AGENDA REPORT FORIDQ. City Commission. Agreement. Adopt aresolution approving an agreement

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1 E P LANT G 5 AGENDA REPORT FORIDQ DATE June TO FROM City Commission David R Sollenberger SUBJECT Agreement with Public Defender s Office RECOMMENDATION That the City Commission Adopt aresolution approving an agreement with the Public Defender s office EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Florida law provides that when a criminal action is brought against indigent persons charged with municipal ordinances punishable by incarceration and not ancillary to a state charge Defender s office has the right to seek reimbursement from the City services rendered on the basis of50 per hour the Public to recover the full cost of The Public Defender s Office has proposed a flat fee of50 per case which is beneficial to the City in providing a predictable cost The financial impact ofthis agreement will not be significant as very few criminal proceedings do not include an ancillary state charge For the period between January and May there were only 11 such cases Most ofthese cases involved the consumption ofalcohol in prohibited areas It is recommended that the City Commission approve the resolution MEETING OF June AGENDATI EM NO 3h

2 BACKGROUND See above FISCAL IMPACT Estimated 250 annually Respectfully Submitted DA City Manager R SOLLENBERGER Prepared by Kenneth W Buchman City Att ey Funding available c Martini W of Finance Di Reviewed by Bill McDa iel Chief of olice r Reviewed by w C Dennis Sweeney Code Inspector

3 RESOLUTION NO A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF PLANT CITY FLORIDA APPROVING INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH JULIANNE M HOLT AS THE THE PUBLIC DEFENDER OF THE THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY CLERK TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY FLORIDA BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF PLANT CITY Section 1 The form of agreement between the City of Plant City and Julianne M Holt as the Public Defender ofthe Thirteenth Judicial Circuit a copy being attached is hereby approved and authorized Section 2 The Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized and directed to execute said agreement on behalfofthe City Adopted by the City Commission on June ATTEST Rick A Lott Mayor Commissioner Virginia L Helper City Clerk Approved as to form and correctness Kenneth W Buchman City Attorney

4 INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT This interlocal Agreement Agreement is made the day of 200 between the City of Plant City a municipal corporation of the State of Florida hereinafter referred to as the City and Julianne M Holt as the Public Defender of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit duly elected pursuant to Article V Section 17 of the Florida Constitution hereinafter referred to as the Public Defender WITNESSETH WHEREAS it is the purpose and intent of this Agreement to permit the City and the Public Defender to make the most efficient use of their resources respective powers and capabilities through the Florida Interlocal Cooperation Act of 1969 Cooperation Act by enabling them to cooperate on the basis of mutual advantage and thereby to provide the facilities and therefore to provide for matters contained herein in the manner that will best accord with the existing resources available to them and WHEREAS Sections 27 51b4 and Florida Statutes 2007 provide that the Public Defender may appear in the circuit and county courts within his or her judicial circuit for the purpose of defending indigent persons charged with violations of special laws or city ordinances punishable by incarceration and not ancillary to a state charge if the Public Defender has contracted with the city for reimbursement for services rendered in accordance with Section Florida Statutes 2007 and both parties desire to enter into such a contract and WHEREAS Section Florida Statutes 2007 provides that a municipality or county may contract with or appropriate or contribute funds to the operation of the various Public Defenders and that a Public Defender defending indigent persons charged with violations of special laws or county or municipal ordinances punishable by incarceration and not ancillary to a state charge shall contract with counties to recover the full cost of services rendered on the basis of50 per hour or reimburse the state for the full cost of assigning equivalent attorney positions to work on behalf ofthe city and one or more fulltime or WHEREAS the City and the Public Defender desire to contract for services rendered on a fixed priced basis for an amount developed based on hourly estimates by the Public Defender of the number of hours required to handle the projected workload The agreed upon fixed price amount of50 00 per case will allow the Public Defender to recover the full cost of services rendered based upon and or a equal reimbursement of at least 50 per hour and WHEREAS the City is willing to pay such sum on a quarterly basis in arrears based upon invoices submitted each quarter which identify quarter and the number and names ofcases handled in that Page 1 of 4

5 WHEREAS the Public Defender is currently providing for the defense of indigent persons charged with violations of special laws or city ordinances punishable by incarceration and not ancillary to a state charge and so is able to accurately estimate the appropriate time required to develop this fixed price amount NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the mutual of covenants of this Agreement the City and the Public Defender agree that subject only to the terms and provisions herein Section 1 Authority This Agreement is entered into pursuant to provisions of Article V Section 17 of the Florida Constitution Chapter Laws of Florida as amended Chapter 27 Florida Statutes 2004 and other applicable provisions of law Section 2 Definitions A Cooperation Act means the Florida Interlocal Cooperation Act of 1969 Section Florida Statutes 2004 B City means Plant City Florida a political subdivision of the State of Florida C Public Defender means the elected official currently Julianne M Holt as the Public Defender ofthe Thirteenth Judicial Circuit duly elected pursuant to Article V Section 17 ofthe Florida Constitution or her successors in office Section 3 Obligations of the Public Defender The Public Defender or one or more of her assistants shall appear in the circuit and county courts within her judicial circuit for the purpose of defending indigent persons charged with violations of special laws and city ordinances punishable by incarceration The Public Defender will handle the intake discovery pre trial trial and case disposition and appeals to circuit court of criminal city ordinance violations that are punishable by incarceration and not ancillary to a state charge in a nondiscriminatory manner consistent with law The Public Defender agrees to submit quarterly invoices to the attorney for the City for processing and payment of the cases handled identifying the number of and names of cases handled on a quarterly basis Cases in which an order of no imprisonment has been issued pursuant to Section Florida Statutes 2007 and where the Public Defender has not been provisionally appointed shall not be included in this quarterly invoice for reimbursement Section 4 Obligations of the City Page 2 of 4

6 Based on the statutory reimbursement rate ofat least 50 per hour and based upon the prior hourly and case cost experience as calculated by the Public Defender in prior years the parties agree that the City shall pay for the services rendered by the Public Defender pursuant to this Agreement the fixed price amount of50 00 per case assigned to and closed by the Public Defender paid quarterly and payable in arrears This per case will be the entire cost exposure to the City for defense services provided by the Public Defender All contract funds will be paid directly to the Justice Administrative Commission for deposit into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund Section 5 Term The term of this Agreement shall be for two 2 years and shall commence on its effective date as set forth in Section 7 provided however that this agreement may be extended at the option and by the agreement of both the City and the Public Defender for additional consecutive two year periods as agreed to by the parties Section 6 Termination This agreement is to terminate two 2 years after it becomes effective on 200 unless extended on or before that date as provided for above This agreement may be terminated by either party by giving written notice of intent to terminate to the other party no later than January 1 for a termination on September 30 of the year in which the agreement is to be terminated Such written notice shall be delivered to the Public Defender or the Mayor of the City Section 7 Filing and Effective Date This Agreement shall be effective upon the occurrence of A The execution of the Agreement by the proper officers of both the City and the Public Defender and B Upon filing with the Clerk of the Court of Hillsborough County as required by Section Florida Statutes 2007 Section 8 Modification of Agreement This Agreement maybe modified in writing by the mutual consent ofthe City and the Public Defender Page 3 of 4

7 IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have entered into this agreement as ofthe day and year first written above ATTEST PAT FRANK Clerk ofthe Circuit Court PLANT CITY FLORIDA its Mayor Deputy Clerk Rick A Lott Mayor WITNESS JULIANNE M HOLT Public Defender Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS Kenneth W Buchman City Attorney Page 4 of 4