Palmetto Bay village attorney search update. Anyone? Anyone? The December 20 deadline is approaching.

This is the last week to apply to be the next Palmetto Bay Village attorney, but you really can't tell from the Mayor or the official web site.  The lack of accountability and transparency from the current mayor and council is truly special.  What is going on in the search for a replacement village attorney?  I wonder if any additional law firms have applied for the open Palmetto Bay Village attorney position.

The December council meeting came and went without any comment from this current mayor providing (or her asking staff for) any update on responses to the pending solicitation to apply for village council. Village attorney is a huge responsibility. It is one of three Charter positions that provide the professional operation for the Village (Village Manager and Village Clerk are the other two)

The interim duties are being very well handled by John R. Herin, Jr., Esquire, who has extensive public and private sector experience.  Mr. Herin also represents nearby Doral and the City of Marathon in the Florida Keys.  He is very well qualified, but this post is not about Mr. Herin; it is about the search, stealth search or non-search, that this council is undertaking.  S0me, including those on the council complained about the initial search that resulted in six applicants that dropped to three competing firms at interview.  Will we have a last-minute flood of applicants or will the council will be pleased with a re-do that results in no new, or merely 2 new experienced municipal law firms applying. 

The Miami Herald reported on October 17th that the Village Council initially decided that Mr. Herin’s appointment would be temporary; that he will serve until the council has time to repeat its search process and find a permanent lawyer.  (see: Palmetto Bay council votes to dismiss village attorney, By Lidia Dinkova). That brings us back to the search process.  Go to the Village Website and you will find that the former village attorney remains listed (CLICK HERE). This may lead some to believe that the former village attorney is still ensconced in her (former) position (At least as of noon Sun, 12/15/13).  Perhaps this would have been an outstanding opportunity for the mayor or someone else on the council to show that they were paying attention to detail and demonstrate some leadership on the council by directing that the web site indicate that a search was ongoing. The web site really does not give first glance conspicuous notice of a search for a village attorney. The entire search effort appears to be hidden in plain sight.

Detailed self-searching the village website will eventually lead you to this posting:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

VILLAGE ATTORNEY/PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES - RFP #2013-002

IMPORTANT NOTE for those that are interested (I have personally spoken with two attorney's firms) that have inquired:“Sealed proposals will be received by the Village Clerk, 9705 East Hibiscus Street, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, on or before December 20, 2013, no later than 3:00 pm, at which time they will be publicly opened and announced.” 

So those interested have just until this coming Friday to apply and be mindful that “Late submittals and facsimile submissions will not be considered."  We will find out at 3 PM on Friday if there have been firms hard at work preparing competing proposals.

For those of you who ask what factors would make a municipal firm not want to work for this current mayor and council, how about:

A council that runs up billing through endless changes in the code or legislation that never gets passed, then gripes about the fees when the bills come due.

A fractured council where an attorney may not want to walk a tightrope between feuding factions.

Everyone wants to assist this council make its best choice – see: South Florida Lawyers:Now Hiring! Musing on the Palmetto Bay search for new counsel - as does SDM and the Miami Herald

South Florida Lawyers: Now Hiring! Musing on the Palmetto Bay search for new counsel - as does SDM and the Miami Herald

South Florida Lawyers: Now Hiring!

The South Florida Lawyers Blog  muses on what the writer(s) term the jockeying among the legal elite to win municipal business. And now, for the second time this year, Palmetto Bay is searching for The Best that money can buy, to represent the Village. You can read about it here.

The competition is stiff, however, because Gray Rob attorney John Herin, Jr. has been on the job for a month on an interim basis. So far, no firms have applied. But that won't last, what with the Village paying $185 per hour.

The question I have been asked is whether this is an open and honest search or simply a beauty pageant to justify hiring of a preselected insider?  I can't get through a typical day in court or at a legal event without being asked. So many firms are looking for business, but no one wants to apply merely to serve as fodder to justify the hire of another. Significant time goes in to the preparation of a proposal as well as preparing for and participating in a public interview.  Time is too valuable to spend on a snipe hunt.

South Dade Matters (SDM) recently raised the same issue in: Bonus Post: Why don’t local law firms want to represent Palmetto Bay? Asking: Why is it, then, that our little village ain’t attracting flies? Perhaps qualified firms are conflicted out? Or maybe other firms think Gray Robinson has an inside track and they don’t want to waste time on applying for a closed deal?

SDM Says: Some or all of the above reasons are probably at play here, but SDM can’t shake the feeling that the qualified law firms in the area are looking at Palmetto Bay as an unstable government. Certainly, Palmetto Bay’s Mayor doesn’t offer much to allay those concerns.