sr-013080-11eCA RLK:SSS:dd
Council Meetin! )1-3C-8U Santa Monica California ~ I r
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STAFF- REPORT
T0: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: Deputy City Attorney I and Legal Secretary
positions for matters related to Rent Control.
INTRODUCTION
This report requests approval of Deputy City Attorney I
and Legal Secretary positions to handle matters related to
Rent Control, primarily pending litigation. This report
also requests approval of a maximum of $5,000.00 for the
temporary remodeling of Room 201B to serve as a facility
for the Rent Control legal staff.
ANALYSIS
There are five lawsuits challenging the constitutione.lity
of the Rent Control Law and eight Writs of Mandate contestinq
various decisions of the Rent Control- Board currently pending
in the Superior Court.. New Writs of b4andate are being filed
against the City and the Board at an average rate of one per
week. The Rent Control Board ar;d Administration also require
legal advice on a daily basis concerning a wide variety of
matters and a large case load.
Investigations by the Rent Control staff and complaints
from citizens have revealed a considerable number of violations
of the Charter Amendment, as well as violations of other City
and State laws relating to housing. Thus, there is
a substantial demand for prosecution services as well
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as for the defense of civil suits and for legal advice.:
Legal services to the Rent Control Board are currently
provided by a part-time Deputy III and two full time Deputy
I's, working almost exclusively on rent control matters.
There is no permanent legal secretary to handle the large
volume of work. As a result, the Advisory Services Division
of the City Att.orney's office, including its sole legal
secretary and Assistant City Attorney, are compelled to
spend about 25 - 30 percent of their time on rent control
related matters.
The Rent Control Board and the City Attorney concur
that Evelyn Keller, an attorney with about two years experience,
be hired as a Deputy Attorney I, with salary and benefits
subject to current negotiations. The Board has approved
the hiring of Christina forehead, who has about eight
years experience as a legal secretary, to fill the legal
secretary position at the rate of $1200.00 per mc:nth.
The Engineering Department has prepared an estimate
of the cost involved in remodeling of Room 201B so that
it will accomodate the legal staff. At present, the legal
staff is working in extreMely cramped and noisy quarters
within the Reht Control Office. The breakdown of these
costs is as Follows:
Carpeting . .$1,060.00
Electrical Work 400.00
Partitions . 3,000.00
TOTAL 54,460.00
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All of the work except the carpeting can be done by
the City's Public Facilities Maintenance Department.
The partitions are free-standing and can be rF:moved.
ALTERNATIVES
1. The Council may approve this request, or any part
thereof. This would. involve the authorization of Deputy
City Attorney I and Legal Secretary positions for the
remaining portion of the 1979-80 Fiscal Year, and approval
of the remodeling of Room 201B, to be paid from Rent Control
funds.
2. The Cour.~cil may reject the request. This will
probably require the Board to employ outside legal counsel
as it has done for several cases now pending.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the Council
authorize tY~e expenditure of sufficient funds for a Deputy
City Attorney I and Legal Secretary position within the
City Attorney's office to handle rent control matters,
conditioned upon repayment from rent control funds, and
additionally approve the remodeling of Room 201B to accomodate
the Rent Control legal staff.
Prepared By: Richard L. Knickerbocker
Stephen S, Stark
Mary Ann Yurkonis
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