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Home My WebLink AboutResolution #4050 - engagement letter wih davis & campbell RESOLUTION NO 4050 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN ENGAGEMENT LETTER WITH DAVIS& CAMPBELL,LLC AND THE CITY OF CANTON AND DIRECTING TAE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER SAID ENGAGEMENT LETTER ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF CANTON,ILLINOIS. WHEREAS, the Public Safety and Traffic Committee 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 letter of engagement with Davis & Campbell, LLC, as set forth in Exhibit"A" attached hereto and incorporated herein for legal services in connection with pursuing demolition of properties within the City of Canton; and WHEREAS,the City Council of the City of Canton has made a similar determination. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CANTON,ILLINOIS,AS FOLLOWS: l. That the Engagement Letter attached hereto and incorporated herein as E�ibit "A" is hereby approved by the Canton City Council. 2. That the Mayor of the City of Canton, Dlinois is hereby authorized and directed to execute said Engagement Letter on behalf of the City of Canton. 3. 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 Mayar thereof. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Canton, Illinois at a regular meeting this 4t" day of February 2014 upon a roll call vote as follows: AYES: Aldermen Pasley, Lovell, Ellis,Justin Nelson, Pickel,Jim Nelson, Putrich NAYS: None ABSENT: None APPROVED: Jeffe A. r' z, M ATT T: ,�'�� 2c.L Di n Pavley-Rock, ity Clerk � 4O1 MAIN STREET SUITE Is�� PEORIA,ILLrrtots 61602-1241 TEt,:(309) 673-1681 DAVIS & CAMPBELL L.L.C. Fax: (309)673-1690 www.dcamplaw.com FiLE Nur�sER: 99999-001 December 17,2013 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL City of Canton Attn: Mayor Jeffrey A. Fritz 2 North Main Street Canton, IL 61520 Dear Mayor Fritz: Thank you for the opportunity to represent the City of Canton with respect to those issues directed to our attention. This lettec will provide you with a comprehensive explanation of our business practices and sets forth the basic teims upon which we will render service to the City of Canton. 1. Professional Undertaking: The most important point in this letter is that we will do our utmost to serve the City of Canton vigorously, effectively and efficiently. While I will have primary responsibility for the City of Canton's representation, other attorneys in our Peoria office,including Kevin Shields,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 it should ever become necessary to utilize the skills of an attorney from one of our other offices on any substantive matter, I will discuss it with you first. 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 mulriplied by the hourly rates for the attorneys and legal assistants who did the work. My current hourly rate is $185.00 and the hourly rate for Kevin Shields is $165.00. Hourly rates range from $165 to $335 for our other Peoria office attorneys. Legal assistants are billed at the rate of $105 per hour. The schedule of hourly rates is reconsidered annually with changes effective January 1,although I will agree to honor my current rate for the coming calendar year. 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 CHICAGO,ILLINOIS WASHINGTON,D.C. 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. ur 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 ageilcies 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 of Canton will have the right to terminate our representation at any rime. We will have the same right, subject to an obligation to give you reasonable notice to anange alternative representation. We appreciate having this opportunity to be of service. Recognizing the terms on which we will provide service to the City of Canton, we ask that you sign the acknowledgment below and return this letter to me via email or facsimile. 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, �� Richard A. Russo RAR/dlf 0011363 I.DOC Acknowledged: CITY OF CANTON,ILLINOIS By: � �� - Date: v�/��,�r�i� — J�ffrE��Af. Fritz