Request for Proposals (RFP) - City Attorney

Parowan City invites competitive proposals that meet the City’s needs of contracting with an Attorney to serve as General Counsel for the City. The individual or firm ultimately selected by the City will be required to be appointed by the Mayor with advice and consent of the City Council in a Public Meeting. 

The City reserves the right to award the contract of criminal prosecution duties in a separate contract to a separate entity.  The City also reserves the right to deny any or all proposals, with or without reason.  An individual or firm will be selected based on professional qualifications, service availability, cost of service, and other criteria deemed important to the City.

Written proposals must be submitted by September 5th, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. to dan@parowan.org or delivered to PO Box 576, 35 East 100 North, Parowan, UT 84761. Proposals need not adhere to any particular formatting or length requirement. Proposals should outline the contractor’s skills and experience as it relates to his/her ability to perform all duties and should state proposed rate(s) and preferred billing methodology to the City for services rendered, subject to negotiation.

City Attorney Details:

Appointment. The City Attorney shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council. He/she may be removed for any reason at any time by the Mayor with the consent of the City Council. The City Attorney shall not be appointed for any specific term but shall serve until his/her successor has been appointed. The City Attorney shall be duly licensed to practice law in the Courts of the State of Utah and in United States District Court for the District of Utah.

General Duties. The City Attorney shall be the legal advisor of the City and its Officers on all matters pertaining to the operation of the City. He/she shall be general Civil Counsel for the City and its officers concerning contracts, in any civil litigation, and on any question arising concerning any law, ordinance, or otherwise. He/she shall advise the City officers in relation to their official duties.

Opinions. The City Attorney shall, when requested to do so, furnish written opinions on questions of law affecting the City's business or affairs, concerning subjects submitted to him/her by the Mayor, City Council, City Manager or City Recorder.

Criminal Prosecutions. The contractor should indicate on the proposal whether or not he/she is interested and qualified in handling the city’s criminal prosecutions. The city reserves the right to contract city criminal prosecutions to a third party, separate from this contract.  If the contractor is interested in handling the city’s criminal prosecutions, please explain the proposed costs to do so and the methodology of billing for these services separate from other City Attorney duties. If the City decides to contract with contractor for prosecution duties, then the following statement applies: City Attorney shall have the duty to prosecute violations of City Ordinances and shall have the same powers in respect to violations of City Ordinances as may be exercised by a county attorney in respect to violations of State Law, including, but not limited to, granting immunity to witnesses for violations of City Ordinances.

Appeals. If selected to handle criminal prosecutions for the City (see above paragraph), then the City Attorney shall represent the City in all appeals, civil or criminal, which may be taken to any State or Federal Court.

Records And Reports. The City Attorney shall keep and maintain complete records and files of all litigation, opinion requests, and other matters which are handled by him/her on behalf of the City or any officer thereof. Such records shall be open to inspection at anytime by the Mayor or any member of the City Council. All such records shall be turned over to his/her successor in office. The City Attorney shall make such reports and provide such information as may be requested by the Mayor or any member of the City Council.

Any questions about this Request for Proposals should be directed to the Parowan City Manager, Dan Jessen, who can be reached at 435-477-8331 or at dan@parowan.org.