Request for Proposals - City Attorney Services

The City of Foster City is requesting proposals from full-service law firms with experience in advising and representing California cities for full city attorney services.
The City of Foster City is located along the San Francisco Bay peninsula. The City is made up of breathtaking shorelines and lagoons and offers its citizens an unsurpassed quality of life. Residents enjoy the many recreational activities provided by the lagoons, quality parks, and mild climate. Foster City is both a general-law city and a special district (Estero Municipal Improvement District) with a Council-Manager form of Government. The City Council, the City Manager, and our operating departments are focused on the City’s mission to sustain and enhance the quality of life of everyone who lives, works, and plays in our community.
Incorporated in 1971, the City is a full-service city, serving a population of over 30,000. City departments and services include: City Manager’s Office, City Clerk/Communications, Community Development, Financial Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Police, Public Works & Parks, and Recreation. Fire services are provided through the City’s participation in the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department JPA.

Some of the major CIP projects the City is currently engaged in include a multi-million-dollar levee project, a wastewater treatment plant, long term golf course land use decision and replacement of the recreation center.

City Council
The City Council is the City's five-member governing body whose members serve four-
year overlapping terms. The City Council is selected via at-large elections and is comprised of two members whose terms expire in 2022 and three members whose terms expire in 2024. The City Council selects from among its members, a Mayor and Vice Mayor to one-year terms at a meeting in December of each year. The Mayor, who represents the City of Foster City, serves as the presiding officer of the City Council and signs enacting ordinances and contracts. The Foster City City Council meetings are generally the first and third Mondays each month at 6:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers located at 620 Foster City Boulevard. Foster City’s City Councilmembers serve part-time.

Purpose for the Request
The current contract City Attorney has announced her intention to retire from the City in July 2021. The City desires to obtain the services of a law firm experienced in municipal law to fill the role of City Attorney. Qualified firms with at least five (5) years of municipal law experience are invited to submit written proposals to provide city attorney services. It is the City’s preference that the designated City Attorney have at least ten (10) years of municipal law experience.

The City Attorney is expected to provide a wide range of legal services to the City. The City Attorney is selected by the City Council and will work closely with the City Manager and City Staff in performance of their daily duties in the operation of City business. The person appointed as City Attorney shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council. The City Attorney will not be a City employee.