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Home My WebLink AboutResolution #5547 - Appointing City Attorney and Approving an Engagement Letter Pertaining to Legal Services RESOLUTION NO. 5547 A RESOLUTION APPOINTING CITY ATTORNEY AND APPROVING AN ENGAGEMENT LETTER PERTAINTING TO LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF CANTON WHEREAS,the Mayor of the City of Canton has determined that it is necessary and in the best interests of the City of Canton to enter into an agreement with the law firm of DAVIS & CAMPBELL L.L.C.to provide legal services to the City, as set forth in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein, and to appoint CHRISTOPHER J. JUMP of said firm to continue serving as City Attorney; WHEREAS, Section 1-10-1 of the City Code of the City of Canton provides, "The city attorney shall be appointed by the mayor by and with the advice and consent of the council, on the first Tuesday in May of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable." WHEREAS,the Mayor, Kent McDowell, has appointed CHRISTOPHER J. JUMP of DAVIS & CAMPBELL L.L.C. to serve as the City Attorney; WHEREAS,the City Council has considered the appointment by the Mayor and further consents to the appointment of CHRISTOPHER J. JUMP of DAVIS & CAMPBELL L.L.C. to serve as City Attorney. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CANTON, ILLINOIS,AS FOLLOWS: I. That the City hereby finds as fact the recitals set forth above and incorporates said recitals herein as though fully set forth; 2. That Christopher J. Jump of Davis& Campbell L.L.C. is hereby considered re- appointed and sworn in as City Attorney. 3. That the engagement letter(or"Agreement") attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A" is hereby approved by the Canton City Council. 4. That the Mayor of the City of Canton, Illinois is hereby authorized and directed to execute said Agreement on behalf of the City of Canton; and 5. That this Resolution shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its passage by the City Council of the City of Canton, Illinois and approval by the Mayor thereof. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Canton, Illinois at a regular meeting this 5th day of May, 2026 upon a roll call vote as follows: AYES:Alderpersons Grimm, Lovell, Pickel, Ketcham, Gossett NAYS: None ABSENT: Chamberlin, Hale,Nelson APPROVED: J�,� � M".A Z T: ent A. McDo 11, M or ndrea J. Smith-Walters, City Clerk EXHIBIT A 401 MAIN STREET S=1600 PEORIA,ILLINOIS 61602-1241 TEL: DAMFAx. S & CAMPBELL L.L.C. (309)673-1681 Ax:(309) 673-169090 www.deamplaw.com Fu.E NUMBER: 32957-001 May 4, 2026 City of Canton Attn: Kent A. McDowell, Mayor 2 N. Main Street Canton, IL 61520 Email: kmcdowell(a cantoncityhall.org Mayor McDowell, I am pleased that you have re-appointed me as City Attorney and entrusted our firm to continue representing the City of Canton (the "City") with respect to general corporate matters, ordinance prosecutions, labor and employment matters, and other matters as may be directed to our attention from time-to-time. This letter will provide you with a comprehensive explanation of our business practices and sets forth the basic terms upon which we render service to our clients. 1. Professional Undertaking: The most important point in this letter is that we will do our utmost to serve the City vigorously, effectively and efficiently. While I will have primary responsibility for the City's representation, I expect that you will also work with several attorneys from my office. Other attorneys in our Peoria or Chicago offices may assist me from time to time. You should feel free to call upon any of them for advice in the event that I am temporarily unavailable. Occasionally we utilize legal assistants to perform work which does not require a lawyer's attention. If at any time you have any questions, concerns or criticisms, please contact me at once. 2. Fees: We take into account many factors in billing for services rendered, and we will review all statements before they are issued to ensure that the amount is appropriate. The principal factor is our schedule of hourly rates, and most statements for services are simply the product of the hours worked multiplied by the hourly rates for the attorneys and legal assistants who did the work. Effective May 1, 2026,my new hourly rate for the City of Canton will be$255, while hourly rates range from $215 to $425 for our other attorneys. Legal assistants are billed at the rate of $120 per hour. The schedule of hourly rates is reconsidered annually with changes effective January 1. We will not be charging a general retainer, effective retroactive to May 1,2026,and the City will be charged fees on an hourly basis, as set forth in this letter, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the City and the Firm. 3. Costs: Often it is necessary for us to incur expenses for court costs (filing fees, process server fees, etc.) and for items such as copying costs, postage, telephone tolls and on-line research services. In order to allocate these expenses fairly and keep billable rates as low as possible for those matters which do not involve such expenditures, these items are separately itemized on our statements as "disbursements." PEORIA,ILLINOIS CMCAGO,ILLINOIS WAsnNGTON,D.C. PHOENm ARIZONA DAVIS & CAMPBELL L.L.C. 4. Billin s: Our statements generally will be prepared and mailed during the month following the month in which services are rendered and costs advanced. We expect payment shortly after the statement date. Statements consist of the detailed diary entries describing the nature of the work and identifying the person who performed it,the date on which it was performed and the amount of time spent. Costs advanced are itemized on each statement. 5. Communications: We expect to communicate with our clients via email. Emails and their attachments are not encrypted. If you would like our attachments in a password protected format, please let me know. 6. Our Files: You may have copies of our files on the particular matter for which we are engaged at any time during our representation. After the matter is resolved, we have the right to dispose of our files at such time as we deem appropriate, with the understanding that copies of our files will be made available to you, at your expense, while we retain them. We may be requested from time to time to furnish certain information or to confirm information in our files to third parties, such as accountants,government agencies and litigants(pursuant to a subpoena). By engaging us, you are authorizing us to respond to such requests in a reasonable manner. Time spent responding to such requests will be charged at our regular rates. 7. Termination: The City will have the right to terminate our representation at any time. We will have the same right, subject to an obligation to give the City reasonable notice to arrange alternative representation. This letter may be signed and delivered by means of a facsimile machine or by emailed PDF and in such case shall be treated in all manner and respects as an original agreement or instrument and shall be considered to have the same binding legal effect as if it were the original signed version thereof delivered in person. We appreciate having this opportunity to continue being of service. Recognizing the terms on which we will provide service to you we ask that you sign the acknowledgment below and return this letter to me. Be sure to keep a copy for your records. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. I look forward to working with you. Very truly yours, a�" R� Christopher J. iu]G Acknowledged: City of Ca n By: v"� Date: K/ ent . McDowe or