Project Information

Bid Title

Municipal Attorney Services

Issuing Agency

City of Brooksville

Location

Florida

Published Date

Jul 24, 2026

Closing Date

Aug 12, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

RFP-COB-2026-0008

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Bid Number:	RFP-COB-2026-0008
Bid Title:	Municipal Attorney Services
Category:	Open Bids
Status:	Open

Description: SUMMARY OF WORK I. Purpose The City is seeking proposals from qualified municipal attorneys or law firms to serve as the City's Municipal Attorney. The Municipal Attorney shall serve as the chief legal advisor to the City Council, City Manager, boards, committees, and staff, providing timely, accurate, and practical legal advice on matters affecting municipal government. The selected firm or attorney shall possess extensive knowledge of Florida municipal law and demonstrate experience representing municipalities of similar size and complexity. II. Scope of Services The person or firm is required to be knowledgeable in a variety of legal areas including, but not limited to, the following, and other areas as described in this RFP: Ordinance and resolution drafting City Charter and City Code of Ordinances issues Contract law Municipal leases and agreements Code compliance matters and procedures Land Use and Zoning Prosecution of municipal ordinance violations in County Court State of Florida ethics laws Public Records, Sunshine Law matters Attendance at all meetings of the City Council, and select boards and agencies. The City Attorney shall represent the Council at each of its meetings, provide appropriate legal advice and written opinions as necessary and provide parliamentary guidance concerning the conduct of each of the meetings. The City Attorney shall attend City Council Workshop sessions as needed, and City committee meetings or other meetings as requested by the City Council or the City Manager, such as advisory boards, when items under consideration warrant legal guidance. The City Attorney also serves as the CRA Board attorney and shall attend all CRA Board meetings and workshops. The City Attorney shall attend the Planning and Zoning Board meetings and workshops as necessary. As requested, the City Attorney will: Draft and review ordinances, charter amendments, resolutions, contracts, and correspondence; provide legal consultation on some City insurance matters; provide legal advice and written opinions to the City Council and City staff on matters related to their official duties; perform all duties and functions imposed by general and special laws upon City attorneys; monitor the performance of any duties assigned to special counsel, if any, and review billings for accuracy. The City Attorney shall prosecute and defend the City as to all civil complaints, suits and controversies in which the City is a party. Specifically, the City Attorney is responsible for prosecuting and defending the City in civil actions when no counsel is provided by liability insurance or when the City’s exposure exceeds its insurance coverage. The City Attorney may also represent an employee or elected official who is individually named in a suit as a result of the execution of official duties with the City, provided that any such representation does not give rise to a prohibited conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict. As requested, the City Attorney will provide City staff with assistance and legal counsel relating to the acquisition, lease or sale of real property and in the review and preparation of deeds, easements, title searches and various real estate documents. As requested by the City Council, City staff and Boards, the City Attorney will review situations in which laws, regulations or rules can reasonably be construed or expected to impact the City’s interest. The City Attorney is to maintain files consistent with the City Clerk’s records management requirements, and provide the City Risk Manager and the City Clerk copies of all pertinent pleadings and orders in all litigation that the City Attorney is handling. The City Attorney will perform other legal research and provide legal advice as requested by the City Council and City staff. The Public Risk Insurance Agency (“PRIA”) currently provides the City with automobile liability and general liability insurance coverage. As such, insurance matters are generally coordinated by the City Risk Manager or designee with legal representation provided by PRIA selected attorneys for cases covered under the policy. In addition, the City may retain or has retained outside counsel for the following, but the City reserves the right to request an individual or firm to perform some or all of these services: Negotiation of union contracts and representation of the City in labor matters Code Compliance (formerly, “Code Enforcement”) proceedings Prosecution of City ordinance violations in Hernando County Court Bond/loan counsel Other specialized matters as appropriate Legal representation of the Board of Trustees of the General Employee Retirement System and the Board of Trustees of the Police and Fire Retirement System is provided by each of the Boards. The City Attorney will provide the following performance expectations: Responsiveness Practical legal advice Excellent communication Timely completion of assignments Collaborative working relationships High ethical standards Proactive identification of legal risks Commitment to customer service Knowledge of municipal best practices The City may request additional legal services, including: Special litigation Charter review Legislative advocacy Utility acquisitions Real estate closings Bond counsel coordination Special investigations Ethics training Sunshine Law training Public Records training III. BILLING FORMATS FOR HOURLY SERVICES If a firm is selected, each bill for services and costs should be submitted directly to the City Manager’s office in a form that includes at a minimum, the following information by billable increment: Date of Clear Description of Name of Attorney Time Spent (in Service Service Specifying Person Who increments of one City Department, Requesting Performed tenth of an hour) X Board, Case, Issue or Work Service Hourly Rate = Cost Matter Each different service performed must be listed separately. The description of services must permit the City to perform a meaningful analysis of the services provided. For example, an entry for “legal research” or “telephone conference” is not an acceptable description of services. The subject matter of a telephone call or discussion and its participants, the research performed if applicable and the purpose must be specified, as described above. Retainer or fixed fee billings may use a “flat “or “retainer” amount. Details regarding the authorization of work and billing of reimbursable expenses will be addressed in the contract, if a firm is selected. The City prefers but does not require enrollment in the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Payment Program. The City reserves the right to negotiate compensation with the selected proposer. IV. Evaluation Criteria Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria: Criteria Points Municipal law experience 30 Qualifications of assigned attorneys 20 Understanding of City's needs 15 Responsiveness and approach 10 References and past performance 10 Fee proposal 15 Total 100 Interviews will be conducted with the highest-ranked firms prior to final selection. The Procurement Administrator will review each submission during opening to determine inclusion of all required attachments, and submission of requested information based on format detailed in this packet.  Any submissions received that do not include required attachments will be disqualified, based on information provided in this solicitation.  Each Council member will independently score each submission, based on the above listed criteria.  Depending on the number of submissions received, the top five submissions will be determined based on ranked scoring matches up to and including 100 total points.   This ranking determination will be disclosed during the Pre-Evaluation Meeting August 20, 2026. The Council may interview fewer than five firms if fewer than five proposals are reasonable competitive.  This will be determined during the comparative ranking at the Pre-Evaluation Meeting. Publication Date/Time: 7/24/2026 12:00 AM Publication Information: BidNetDirect.com, demandstar.com, cityofbrooksville.us Closing Date/Time: 8/12/2026 10:00 AM Submittal Information: City of Brooksville Procurement Division, 201 Howell Ave., Brooksville, FL 34601 Bid Opening Information: Wed, 8/12/2026 @ 10:00AM Pre-bid Meeting: Thurs, 7/30/2026 @ 10:00AM Contact Person: Emily Bennett, Procurement Administrator procurement@cityofbrooksville.us (352) 540-3810 ext. 37168 Download Available: cityofbrooksville.us Business Hours: M-F 8:00-5:00 Qualifications: Experience, Qualifications and References (City Attorney/Firm and Proposed Staff): The individual or the primary designated attorney and back-up attorneys must possess experience in the practice of Florida municipal law and in representing Florida municipal governments. A person or the designated attorneys in a firm must be licensed to practice law in Florida and be in good standing with the Florida Bar Association. The person or the primary designated attorney in the firm must have a Juris Doctor (JD) degree and be licensed to practice law in Florida. For an individual, a minimum of ten (10) years of increasingly responsible legal experience in the practice of Florida municipal law is required. For a firm, a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience in Florida in the practice of Florida municipal law is required. Any other attorney(s) intended to serve as a back-up attorney(s) must also have a Juris Doctor (JD) degree and be licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, and must have at least seven (7) years’ experience practicing in the field of Florida municipal governmental law. Experience of attorneys should include representing Florida municipal governments in facets of daily government. Board Certification by the Florida Bar in the field of City, County and Local Government Law is helpful, but is not required. The individual or the primary designated attorney and each back-up attorney(s) in the firm must disclose and describe any and all bar grievances, disciplinary actions or investigations, and ethics actions or investigations, as well as the results of each of the foregoing. The City will conduct a background check on selected candidates. Provide the information above for any other personnel, if applicable. Related Documents: RFP-COB-2026-0008MunicipalAttySvcsFINAL_wAttachNEW

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541110Offices of Lawyers

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