TL;DR (generated · confidence: high)

The City Attorney's Office would face an 8% General Fund reduction of $949,009 under Package 23,679, requiring elimination of three attorney positions (one Senior Deputy City Attorney, one Deputy City Attorney, one Assistant Deputy City Attorney) and $190,000 in materials and services cuts. This would reduce legal capacity by 5,300 hours annually, likely forcing costlier outside counsel engagement (estimated $2.1M+ for equivalent work). The cuts would also eliminate the Honors Attorney Program, undermining diversity and equity recruitment goals in a historically underrepresented profession.

Key points (each cites a PDF page):

Package 23,679 represents an 8% General Fund reduction of $949,009 for the Office of the City Attorney. (p. 139)
Reduction requires eliminating three attorney positions: one Senior Deputy City Attorney, one Deputy City Attorney, and one Assistant Deputy City Attorney. (p. 139)
Materials and Services (EMS) costs to be reduced by $190,232 (consulting, outside counsel, miscellaneous services, educational travel). (p. 139)
Elimination of three positions equates to loss of 5,300 hours of legal work, which would cost over $2.1 million to replace with outside counsel. (p. 139)
Funding breakdown: General Fund Discretionary $409,023; General Fund Overhead $539,986. (p. 139)
Cutting one Assistant Deputy City Attorney would eliminate the Honors Attorney Program, which includes a $175,000 personnel services reduction. (p. 140)
Honors Attorney Program provides junior-level attorneys from historically underrepresented communities in two-year rotations for legal training and recruitment in public service. (p. 140)
Elimination of Honors Program would negatively impact the office's ability to advance its equity goals in recruiting diverse attorneys. (p. 140)

💰 $949,009 · $190,232 · $758,777 · $2.1 million · $759,000 · $409,023 · $539,986 · $175,000 · 📋 Office of the City Attorney · Honors Attorney Program · 🏛️ Office of the City Attorney

23,679

Source: PDF pp. 139-140 · raw: 139 · 140

Breadcrumb: 1 City Administrator › CA1-DPs › Package Details › 23,679

23,679 - 8% Reduction Service Area City Administrator DCA Michael Jordan Bureau Name Office of the City Attorney Director Robert Taylor Funding Type Name Reduction Status: Recommended Package Desc Expense Recommended Total An 8% General Fund reduction of $949,009 would require eliminating three positions and reducing External Materials and Services ($190,232) materials and services by $190,000. To meet this target the office would cut three attorney positions Personnel ($758,777) and reduce materials and services costs for consulting, outside counsel, miscellaneous services and educational travel. However, the work of the City Attorney’s office is not optional. City Attorney’s ($949,009) office work supports City Council priorities and essentially all City programs. The work must be performed by Deputy City Attorneys or more expensive outside counsel. Eliminating these positions Revenue Recommended Total equates to a reduction of 5300 hours of legal work which would cost over $2.1 million to replace with outside counsel. General Fund Discretionary ($409,023) General Fund Overhead ($539,986) Service Impacts ($949,009) Last year, the office cut one Assistant Deputy City Attorney and one Legal Assistant. To reach a target 8% cut, the office would need to eliminate one Senior Deputy City Attorney, one Deputy City Attorney and one Assistant Deputy City Attorney. Cutting these positions likely will result in higher outside counsel costs for the City. The office would save $759,000 in personnel costs and $190,000 in EMS costs but outside counsel for 5300 hours would cost more than double at about $2.1 million. Reducing EMS expenses may result in some costs shifting to other bureaus or the General Fund. The office typically covers some citywide legal expenses that do not have other funding sources such as certain mediations, settlements, outside counsel or consulting services. The services are typically not optional and would need to be funded some other way. The office would also eliminate travel for continuing legal education and the law clerk program which has been on hold since the pandemic. The City saw significant increases in litigation over the last five years which appears to be slowing. Therefore, some legal work may be absorbed by remaining staff. However, office attorneys already work many extra hours and cannot be expected to absorb all of the additional work. The work of the City Attorney’s office is not optional. The work supports Council priorities and must be performed by City Attorneys or more expensive outside counsel. City Attorneys are more cost effective, more efficient and more effective than outside counsel. They are familiar with City operations and have excellent working relationships with City staff which allows for consistent and comprehensive legal advice. Bureaus can be hesitant to use outside counsel knowing they will be billed by the hour which can result in serious and expensive problems down the road. City Attorneys are always available at a predictable low fixed cost to the City. Equity Impacts

Cutting one Assistant Deputy City Attorney will eliminate the Honors Attorney Program. This program consisted of two junior level attorneys who each worked for limited two-year periods. The program was reduced by half last year and would be entirely eliminated this year with a $175,000 cut to personnel services. Honors attorneys provide tremendous value to the office in terms of their high quality of work and relatively low cost. One of the goals of the Honors Attorney Program is to recruit attorneys from communities that are historically under-represented in the legal field, and to provide high-quality legal training to those with an interest in public service. The program provides considerable value to the office in terms of the work produced for the level of investment in the position. This program advances the office’s and City’s equity goals by recruiting and training attorneys from historically under-represented communities. The Oregon State Bar, as a whole, is less diverse than the population of the state, so helping to increase the number of attorneys in Oregon from diverse backgrounds is a goal of the office. Eliminating this program would have a negative effect on the office’s ability to achieve its equity goals.

Parent: Package Details · PDF: pp. 139-140