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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 10 SPECIAL SERVICES 09-19-888e~em~er 8, 1988 CONSENT CALENDAR NOo 10, Inter-Com TO: Wi11£am &. Huston, City Manager PROM: administrati%e Services .Department' SUBJECT: agreement For Speoial Servi=es RECOMMENDATION: Authorize City Manager to execute the attached agreement with Filarsky and Watt to provide legal and consultative services to the City in regard to employee/employer relations, including representation in administrative and cour~ proceedings, as well as labor negotiations. BACKGROUND: As approved in the 1988/89 budget and discussed in the budget workshops', staff is recommending retention of an outside firm to assist in labor negotiations this year. The growth of the City, along with increased recruitment and development activity, has made the reliance on outside counsel necessary. In addition, labor relations and employee/employer law has become more and more sophisticated, and staff feels the advice of a specialized, labor attorney is essential. Staff received proposals from four well-known and well-respected firms who specialize in labor relations. All four firms received good recommendations from current and past clients. Two of the firms, however, are not in the immediate area and of the local two, Filarsky and Watt was more able to guarantee personalized attention. A principal of the firm, Steve Filarsky, will be doing all of the City's work. Mr. Filarsky has extensive experience in employer/employee relations, as pointed out in the attached proposal dated July 6, 1988. All Mr. Filarsky's references replied positively in an exhaustive background check, and the area of labor negotiations is a special area of expertise for him. Regarding cost, the hourly rate is comparable to other law firms. Staff feels that Mr. Filarsky's proposal provides excellent value for the cost. Royleen A. White, Director Community and Administrative Services RAW: jg .VIl' A. SHAIIIION A. WATT .. L. OS ANG~'L£$ OFFIC£ 2S~ OV~';~L-ANO AVrNL;~' August 31, 1988 Royleen A. White, Director Administrative Services City of Tustin 300 Centennial Way Tustin, California 92680 Dear Royleen: Enclosed is the Agreement for Services that we discussed on Tuesday, August 30, 1988.-- This hourly agreement includes not only negotiations i but any post-negotiations personnel work the City requests. We would be more than happy to discuss a retainer relationship at your convenience. If you have any questions, please ~o not hesitate to call. Sincerely, A. Fi Steve ky Enclosure AGREEMENT FOR SPECIAL SERVICES This Agreement is made this 1st day of September, 1988, · between Filarsky & Watt, Attorneys at Law, hereinafter referred to as "Attorney", and the CITY OF TUSTIN, hereinafter referred to as "City". Attorney agrees to provide legal and consultative services to the City in regard to employer-employee relations, including representation in administrative and court proceedings, as requested by the City. The place and time for such services are to be designated by the City. The City hereby designates Attorney as its counsel for · employer-employee relations and agrees~to pay Attorney at the rate of One Hundred and Ten Dollars ($110.00) per hour, any necessary costs, and expenses for services authorized by the City. It is expressly understood and agreed that Attorney, while engaged in carrying out and complying with any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, is an independent contractor and is not an employee of the City. The term of this Agreement will be from September 1, 1988, through August 31, 1989. FILARSKY & WATT CITY OF TUSTIN Steve A. Fi.~rsky 20/~q~ement _ . ~Vr A. FIL. AIqSKY .~HARON A. WATT' ATTORN'ry,~ AT LAW 3~O~ E~M AVENUE ~ ~C~, C~O~ ~O~ July 6,. 1988 · Royleen A. White Director of Administrative Services City of Tustin 300 Centennial Way Tustin, California 92680 Dear Ms. White: In response to your request for a proposal dated July 1, 1988, I am submitting the following proposal for labor negotiations: PRACTICE OF THE FIRM: . . . Fitarsky & Watt specializes in representing public sector employers statewide in all matters pertaining to employer- employee relations. NEGOTIATIONS EXPERTISE' Mr. Filarsky has' served as a chief management-spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations with law enforcement, fire protection, transit, teacher, and miscellaneous public employee bargaining units.' He has represented the following clients in negotiations: City of Baldwin Park City of Buena Park' City of Colton City of Fullerton City of Hemet City of Hermosa Beach City of Montebello City of Monterey Park City of Palos Verdes Estates City of Rialto City of Stanton City of Signal Hill South Bay Public Regional Communications Authority City of Vernon William S. Hart Union High School District -1- 1 9-White Page 2 The agreements negotiated on behalf of these and other 'employers, depending on the particular philosophy and circumstances of a given agency, have run the gamut from brief understandings limited to benefit items to comprehehsive labor-type agreements that define.substantially all. terms of employment, and through management ~-ights and "zipper" types of clauses, pr6vided protection to management's ability to manage the agency. In addition to conducting negotiations and impasse resolutions for public employers, Mr. Filarsky continually works with cities and counties and other public agencies that employ staff personnel to do their own negotiations. This arrangement has involved all aspects of consultation and related services, including writing initial bargaining proposals, providing training and advice concerning negotiating strategies, and giving general advice when particular problems arise. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS: Mr. Filarsky has represented public employers in administrative hearings before City Councils, Civil Service Commissions, PersonnelCommissions, Arbitrators, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Fair Employment Practices and Housing Commission, Public Employment RelatiOns Board, and the Unemployment Insurance .Appeals Board. He has represented public employers in Superior Court and Court of Appeal proceedings. Examples of such. representations, in addition to many of the agencies listed earlier, include: City of Azusa City of Bell City of Bell Gardens City of Brea City of Burbank City of Downey City of Manhattan Beach City of Ontario City of Pismo Beach City of San Jacinto City of Torrance Twin Cities Police Department STRIKES: Mr. Filarsky has' developed and implemented strike planning strategies and assisted in strike-related activities for both private, and public sector strikes. -2- 19-White CODE/ORDINANCE DRn, TING: Mr. Filarsky has prepared personnel ordinances, rules and regulations, and employer-employee resolutions for several · -~ · municipal, clients- includi.ng: .:~. · City of Ctaremont'- City of Cudahy City of Fullerton City of Garden Grove City of Glendora City of Hemet City of Lynwood City of San Clemente City of Santa Paula City of Signal Hill City of Stanton TRAINING: Mr. Filarsky has conducted workshops for employee discipline, performance evaluation, grievance handling, and negotiations for the League of California Cities, California Public Employer Labor Relations Association and many i~dividual clients, including: City of Azusa City. of Baldwin Park City of Burbank .' City of Carlsbad City of Clarem°nt City of Colton City of Downey City of Fullerton City of Hanford City of Hemet City of Hermosa Beach City of Laguna Beach City of Manhattan Beach City of Norwalk City and County of San Francisco City of San Juan Capistranoo City of Signal Hill City of Stanton City of Torrance William S. Hart Union High School District OPERATIONAL PHILOSOPHY: * Mr. Filarsky works with and for the agency and the designated staff and legislative body. His job is to provide professional information and advice to assist the agency in determining its policy goals and objectives, which then become his goals and objectives. 19-White Page 4 * Mr. Filarsky believes in carefully organizing for the meet and confer process, with goals and objectives kept well in mind. The negotiating process, as he believes, consists of definable stages, from preparatory activities to the preliminary bargaining phases, the hard bargaining phases, and finall~ to agreement, impasse procedure, or work-action. Each stage of the process requires an organized approach in order to maximize the chances of attaining bargaining objectives. * Mr. Filarsky's philosophy is not one of "Union Busting," but rather one of using a professional approach that seeks to achieve and maintain professional relationships, notwithstanding the adversarial nature of the process. * Mr. Filarsky calls to the attention of his clients that in return for agreeing to competitive benefit adjustments, it is reasonable for them to seek to contractually protect and maximize their management discretion to set standards of service and retain the prerogative to direct, assign and stimulate employees to meet them. * Mr. Filarsky sees the conclusion of negotiations as the beginning for establishing a constructive employer-employee organization-employee relations'structure which requires management~training and~ongoing involvement with agency management on his part. MR. FILARSKY'S BACKGROUND: Steve Filarsky is a magna cum laude graduate of Loyola University, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Public Administration. He received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Filarsky served as a manager in municipal labor relations and personnel administration with the Cities of Garden Grove and Manhattan Beach. Mr. Filarsky worked as an attorney with the law firm of Paterson & Taggart and was one of five attorneys who split off to form Liebert, Cassidy and Frierson. In January, 1982, Mr. Filarsky started his own practice specializing in public sector employer-employee relations. In March, 1986, Mr. Filarsky and Sharon Watt formed the partnership of Filarsky & Watt. MS. WATT'S BACKGROUND: Sharon Watt received Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science degrees from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles. -4- 19-White Page 5 Ms. Watt has had extensive experience in the area o~Personnel and Education Law. She has been an Assistant Principal, Principal and Assistant Superintendent for Personnel'for school .districts in Southern California. She worked as an attorney with the law firm of Paterson & Taggart and, with Mr. Filarsky, was one of the founding attorneys ~f Liebert, Cassidy & Frierson. Before forming Filarsky & Watt, she was associated with the firm of Pettit and Martin. In that capacity she trained over 1900 administrators in file building and eval'uation for successful discipline. Fees for Service Ail services are billed at the rate of $110.00 per hour. There are no "extra" or "expense" charges that are 'billed in addition to the hourly rate. Availability I would personally do the negotiations. I anticipate no problems with availability during the period of September through December, 1988. . · For lodal' references, I work for the C~ties of Fullerton, Buena Park, Brea, La Mirada, Norco and Costa'Mesa. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call. · Sincerely, .o -5- 19-White