The Los Osos Community Services District is looking for a new lawyer, and the board was expected to give the green light to send out for proposals at its Oct. 3 meeting.
Last month, the board voted to go out for bids for new legal counsel. But the general manager found a snag when researching the issue.
“When researching the District’s past efforts to solicit legal counsel proposals,” reads the report from GM Ron Munds, “staff discovered a 2016 policy, which outlines the process to be followed.”
That policy calls for either the Board to issue a request for proposals (RFP) or the Board President appoint an ad hoc committee to handle the search. That committee would work with the GM to sift through applications and narrow the choices down for the full board to do interviews. Those interviews can either be in public session or in closed session, according to Munds’ report.
Any hiring would include a full background check before a formal selection is made.
As for costs, the report said details on compensation — usually charged by the hour — would be negotiated, making the RFP more about seeking the best person rather than simply the cheapest deal.
In a timeline laid out by Munds, the committee would sift through the applicants narrowing them down to a short list by Halloween. Oral interviews would be done around Nov. 7 when finalists would be selected for the whole board to interview.
Background checks would be done in November and new attorneys hired Dec. 5.
EBN asked GM Munds why they were looking for a new lawyer. He responded, “The Board decided at the last Board meeting to issue an RFP for legal counsel. The current firm has been with the CSD for five years and there have been changes within the firm on who represents the District.
“The current firm can submit a proposal if they decide to.” The District’s current law firm is AMMCG (Adamski, Moroski, Madden, Cumberland, Green), LLP of San Luis Obispo.
