PRESENTER: Presenter
Valeria M. Acevedo, City Attorney
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of a contract with the Law Offices of Ryan Henry, PLLC., and approval of Ryan Henry, Justin Plescha and Jason Rammel to serve as interim prosecutors/assistant city attorneys.
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DEPARTMENT: City Attorney’s Office
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City Charter delegates the hiring of attorneys to the city attorney with approval of the City Council. Section 8.04 provides in pertinent part: “The City Attorney or such other attorney selected by him/her with the approval of the City Council shall represent the City in all litigations and prosecutions in Municipal Court. There may be such Assistant City Attorneys as may be authorized by the City Council.” The city’s fulltime prosecutor/Asst. City Attorney (ACA), will be out on temporary leave beginning approximately late October 2024 - January 2025. In order to meet the legal needs of the municipal court and city staff, the city attorney is recommending hiring the Law Offices of Ryan Henry for interim legal services while the prosecutor is out. The main attorney who will be serving as interim is Justin Plescha, who resides in New Braunfels, with Jason Rammel and Ryan Henry serving as back-up, if needed.
ISSUE:
Interim services are necessary for the municipal court dockets and open records issues in the absence of the city’s full-time prosecutor/ACA.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☒Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
Maintenance of efficient, effective, and high-quality services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$50,000 is an estimated cost, depending on the actual length of leave as well the actual number of hours spent assisting staff with open record related requests. Funding for this contract was included in the FY 2025 Budget, so sufficient funds are available.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of this law firm for interim legal services.