Agenda 09/22/2020 Item #12A (County Attorney Annual Performance Appraisal) (2)12.A
09/22/2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney
OBJECTIVE: To complete the performance appraisal of the County Attorney.
CONSIDERATIONS: The County Attorney reports directly to the Board of County Commissioners. In
order to ensure that the County Attorney Office work performance is coordinated with the direction of the
full Board, an annual appraisal and merit consideration are provided in the County Attorney Employment
Agreement. The Agreement provides in relevant part as follows:
"Section 8: Performance Evaluation
The Employer shall review and evaluate the performance of the Employee in accordance with the
performance -based merit system as provided in Section 7. Written evaluations based on said performance
system will be provided by each County Commissioner to Employee prior to September 1, 2009, and
prior to each September I st thereafter for the term of this Agreement. A summary of all evaluations will
be prepared by the Board Chair for the Board and Employee including the recommended merit wage
adjustment. A merit system wage adjustment will take effect on October 1, 2009 and each October 1st
thereafter for the term of this Agreement. An updated performance merit system for Employee will be
developed in good faith between the Board of County Commissioners and Employee and adopted by the
Board prior to October 1 st of each fiscal year for implementation in the next fiscal year."
Section 7 provides in relevant part as follows:
"Section 7: Salary
B. Employer and Employee shall negotiate in good faith to establish, within one hundred
and twenty (120) days after execution of this Agreement, a performance based merit system through
which the Employee shall be eligible for a merit adjustment upon the successful completion of
measurable goals and objectives to be completed or attained by the Employee during the 2009 fiscal year
and each fiscal year thereafter during the term of this Agreement. Such annual performance based merit
adjustment shall not exceed a maximum of ten percent (10%) of the Employee's annual base salary. The
minimum increase for satisfactory performance under such performance based merit system will equal the
average percentage salary adjustment provided to all County employees for the given fiscal year or three
percent (3%) whichever is greater. All such merit adjustments shall be included in the Employee's base
salary."
The annual work plan (Action plan) was previously developed with the Board. The County Attorney has
been available to meet individually with commissioners and has provided a self -appraisal relating to the
performance standards for review. A copy of the Performance Appraisals conducted by each
Commissioner is included in the back-up, together with a Summary of all the evaluations.
As in past years, the County Attorney waives any merit adjustment.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no growth management impact associated with this
item.
Packet Pg. 667
12.A
09/22/2020
RECOMMENDATION: The Board of County Commissioners completes the annual performance
appraisal process for the County Attorney.
Prepared by: Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. Summary of Ratings by Commissioner for the County Attorney FY 2019-2020 (PDF)
2.2020 County Attorney Evaluation - Fiala
(PDF)
3.2020 County Attorney Evaluation - McDaniel
(PDF)
4.2020 County Attorney Evaluation - Saunders
(PDF)
5.2020 County Attorney Evaluation - Solis
(PDF)
6.2020 County Attorney Evaluation - Taylor
(PDF)
Packet Pg. 668
12.A
09/22/2020
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 12.A
Doe ID: 13599
Item Summary: The Annual Performance Appraisal for the County Attorney
Meeting Date: 09/22/2020
Prepared by:
Title: Legal Assistant — County Attorney's Office
Name: Wanda Rodriguez
09/16/2020 10:54 AM
Submitted by:
Title: County Attorney — County Attorney's Office
Name: Jeffrey A. Klatzkow
09/16/2020 10:54 AM
Approved By:
Review:
County Attorney's Office
Office of Management and Budget
County Attorney's Office
County Manager's Office
Board of County Commissioners
Colleen Greene Level 2 Attorney Review
MaryJo Brock Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review
Leo E. Ochs Level 4 County Manager Review
MaryJo Brock Meeting Pending
Completed
09/16/2020 11:06 AM
Skipped
09/16/2020 11:06 AM
Completed
09/16/2020 11:21 AM
Completed
09/16/2020 11:28 AM
09/22/2020 9:00 AM
Packet Pg. 669
12.A.1
COUNTY ATTORNEY FY 2019 - 2020 ACTION PLAN / EVALUATION
SUMMARY OF RATINGS
COMMISSIONER
FIALA
SOLIS
SAUNDERS
McDANIEL
TAYLOR
ITEM
AVERAGE
Oral
Presentations
at Meetings
3.00
2.00
no answer
3.00
3.00
2.75
Written Legal
Advice
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Processing
Requests for
Legal Services
3.00
3.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
2.80
Client
Satisfaction /
Peer Review
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Fiscal
Management
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Public
Records and
Sunshine Law
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Litigation
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Advertising
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Agenda Items
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Advisory
Boards
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Averages Per
Commissioner
3.00
2.90
2.88
3.00
3.00
Overall Average: 2.95
Packet Pg. 670
12.A.2
The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the
activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal
advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory
committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager
and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager
by the Board of County Commissioners.
The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the
County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and
capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters,
finance and land use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County's divisions and
departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the
review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the
drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other
Board signatory documents.
The County Attorney's Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners
provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this
performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year's annual
Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below
Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are
then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position.
The following is the County Attorney's Action Plan for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year. The Action
Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a
significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction;
communications; fiscal management; and personnel management.
Page 1 of 10
Packet Pg. 671
12.A.2
Goals for Fiscal Year 2019-20:
I will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include
hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer
service results, and making internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work
product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for
Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within
the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our
planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued
enhancement within the Office,
Specific areas that i propose as part of next year's action plan are:
Oral Presentations at Meetings. 1 will continue to work to assure that both the County
Attorney's and the County Attorney Office's presentations at Board of County Commissioners'
meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All
presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid legalese and focus on the legal
issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor
to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd's approach of the three Bs with respect to Board
presentations: that "you be Brief, be Brilliant, and Be gone," though from time to time further
explanation and discussion will follow when needed.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 2 of 10
Packet Pg. 672
12.A.2
2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide
professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its
advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as
necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses
will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and
to the point.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3. Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Office's response time to Requests for
Legal Services (RLS's) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS's being processed within 48 hours.
There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take
weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48-
hour {or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from
the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from
Total Office (this Office's data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will
include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the
Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements,
contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested
by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff.
Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS's) this year was 95% of all
RLS's being processed within 48 hours. As always, a number of legal assignments, due to their
complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved
my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective, which
is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. This was especially satisfying this year, with all of its unique
challenges, as the Office processed 10% more RLS's than the prior year. Before my tenure as
County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS's processed
within 48 hours.
Page 3 of 10
Packet Pg. 673
12.A.2
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
1
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
2
3
Rating
4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office.
In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago 1 instituted a practice in which performance
evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to
assess the performance of each attorney in the Office_ The reports rate the attorneys on a 1 to
3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds
Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office's
collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews
will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney's performance evaluations.
Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney -Client Feedback form was provided to
Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive
from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are
not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney's individual annual
perfonmance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions.
The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure
as County Attorney we have virtually eliminated the "Does Not Meet" portion of the evaluation.
This year this Office attained an 84% "Exceeds" expectation, with 16% "Meets" expectations.
Page 4 of 10
Packet Pg. 674
12.A.2
100%
90 %
80 %
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Comparison of 2008 through 2020
Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results
10"•s70 UVWWW%
Exceeds Meets Does Not Meet N/A
0 2008 ■ 2009 E 2010 i 2011 0 2012 ■ 2013 0 2014 0 2015 ■ 2016 ■ 2017 ■ 2018 ■ 2019 ra 2020
Commissioner Comments:
Below Meets Exceeds
Standards Standards Standards
1 2 3
Rating 1 3
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Packet Pg. 675
12.A.2
5. Fiscal Management, I will continue to develop and effectively administer an annual budget
for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office.
Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney in April 2008, this Office was budgeted for
$3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $2,532,800 for this
upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). The following chart
illustrates that, except for 2018, this Office consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction.
■ Board Direction Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
0 Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
10
5.8
5 0 0 0 2.5 3 2. 2.1.7 1.1.4 1 --
0
- - 1.0- -
-5 -3 -3 -3.2
-4.5 -55.0 -5
-10 -8.2
-15
FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21
The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office
evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out
inefficient employees, by cross -training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by
replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the
County's business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow.
Commissioner Comments;
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards_
1
2
3
Rating
Page 6 of 10
Packet Pg. 676
12.A.2
6. Public Records and Sunshine Law. 'Phis Office will continue to educate and update County
staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law,
Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with
staff on various topics of interest.
Self Analysis: As of the end of August 2020, this Office conducted 2
presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. Because of social
distancing requirements, our focus had to completely shift to on-line resources, which is more
convenient for people to access, but lacks the "human" touch.
1. Sunshine Law and Public Records for Procurement Professionals at the Procurement
Division on February 4, 2020.
2. Sunshine Law, Public Records, and Ethics presentation to the Pelican Bay Services
Division Board on November 13, 2020.
Our Power Point presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act,
Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at www.colliergov.net on the
County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public.
With a great deal of assistance from Troy Miller, two new video presentations were prepared
and are available; one is geared to new staff hires, with the other geared to new advisory board
members.
A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public
records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates
were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human
Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical
Services.
I hope to return to more personal presentations/workshops/seminars when the current
pandemic ends.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 7 of 10
Packet Pg. 677
12.A.2
7. Litigation. We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily
in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep
the Board abreast of the County's litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect
to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the
Board of County Commissioners.
Self Analysis: This Office manages the County's litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number
of years ago i commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our
litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 58 open cases, including foreclosures (35) and
eminent domain (7). This compares favorably with last year, when at this time there were a total
of 69 open cases, including 44 foreclosures and 11 eminent domain cases. As a further
comparison, in our first Quarterly Report of March 2009 there were 255 open cases, the bulk of
which concerned bankruptcy and foreclosures (151) and eminent domain (40). For the past few
years, major litigation has been a small fraction of what it was then, and since March of 2013 there
has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons
for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated Iand
use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County's
standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly
with the Procurement Department, which have virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment
disputes. This past year the Office closed 7 general litigation cases, 6 of which the County was a
defendant, at a net gain of $247,000 to the County. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation
Report (Draft October 2020), with updates from the prior report highlighted in yellow is attached.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3
Page 8 of 10
Packet Pg. 678
12.A.2
8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all I'Llblic Hearings and ordinances are properly
advertised.
Self Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager's Office and the
Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before
the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory
and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item.
Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission and
Hearing Examiner.
In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads, our Office receives copies of all
ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples
Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking
on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated
with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible
and by not running ads that are not required.
In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 78 ads for items appearing on the Board
of County Commissioners' agenda, 19 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda, and 19 ads
for items appearing on the Hearing Examiner's agenda_ Ads were significantly lower than prior
years, presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments;
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3
9. Agenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats
and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Municode.
Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved
documents from approval, Chairman's signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission
to Municode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting
that require the Chairman's signature with some items containing multiple documents. All
documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed
through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Municode for
codification.
Page 9 of 10
Packet Pg. 679
12.A.2
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
2
Exceeds
Standards
3
1
Rating
10. Advisory Boards. A number of yearts ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory
Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries
to the Board.
Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We
coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new
openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County's website. We coordinate
with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc.
We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration.
Since September 2019, 116 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 58
agenda items were taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. This amount is
also less than prior years, again presumably due to the pandemic.
2
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Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 10 of 10
Packet Pg. 680
12.A.3
The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the
activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal
advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory
committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager
and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager
by the Board of County Commissioners.
The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the
County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and
capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters,
finance and land use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County's divisions and
departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the
review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the
drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other
Board signatory documents.
The County Attorney's Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners
provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this
performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year's annual
Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below
Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are
then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position.
The following is the County Attorney's Action Plan for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year. The Action
Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a
significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction;
communications; fiscal management; and personnel management.
Page 1 of 10
Packet Pg. 681
12.A.3
Goals for Fiscal Year 2019-20:
I will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include
hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer
service results, and making internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work
product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for
Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within
the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our
planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued
enhancement within the Office.
Specific areas that I propose as part of next year's action plan are:
1. Oral Presentations at Meetings. I will continue to work to assure that both the County
Attorney's and the County Attorney Office's presentations at Board of County Commissioners'
meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All
presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid legalese and focus on the legal
issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor
to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd's approach of the three B's with respect to Board
presentations: that "you be Brief, be Brilliant, and Be gone," though from time to time further
explanation and discussion will follow when needed.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
Page 2 of 10
Packet Pg. 682
12.A.3
2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide
professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its
advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as
necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses
will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and
to the point.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
3. Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Office's response time to Requests for
Legal Services (RLS's) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS's being processed within 48 hours.
There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take
weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48-
hour (or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from
the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from
Total Office (this Office's data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will
include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the
Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements,
contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested
by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff.
Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS's) this year was 95% of all
RLS's being processed within 48 hours. As always, a number of legal assignments, due to their
complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved
my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective, which
is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. This was especially satisfying this year, with all of its unique
challenges, as the Office processed 10% more RLS's than the prior year. Before my tenure as
County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS's processed
within 48 hours.
Page 3 of 10
Packet Pg. 683
12.A.3
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office.
In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago I instituted a practice in which performance
evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to
assess the performance of each attorney in the Office. The reports rate the attorneys on a 1 to
3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds
Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office's
collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews
will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney's performance evaluations.
Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney -Client Feedback form was provided to
Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive
from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are
not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney's individual annual
performance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions.
The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure
as County Attorney we have virtually eliminated the "Does Not Meet" portion of the evaluation.
This year this Office attained an 84% "Exceeds" expectation, with 16% "Meets" expectations.
Page 4 of 10
Packet Pg. 684
12.A.3
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Comparison of 2008 through 2020
Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results
Exceeds Meets
T
Does Not Meet N/A
■ 2008 ■ 2009 2010 ■ 2011 ■ 2012 ■ 2013 ■ 2014 ■ 2015 2016 ■ 2017 2018 2019 2020
j
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
Page 5 of 10
Packet Pg. 685
12.A.3
5. Fiscal Management. I will continue to develop and effectively administer an annual budget
for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office.
Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney in April 2008, this Office was budgeted for
$3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $2,532,800 for this
upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). The following chart
illustrates that, except for 2018, this Office consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction.
Board Direction Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
. Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
10 5.8
5 0 0 0 2.5 3 2. 2.1.7 1.9..4 1
0
-5 -4.5 -3 -3 -3.2
-55.0 -5
61
-10 -8.2
-15
FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21
The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office
evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out
inefficient employees, by cross -training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by
replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the
County's business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
Page 6 of 10
Packet Pg. 686
12.A.3
6. Public Records and Sunshine Law. This Office will continue to educate and update County
staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law,
Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with
staff on various topics of interest.
Self Analysis: As of the end of August 2020, this Office conducted 2
presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. Because of social
distancing requirements, our focus had to completely shift to on-line resources, which is more
convenient for people to access, but lacks the "human" touch.
1. Sunshine Law and Public Records for Procurement Professionals at the Procurement
Division on February 4, 2020.
2. Sunshine Law, Public Records, and Ethics presentation to the Pelican Bay Services
Division Board on November 13, 2020.
Our Power Point presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act,
Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at www.colliergov.net on the
County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public.
With a great deal of assistance from Troy Miller, two new video presentations were prepared
and are available; one is geared to new staff hires, with the other geared to new advisory board
members.
A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public
records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates
were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human
Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical
Services.
I hope to return to more personal presentations/workshops/seminars when the current
pandemic ends.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
Page 7 of 10
Packet Pg. 687
12.A.3
7. Litigation. _ We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily
in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep
the Board abreast of the County's litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect
to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the
Board of County Commissioners.
Self Analysis: This Office manages the County's litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number
of years ago I commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our
litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 58 open cases, including foreclosures (35) and
eminent domain (7). This compares favorably with last year, when at this time there were a total
of 69 open cases, including 44 foreclosures and 11 eminent domain cases. As a further
comparison, in our first Quarterly Report of March 2009 there were 255 open cases, the bulk of
which concerned bankruptcy and foreclosures (151) and eminent domain (40). For the past few
years, major litigation has been a small fraction of what it was then, and since March of 2013 there
has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons
for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated land
use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County's
standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly
with the Procurement Department, which have virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment
disputes. This past year the Office closed 7 general litigation cases, 6 of which the County was a
defendant, at a net gain of $247,000 to the County. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation
Report (Draft October 2020), with updates from the prior report highlighted in yellow is attached.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
Page 8of10
Packet Pg. 688
12.A.3
8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all Public Hearings and ordinances are properly
advertised.
Self Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager's Office and the
Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before
the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory
and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item.
Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission and
Hearing Examiner.
In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads, our Office receives copies of all
ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples
Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking
on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated
with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible
and by not running ads that are not required.
In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 78 ads for items appearing on the Board
of County Commissioners' agenda, 19 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda, and 19 ads
for items appearing on the Hearing Examiner's agenda. Ads were significantly lower than prior
years, presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
9. Aaenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats
and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Municode.
Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved
documents from approval, Chairman's signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission
to Municode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting
that require the Chairman's signature with some items containing multiple documents. All
documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed
through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Municode for
codification.
Page 9 of 10
Packet Pg. 689
12.A.3
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
10. Advisory Boards. A number of yearts ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory
Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries
to the Board.
Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We
coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new
openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County's website. We coordinate
with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc.
We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration.
Since September 2019, 116 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 58
agenda items were taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. This amount is
also less than prior years, again presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
XX
Page ] 0 of 10
Packet Pg. 690
12.A.4
The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the
activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal
advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory
committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager
and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager
by the Board of County Commissioners.
The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the
County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and
capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters,
finance and land use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County's divisions and
departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the
review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the
drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other
Board signatory documents.
The County Attorney's Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners
provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this
performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year's annual
Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below
Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are
then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position.
The following is the County Attorney's Action Plan for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year. The Action
Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a
significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction;
communications; fiscal management; and personnel management.
Page i of 10
Packet Pg. 691
12.A.4
Goals for Fiscal Year 2019-20:
1 will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include
hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer
service results, and malting internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work
product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for
Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within
the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our
planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued
enhancement within the Office.
Specific areas that I propose as part of next year's action plan are:
1. Oral Presentations at Meetings. I will continue to work to assure that both the County
Attorney's and the County Attorney Off ce's presentations at Board of County Commissioners'
meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All
presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid Iegalese and focus on the legal
issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor
to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd's approach of the three B's with respect to Board
presentations: that "you be Brief, be Brilliant, and Be gone," though from time to time further
explanation and discussion will follow when needed.
Commissioner Comments:
Below Meets
Standards Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1 2
3
Rating
Page 2 of 10
Packet Pg. 692
12.A.4
2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide
professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its
advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as
necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses
will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and
to the point.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Office's response time to Requests for
Legal Services (RLS's) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS's being processed within 48 hours.
There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take
weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48-
hour (or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from
the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from
Total Office (this Office's data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will
include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the
Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements,
contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested
by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff.
Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS's) this year was 95% of all
RLS's being processed within 48 hours. As always, a number of legal assignments, due to their
complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved
my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective. which
is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. This was especially satisfying this year, with all of its unique
challenges, as the Office processed 10% more RLS's than the prior year. Before my tenure as
County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS's processed
within 48 hours.
Page 3 of 10
Packet Pg. 693
12.A.4
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office.
In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago I instituted a practice in which performance
evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to
assess the performance of each attorney in the Office. The reports rate the attorneys on a 1 to
3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds
Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office's
collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews
will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney's performance evaluations.
Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney -Client Feedback form was provided to
Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive
from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are
not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney's individual annual
performance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions.
The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure
as County Attorney we have virtually eliminated the "Does Not Meet" portion of the evaluation.
This year this Office attained an 84% "Exceeds" expectation, with 16% "Meets" expectations.
Page 4 of 10
Packet Pg. 694
12.A.4
100Va
90%
80%
70 %
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Comparison of 2008 through 2020
Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results
0
Exceeds Meets Does Not Meet N/A
■ 2008 ■ 2009 ■ 2010 ■ 2011 ■ 2012 ■ 2013 ■ 2014 ■ 2015 ■ 2016 ! 2017 ■ 2018 ■ 2019 2020
Commissioner Comments:
Below Meets Exceeds
Standards Standards Standards
1 2 3
Rating 3
Page 5 of I 0
Packet Pg. 695
12.A.4
5. Fiscal Management. i will contiuuc to develop and effectively administer an annual budget
for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office.
Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney in April 2008, this Office was budgeted for
$3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $2,532,800 for this
upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). The following chart
illustrates that, except for 2018, this Office consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction.
■ Board Direction Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
■ Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
10
5.8
5 0 0 0 2.5 3 2. 2.1.7 1.1.4 1
0
-5 -4.5 -55.0 3 ,3 -3.2
-5
-10 -8.2
-15
FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 1S FY 19 FY 20 FY 21
The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office
evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out
inefficient employees, by cross -training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by
replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the
County's business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1 --
2
3
Rating
Page 6 of 10
Packet Pg. 696
12.A.4
b. Public Records and Sunshine Law. This Office will continue to educate and update County
staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law,
Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with
staff on various topics of interest.
Self Analysis: As of the end of August 2020, this Office conducted 2
presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. Because of social
distancing requirements, our focus had to completely shift to on-line resources, which is more
convenient for people to access, but lacks the "human" touch.
1. Sunshine Law and Public Records for Procurement Professionals at the Procurement
Division on February 4, 2020.
2. Sunshine Law, Public Records, and Ethics presentation to the Pelican Bay Services
Division Board on November 13, 2020.
Our Power Point presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act,
Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at www.colliergov.net on the
County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public.
With a great deal of assistance from Troy Miller, two new video presentations were prepared
and are available, one is geared to new staff hires, with the other geared to new advisory board
members.
A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public
records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates
were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human
Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical
Services.
I hope to return to more personal presentations/workshops/seminars when the current
pandemic ends.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3
Page 7 of 10
Packet Pg. 697
12.A.4
7. Litigation. We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily
in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep
the Board abreast of the County's litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect
to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the
Board of County Commissioners.
Self Analysis: This Office manages the County's litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number
of years ago I commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our
litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 58 open cases, including foreclosures (35) and
eminent domain (7). This compares favorably with last year, when at this time there were a total
of 69 open cases, including 44 foreclosures and 11 eminent domain cases. As a further
comparison, in our first Quarterly Report of March 2009 there were 255 open cases, the bulk of
which concerned bankruptcy and foreclosures (151) and eminent domain (40). For the past few
years, major litigation has been a small fraction of what it was then, and since March of 2013 there
has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons
for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated land
use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County's
standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly
with the Procurement Department, which have virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment
disputes. This past year the Office closed 7 general litigation cases, 6 of which the County was a
defendant, at a net gain of $247,000 to the County. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation
Report (Draft October 2020), with updates from the prior report highlighted in yellow is attached.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 8 of 10
Packet Pg. 698
12.A.4
8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all Public Hearings and ordinances are properly
advertised.
Self' Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager's Office and the
Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before
the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory
and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item.
Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission and
Hearing Examiner.
In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads, our Office receives copies of all
ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples
Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking
on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated
with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible
and by not running ads that are not required.
In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 78 ads for items appearing on the Board
of County Commissioners' agenda, 19 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda, and 19 ads
for items appearing on the Hearing Examiner's agenda. Ads were significantly lower than prior
years, presiunably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
9. Agenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats
and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Municode.
Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved
documents from approval, Chairman's signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission
to Municode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting
that require the Chairman's signature with some items containing multiple documents. All
documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed
through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Municode for
codification.
Page 9 of 10
Packet Pg. 699
12.A.4
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3
10. Advisory Boards. A number of yearts ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory
Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries
to the Board.
Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We
coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new
openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County's website. We coordinate
with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc.
We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration.
Since September 2019, 116 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 58
agenda items were taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. This amount is
also less than prior years, again presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 10 of 10
Packet Pg. 700
12.A.5
The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the
activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal
advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory
committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager
and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager
by the Board of County Commissioners.
The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the
County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and
capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters,
finance and land use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County's divisions and
departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the
review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the
drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other
Board signatory documents.
The County Attorney's Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners
provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this
performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year's annual
Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below
Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are
then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position.
The following is the County Attorney's Action Plan for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year. The Action
Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a
significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction;
communications; fiscal management; and personnel management.
Page 1 of 10
Packet Pg. 701
12.A.5
Goals for Fiscal Year 2019-20:
I will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include
hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer
service results, and making internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work
product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for
Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within
the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our
planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued
enhancement within the Office.
Specific areas that I propose as part of next year's action plan are:
1. Oral Presentations at Meetings. I will continue to work to assure that both the County
Attorney's and the County Attorney Office's presentations at Board of County Commissioners'
meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All
presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid legalese and focus on the legal
issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor
to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd's approach of the three B's with respect to Board
presentations: that "you be Brief, be Brilliant, and Be gone," though from time to time further
explanation and discussion will follow when needed.
Commissioner Comments: LO
i v
cJ
�y16r�1e. �s 's8 TI M-Gs
LU
UGC d i i c.JLiz T//Ve- S .
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
a
0
U
0
N
O
N
c
m
E
t
U
2
r
a
Page 2 of 10
Packet Pg. 702
12.A.5
2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide
professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its
advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as
necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses
will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and
to the point.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3. Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Office's response time to Requests for
Legal Services (RLS's) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS's being processed within 48 hours.
There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take
weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48-
hour (or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from
the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from
Total Office (this Office's data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will
include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the
Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements,
contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested
by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff.
Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS's) this year was 95% of all
RLS's being processed within 48 hours. As always, a number of legal assignments, due to their
complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved
my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective, which
is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. This was especially satisfying this year, with all of its unique
challenges, as the Office processed 10% more RLS's than the prior year. Before my tenure as
County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS's processed
within 48 hours.
Page 3 of 10
Packet Pg. 703
12.A.5
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office.
In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago I instituted a practice in which performance
evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to
assess the performance of each attorney in the Office. The reports rate the attorneys on a 1 to
3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds
Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office's
collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews
will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney's performance evaluations.
Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney -Client Feedback form was provided to
Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive
from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are
not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney's individual annual
performance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions.
The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure
as County Attorney we have virtually eliminated the "Does Not Meet" portion of the evaluation.
This year this Office attained an 84% "Exceeds" expectation, with 16% "Meets" expectations.
Page 4 of 10
Packet Pg. 704
12.A.5
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Comparison of 2008 through 2020
Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results
Exceeds Meets Does Not Meet N/A
s 2008 ■ 2009 a 2010 ■ 2011 ■ 2012 9 2013 ■ 2014 a 2015 X, 2016 ■ 2017 a 2018 2019 2020
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
RatingX.
Page 5 of 10
Packet Pg. 705
12.A.5
5. Fiscal Management. I will continue to develop and effectively administer an annual budget
for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office.
Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney in April 2008, this Office was budgeted for
$3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $2,532,800 for this
upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). The following chart
illustrates that, except for 2018, this Office consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction.
Board Direction Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
10
5.8
5 392.5 2;` 2 _...
0 0 0 3 7 1.1.4 1
01
-OL
-5 jr3W-4.5 -3.2
-5-10 - �__..
-15
FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21
The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office
evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out
inefficient employees, by cross -training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by
replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the
County's business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow.
Commissioner Comments:
(� �v V"c.�.e'�
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
�ta,n arc .AJ
Page 6 of 10
Packet Pg. 706
12.A.5
6. Public Records and Sunshine Law. This Office will continue to educate and update County
staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law,
Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with
staff on various topics of interest.
Self Analysis: As of the end of August 2020, this Office conducted 2
presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. Because of social
distancing requirements, our focus had to completely shift to on-line resources, which is more
convenient for people to access, but lacks the "human" touch.
1. Sunshine Law and Public Records for Procurement Professionals at the Procurement
Division on February 4, 2020.
2. Sunshine Law, Public Records, and Ethics presentation to the Pelican Bay Services
Division Board on November 13, 2020.
Our Power Point presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act,
Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at www.colliergov.net on the
County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public.
With a great deal of assistance from Troy Miller, two new video presentations were prepared
and are available; one is geared to new staff hires, with the other geared to new advisory board
members.
A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public
records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates
were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human
Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical
Services.
I hope to return to more personal presentations/workshops/seminars when the current
pandemic ends.
Commissioner Comments:
J1 rl a w
L ��
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
RatingXI
Page 7 of 10
Packet Pg. 707
12.A.5
7. Litigation. We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily
in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep
the Board abreast of the County's litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect
to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the
Board of County Commissioners.
Self Analysis: This Office manages the County's litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number
of years ago I commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our
litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 58 open cases, including foreclosures (35) and
eminent domain (7). This compares favorably with last year, when at this time there were a total
of 69 open cases, including 44 foreclosures and 11 eminent domain cases. As a further
comparison, in our first Quarterly Report of March 2009 there were 255 open cases, the bulk of
which concerned bankruptcy and foreclosures (151) and eminent domain (40). For the past few
years, major litigation has been a small fraction of what it was then, and since March of 2013 there
has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons
for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated land
use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County's
standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly
with the Procurement Department, which have virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment
disputes. This past year the Office closed 7 general litigation cases, 6 of which the County was a
defendant, at a net gain of $247,000 to the County. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation
Report (Draft October 2020), with updates from the prior report highlighted in yellow is attached.
Commissioner Comments:
UJV)�e, Of) 5-C... �1 �V �P,
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
J
Page 8 of 10
Packet Pg. 708
12.A.5
8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all Public Hearings and ordinances are properly
advertised.
Self Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager's Office and the
Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before
the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory
and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item.
Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission and
Hearing Examiner.
In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads, our Office receives copies of all
ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples
Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking
on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated
with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible
and by not running ads that are not required.
In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 78 ads for items appearing on the Board
of County Commissioners' agenda, 19 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda, and 19 ads
for items appearing on the Hearing Examiner's agenda. Ads were significantly lower than prior
years, presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
9. Agenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats
and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Municode.
Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved
documents from approval, Chairman's signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission
to Municode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting
that require the Chairman's signature with some items containing multiple documents. All
documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed
through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Municode for
codification.
Page 9 of 10
Packet Pg. 709
12.A.5
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
10. Advisory Boards. A number of yearts ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory
Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries
to the Board.
Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We
coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new
openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County's website. We coordinate
with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc.
We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration.
Since September 2019,.1.16 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 58
agenda items were taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. This amount is
also less than prior years, again presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 10 of 10
Packet Pg. 710
12.A.6
The County Attorney is charged with the responsibility of planning, directing and reviewing the
activities and operations of the Office of the County Attorney. The County Attorney is the legal
advisor and counsel for the Board of County Commissioners, its advisory boards and advisory
committees. The County Attorney also provides legal counsel to and assists the County Manager
and his agencies in order to facilitate the goals and objectives established for the County Manager
by the Board of County Commissioners.
The County Attorney, through the assistant county attorneys and supporting staff, represents the
County in wide-ranging complex litigation relating to implementation of government policies and
capital projects, eminent domain, personal injury, property damage, workplace/personnel matters,
finance and Iand use. In addition to litigation, he is counsel to the County's divisions and
departments for their daily operations. In this regard, the County Attorney is responsible for the
review of all policy documents (resolutions), legislation (ordinances and special acts), and the
drafting, legal review and revision of all contracts, real property conveyance documents and other
Board signatory documents.
The County Attorney's Employment Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners
provides for an annual evaluation of the County Attorney's performance. By custom, this
performance has been measured against performance objectives set forth in that year's annual
Action Plan, by rating each of the performance objectives on a 1 to 3 scale, with 1 being Below
Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds Standards. Individual evaluations are
then totaled and averaged to determine the Board's collective position.
The following is the County Attorney's Action Plan for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year. The Action
Plan is based on the broad areas generally expected to be performed by the Managing Partner of a
significant law firm, including: legal advice; leadership and organizational direction;
communications; fiscal management; and personnel management.
Page 1 of 10
Packet Pg. 711
12.A.6
Goals for Fiscal Year 2019-20:
I will continue to initiate changes to create a more efficient work environment. This will include
hiring and retaining the best employees, focusing on how to conduct business with better customer
service results, and making internal changes that result in a more efficient and effective work
product. The County Attorney Office has completed its restructuring to assure that Requests for
Legal Services are completed promptly, and that there will be overlapping areas of expertise within
the Office. To increase our efficiency, this effort will require further improvements in our
planning, assignment of responsibilities, and establishment of accountability to assure continued
enhancement within the Office.
Specific areas that I propose as part of next year's action plan are:
Oral Presentations at Meetings. I will continue to work to assure that both the County
Attorney's and the County Attorney Office's presentations at Board of County Commissioners'
meetings, advisory board meetings, and workshops are clear, concise and effective. All
presenters will be charged with making presentations that avoid legalese and focus on the legal
issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: No change from prior years. As a general rule, this Office continues to endeavor
to follow former County Manager Jim Mudd's approach of the three B's with respect to Board
presentations: that "you be Brief, be Brilliant, and Be gone," though from time to time further
explanation and discussion will follow when needed.
Commissioner Comments:
Rating
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Page 2 of 10
Packet Pg. 712
12.A.6
2. Written Legal Advice. Both the County Attorney and the County Attorney Office will provide
professional, objective, unbiased legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners, its
advisory boards and committees, the County Manager and his agencies and employees as
necessary for formulation and implementation of legislative policies and projects. Responses
will avoid legalese and focus on the legal issue in a simple, understandable and brief manner.
Self Analysis: The continuing direction to all attorneys is to keep their writing clear, concise, and
to the point.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
3. Processing Requests for Legal Services. This year, this Off ce's response time to Requests for
Legal Services (RLS's) continued to exceed 90% of all RLS's being processed within 48 hours.
There will always be a number of legal assignments, due to their complex nature, that take
weeks and even months to complete. Accordingly, this Office will continue to achieve a 48-
hour (or less) turnaround time on 90% of all future Requests for Legal Services received from
the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager agencies. A report will be run from
Total Office (this Office's data management system) to determine turnaround time. This will
include preparation and review of documents for legal sufficiency prior to consideration by the
Board of County Commissioners for Board action, including, but not limited to, agreements,
contracts, deeds, leases, bonds, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents requested
by County Commissioners, the County Manager, or the staff.
Self Analysis: The response time to Requests for Legal Services (RLS's) this year was 95% of all
RLS's being processed within 48 hours. As always, a number of legal assignments. due to their
complex nature, take weeks and even months to complete. I believe the Office has fully achieved
my goals in this area, the results of which are demonstrated in the next Goal and Objective, which
is Client Satisfaction /Peer Review. This was especially satisfying this year, with all of its unique
challenges, as the Office processed 10% more RLS's than the prior year. Before my tenure as
County Attorney, the average response time for an RLS was 11 days, with 3% of RLS's processed
within 48 hours.
Page 3 of 10
Packet Pg. 713
12.A.6
Commissioner Comments:
Below Meets Exceeds
Standards Standards Standards
1 2 3
RatingV eel
4. Client Satisfaction/Peer Review. Client satisfaction continues to be a major goal of this Office.
In furtherance of this goal, a number of years ago I instituted a practice in which performance
evaluation reports are sent to the various Division Administrators and Managers each year to
assess the performance of each attorney in the Office. The reports rate the attorneys on a I to
3 scale, with 1 being Below Standards; 2 being Meets Standards; and 3 being Exceeds
Standards. Individual evaluations are then totaled and averaged to determine this Office's
collective score, with a goal of 75% rating level for exceeding expectations. Client reviews
will factor into each of the Assistant County Attorney's performance evaluations.
Self Analysis: Once again this year, an Attorney -Client Feedback form was provided to
Department Heads and select Managers, to solicit their opinions regarding the service they receive
from the County Attorney Office. These results are utilized to shift workloads if departments are
not satisfied with our services; they are also utilized in the attorney's individual annual
performance evaluations, and in restructuring decisions.
The following is a chart showing a comparison of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 overall client feedback. As you can see, during my tenure
as County Attorney we have virtually eliminated the "Does Not Meet" portion of the evaluation.
This year this Office attained an 84%"Exceeds" expectation, with 16% "Meets" expectations.
Page 4 of 10
Packet Pg. 714
12.A.6
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Comparison of 2008 through 2020
Attorney - Client Feedback Overall Results
Exceeds Meets Does Not Meet N/A
■ 2008 s 2009 w 2010 ■ 2011 ■ 2012 w 2013 ■ 2014 w 2015 ■ 2016 ■ 2017 ■ 2018 ■ 2019 2020
Commissioner Comments:
Below Meets Exceeds
Standards Standards Standards
i 2 3
Rating 11i!'�� �
Page 5 of 10
Packet Pg. 715
12.A.6
5. Fiscal Management. I will continue to develop and effectively administer an annual budget
for the Office of the County Attorney in conformance with policies adopted by the Board of
County Commissioners, while at the same time improving the quality of this Office.
Self Analysis: Prior to my tenure as County Attorney in April 2008, this Office was budgeted for
$3,173,600 (when we had 31 full time employees). The current request is for $2,532,800 for this
upcoming Fiscal Year (with 15 actual full-time employees, and 18 budgeted). The following chart
illustrates that, except for 2018, this Office consistently met or exceeded Board budget direction.
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
■ Board DIrectionPercentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
■ Percentage Increase / Decrease Per Year / Net Cost to General Fund
FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18 FY 19 FY 20 FY 21
The reduction in personnel was accomplished with an increase in service; over time, the Office
evolved into doing more with less. Overall office efficiency was increased by managing out
inefficient employees, by cross -training, by reassigning work to higher performers, and by
replacing legal secretaries with paralegals who can do higher level work. Going forward, as the
County's business and population grows, I expect the Office will slowly grow.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
\W
Page 6 of 10
Packet Pg. 716
12.A.6
6. Public Records and Sunshine Law. This Office will continue to educate and update County
staff, and advisory board members through periodic workshops/seminars, (e.g. Sunshine Law,
Public Records Act, State and local ethics law). This Office will also conduct seminars with
staff on various topics of interest.
Self Analysis: As of the end of August 2020, this Office conducted 2
presentations/workshops/seminars to County staff and advisory board meetings. Because of social
distancing requirements, our focus had to completely shift to on-line resources, which is more
convenient for people to access, but lacks the "human' touch.
1. Sunshine Law and Public Records for Procurement Professionals at the Procurement
Division on February 4, 2020.
2. Sunshine Law, Public Records, and Ethics presentation to the Pelican Bay Services
Division Board on November 13, 2020.
Our Power Point presentations relating to Government in the Sunshine, Public Records Act,
Ethics Laws and Social Networking are available on the internet at w-ww.colliergov.net on the
County Attorney web page for viewing by advisory board members, staff and the public.
With a great deal of assistance from Troy Miller, two new video presentations were prepared
and are available; one is geared to new staff hires, with the other geared to new advisory board
members.
A Public Records Manual providing general information, guidelines for handling public
records requests, general and specific exemptions and an update highlighting legislative updates
were provided to various departments including Communication and Customer Relations, Human
Resources, Domestic Animal Services, Security, Risk Management and Emergency Medical
Services.
I hope to return to more personal presentations/workshops/seminars when the current
pandemic ends.
Commissioner Comments:
Below Meets Exceeds
Standards Standards Standards
1 2 3
Rating r ' '
Page 7 of 10
Packet Pg. 717
12.A.6
7. Litigation. We will continue to effectively and efficiently manage litigation using primarily
in-house counsel and secondarily through the use of outside counsel as needed. We will keep
the Board abreast of the County's litigation through quarterly reports for the Board with respect
to current litigation, including potential or anticipated legal issues that may come before the
Board of County Commissioners.
Self Analysis; This Office manages the County's litigation. To keep the Board informed, a number
of years ago I commenced the process of providing the Board with quarterly reports of our
litigation activity. Currently, there are a total of 58 open cases, including foreclosures (35) and
eminent domain (7). This compares favorably with last year, when at this time there were a total
of 69 open cases, including 44 foreclosures and 11 eminent domain cases. As a further
comparison, in our first Quarterly Report of March 2009 there were 255 open cases, the bulk of
which concerned bankruptcy and foreclosures (151) and eminent domain (40). For the past few
years, major litigation has been a small fraction of what it was then, and since March of 2013 there
has not been a single case where the County has been at risk for a material judgment. The reasons
for this include proactive management of the land use process, which has virtually eliminated land
use disputes, and the insertion of a right to terminate for convenience provision in the County's
standard form contracts while assigning the Deputy County Attorney to work daily and directly
with the Procurement Department, which have virtually eliminated contract and vendor payment
disputes. This past year the Office closed 7 general litigation cases, 6 of which the County was a
defendant, at a net gain of $247,000 to the County. A copy of the most current Quarterly Litigation
Report (Draft October 2020), with updates from the prior report highlighted in yellow is attached.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
Page 8 of 10
Packet Pg. 718
12.A.6
8. Advertising. We will continue to ensure that all Public Hearings and ordinances are properly
advertised.
Self Analysis: Beginning in 2009, with the assistance of the County Manager's Office and the
Clerk to the Board, this Office has monitored all legal advertisements for public hearings before
the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose was to ensure that all legal ads met statutory
and Code requirements and were made part of the record as back-up material for the agenda item.
Since then, our oversight has expanded to include legal ads for the Planning Commission and
Hearing Examiner.
In addition to working with departments in drafting legal ads. our Office receives copies of all
ad requests, which are reviewed by the assigned attorney before they are forwarded to the Naples
Daily News. Support staff then verifies that the ads are published correctly. Our goal in taking
on this responsibility is to avoid the delays, waste, and the potential for legal challenge associated
with defective advertising. We also actively seek to reduce costs by combining ads where possible
and by not running ads that are not required.
In the past year, our office has reviewed approximately 78 ads for items appearing on the Board
of County Commissioners' agenda, 19 ads for items appearing on the CCPC agenda, and 19 ads
for items appearing on the Hearing Examiner's agenda. Ads were significantly lower than prior
years, presumably due to the pandemic.
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
IS
9. Agenda Items. We will continue to ensure that all Board approved contracts, ordinances, plats
and other documents are properly processed, recorded, and codified with Munieode.
Self Analysis: We have been fully successful in monitoring and processing Board approved
documents from approval, Chairman's signature, delivery to the Clerk to the Board and submission
to Munieode for codification as appropriate. On average there are 40+ agenda items per meeting
that require the Chairman's signature with some items containing multiple documents. All
documents must be compared with the item in the agenda system for accuracy and processed
through to the Clerk to the Board. Most ordinances must be submitted to Munieode for
codification.
Page 9 of 10
Packet Pg. 719
12.A.6
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
Rating
�e
10. AdvisorLBoards. A number of yearts ago the Board tasked this Office to manage its Advisory
Boards. We continue to advertise new openings and bring appropriate Executive Summaries
to the Board.
Self Analysis: We have successfully integrated and managed this task with existing staff. We
coordinate with the Communications and Customer Relations Division to make sure that the new
openings are posted, and the current information is posted on the County`s website. We coordinate
with the various advisory board liaisons to get recommendations for appointments, resignations, etc.
We then bring the items to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration.
Since September 2019, 116 advisory board applications were received and processed, and 58 0)
agenda items were taken to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. This amount is
also less than prior years, again presumably due to the pandemic. L
0
R
Commissioner Comments:
Below
Standards
Meets
Standards
Exceeds
Standards
1
2
3
1
Page 10 of 10
Packet Pg. 720