Agenda

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C. 83

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	January 11, 2011

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Contract Extension for State Legislative Representation/Advocacy

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 01/11/2011

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 11, 2011
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Administrator, or designee, to execute a contract amendment with Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller and Naylor, effective December 31, 2010, to extend the contract term from December 31, 2010 to June 30, 2011 and increase the payment limit by $90,000 to a new payment limit of $654,998 (over a 3 1/2 year period) for continued state legislative representative and advocacy services.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Extension of this contract was anticipated and is included in the current fiscal year budget (67.5% County General Fund, 12.5% Flood Control/Clean Water Funds, 10% CCHP, and 10% Redevelopment funds).

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The County will not have the time needed to adequately solicit proposals for these services.

BACKGROUND:

The law firm of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller and Naylor (“Nielsen Merksamer”) has extensive experience in the field of governmental advocacy regarding legislative, administrative and legal issues directly affecting counties. Nielsen Merksamer is recognized for its expertise in the broad area of state and county relations, particularly fiscal relationships. The firm has been instrumental in the development and advancement of the County's state legislative platform.

The County first contracted with Nielsen Merksamer for the period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2005 and renewed the contract in December 2005 for the period January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2007 in the amount of $200,000 per year. The contract was subsequently renewed for the period January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. In March 2009, the contract was amended to decrease the annual payment limit to $180,000.

The Legislation Committee has recommended that a Request for Proposals for state and federal advocacy services be developed and issued. While that process is underway, it is critical that the County continue to receive legislative representation and advocacy. It is, therefore, recommended that the contract with Nielsen Merksamer be extended six months to allow sufficient time to solicit proposals for these services going forward.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

None.