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Committee delays approval of $650,000 amendment for city legal services; requests written clarification
Summary
Committee members asked the law department for details on an amendment that would add $650,000 to a contract for legal services and voted to bring the item back in one week pending clarification.
The committee on Jan. 8 voted to delay action on an amendment to contract 6001522-A7, an amendment that would extend time and increase funds by $650,000 for legal services related to various cases.
Council member Angela Whitfield Callaway asked why the name "Davonte" remained on the list of matters tied to the contract when the committee had been told that a related case had settled. Graham Anderson of the Law Department confirmed the underlying Davonte matter had been settled and said he would follow up with contracting staff to determine why the settlement language or name had not been removed from the contract memo.
"You're absolutely correct. That matter was settled. There's nothing new," Anderson said. He told Callaway he would provide clarification by the end of the day.
After discussion, a motion was made and adopted to bring line item 7.1 back in one week for further review. The committee recorded no objections to the motion to return the item to the agenda at a later date.
Why it matters: The amendment would increase the total contract for legal services to $3.2 million and cover additional time for litigation-related services. Committee members requested better alignment between the contract documents and the law department's case status reports before voting.
What happens next: The law department agreed to provide a written explanation about why settled matters still appear on the contract listing and to answer additional questions before the committee considers the amendment again.
