Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legal Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brooklyn Park weighs in-house prosecution and RFP for civil legal services after longtime contractor exits
Summary
Staff laid out options for civil and prosecutorial legal services after the city's long-time contractor is retiring. Staff recommended an RFP for civil services and council asked staff to explore options and budget implications for potentially bringing prosecution in-house with an estimated $200,000 incremental cost.
City administration and the police department presented a multi-month review of legal services options, telling the council that the city must act soon to avoid service disruptions when a long-time prosecuting firm winds down its work heading into 2027.
Zach Grama, Department of Administration, said the review examined three things: the city's legal needs across departments, what peer cities do, and the costs and benefits of in-sourcing versus contracting. He warned that "no one individual attorney has the expertise to provide what we need on their own," and staff recommended running another RFP for civil legal services later this year.
Deputy Chief Elliott Faust said the city's current prosecuting attorney has been unusually embedded with Brooklyn Park operations and that the contract prosecutor (Colich/Kolich & Associates) is retiring and the firm will close. "The number for 2026 is 422,000," he told the council when citing the current prosecution retainer. Faust and other presenters urged caution about losing institutional relationships that support restorative court offerings, expungement work and close operational support for officers.
Staff provided figures: civil legal work in 2025 was presented as about $295,000 (with development-related work frequently billed to applicants), and a civil retainer was cited near $117,000. On prosecution, staff said the current retainer rose to about $422,000 in 2026. Councilors and staff discussed whether an in-house prosecution office (estimated to need two attorneys plus support) would cost roughly $200,000 more than some contractor proposals but could preserve the city'specific services and training that staff and police leaders said have contributed to reductions in low-level recidivism.
Council direction and next steps: staff recommended proceeding with an RFP for civil legal services (the familiar contracting path) while simultaneously planning for the prosecutorial transition. Council members indicated support for starting recruitment and budgeting work that would be needed for an in-house prosecutor if that route is chosen; staff said they would incorporate the options into the 2027 budget and begin the RFP and candidate-selection planning to avoid a Jan. 1, 2027 service gap.
The council did not take a vote; rather, members offered guidance and asked staff for additional cost detail and participation in an RFP committee for the civil contract.
