City Manager and the General Manager for Utilities to enter into a contract for fiscal years 2008-2010 with Marilyn Berry Thompson to provide professional federal legislative lobbying and related government liaison grant services through the law firm of Jorden, Burt, Boros, Cicchetti, Berenson & Johnson at a fee of $110,000 for FY 08, $115,000 for FY 09, and $120,000 for FY 10 for General Government's portion of the services and $30,000 annually for Gainesville Regional Utility's portion of the services.