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Lee's Summit committee recommends sole-source federal lobbying contract with Versa Governmental Strategies
Summary
The Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted 3-0 to recommend that the full council approve a sole-source federal lobbying agreement with Versa Governmental Strategies LLC for an amount not to exceed $50,000; staff said funding could come from council and administrative budgets.
The Lee's Summit Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve a sole-source federal lobbying agreement with Versa Governmental Strategies LLC not to exceed $50,000.
Brian Head presented the proposal and said the city received a short proposal from the current lobbyist proposing "an additional $5,000 a month, which just essentially doubles their fee," and that adopting the amendment as a short pilot would cost approximately $25,000 for the remainder of this fiscal year and $25,000 for the next fiscal year. Head said city staff had identified potential funding in the council and administrative budgets to cover the additional costs.
During the discussion, Head explained the November contract end date was chosen to align with legislative pre-filing, so the city would have a single lobbyist in place for the filing period rather than switching during that phase. Committee members asked staff to track the service's value and provide notes to inform the future rebidding process.
Speaker 1 moved to send an ordinance to council approving the sole-source agreement and authorizing the city manager to execute the contract; the motion was seconded and passed on a 3-0 roll-call vote with Chairperson Carlisle, Council member Funk, and Council member Shields recorded as "aye." The committee forwarded the recommendation for council consideration and possible final approval.
Votes at a glance - Motion: Send to council an ordinance approving a sole-source agreement between the City of Lee's Summit and Versa Governmental Strategies LLC for federal lobbying services, amount not to exceed $50,000. Mover: Speaker 1. Second: Speaker 7. Vote: 3-0 (Chairperson Carlisle Aye; Council member Funk Aye; Council member Shields Aye). Outcome: recommended to full council.
What happens next The committee's recommendation moves the proposal to the full City Council for consideration. Staff said they will return feedback collected while the pilot is active to help inform a competitive rebid planned later in the year.
