AGENDA #5a
BUDGET WORKING PAPER
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: Bill Stockard, Assistant to the Manager
SUBJECT:Report on Feasibility of Retaining a Federal Lobbyist for the Town
DATE: April 25, 2001
The information in this paper responds to a Council request to assess the feasibility of retaining a federal lobbyist.
At the January 23, 2001, Public Forum and Hearing on the Budget, Mayor Waldorf reported that the City of Charlotte had retained a lobbying firm for the purpose of seeking out federal funding. The Council directed the Manager to contact other North Carolina municipalities to determine whether or not they had retained federal lobbyists to lobby for grants, as well as asking for information on the process, cost, and success rates.
A Charlotte City Council Member provided Mayor Waldorf with the attached materials on The Ferguson Group of Washington, D.C., which serves as a lobbying firm for the City of Charlotte (Attachment 2).
RESEARCH
Of the 11 municipalities we contacted, only two – Charlotte and Durham – have retained a federal lobbyist. The other municipalities either had no such relationship with federal lobbyists, focused on the State Legislature only, or had an employee who functioned as the liaison with federal and State governments. Some municipalities, such as Kannapolis and Wilmington, reported that lobbying firms had approached them.
Both Charlotte and Durham rated their lobbying firms as highly successful in implementing legislation and in obtaining grants.
The following chart summarizes our findings:
Municipality
|
Do you have a federal lobbyist or full-time grant-seeker? |
How did you go about obtaining such a lobbyist or grant-seeker? |
How much does this service cost? |
How would you rate the success of this service? |
|
Cary |
No. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Charlotte |
Yes, the Ferguson Group (joint funding with Mecklenburg County). |
Request for Proposals and interview (5 years ago). |
$66,000 each (city and county), with expected increase to $90,000 each. |
Successful in helping implement grants and legislation. |
|
Durham |
Yes, Capitol Link of Leesburg, Va. |
Through previous City Manager. |
$30,000 per year, but expect an increase as they include more grant-writing. |
Successful in original “Weed & Seed” grant in 1998. Successful in working with David Price’s office to get federal transit funding. |
|
Greensboro |
No response. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Greenville |
No, use internal staff. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Hickory |
No, but do use lobbyist in State Legislature. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Kannapolis |
No, but has been approached by The Ferguson Group. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Raleigh |
No. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Rocky Mount |
No. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Wilmington |
No, but has been approached by firms. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Winston-Salem |
No, but an employee serves as liaison. |
-- |
-- |
-- |
We also met with Darek L. Newby, Senior Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative David E. Price, to discuss whether a lobbyist might be of value at the federal level. Mr. Newby recommended that Town departments and the Council identify all community needs that might be met by Federal funds and submit a request for assistance to Representative Price. Representative Price and his staff then could assist the Town in identifying possible federal funding sources and could provide advice about how to seek funding. We will initiate a review process with all Town departments and will report the results to the Council at a future meeting.
PROPOSAL BY THE FERGUSON GROUP
The Ferguson Group has submitted an informal proposal to begin working with the Town in October 2001, for a fee of $54,000 ($6,000 per month). Retainer contracts include a charge of $6,000 per month, plus the following hourly rates for time in excess of 20 hours of principal equivalent time:
· $250 Principal
· $150 Senior Associate
· $100 Associate
· $60 Research Associate
Clients are billed monthly for reimbursable expenses, including out-of-town travel (pre-approved by the client), in-town travel, long-distance telephone charges, faxes, document reproduction, FED-EX and in-town courier services. The contract may specify an annual limit on reimbursable expenses.
Specifics of the proposal are outlined in Attachment 1.
The Ferguson Group’s proposal states that it “specializes in land-use, water resources, environmental, transportation, municipal, and defense conversion issues.” The proposal says that the group is knowledgeable of the legislative and regulatory processes and has a “keen sense of what works on Capitol Hill.”
If the Council wishes to pursue discussions with The Ferguson Group, the Manager will seek a formal proposal for the Council’s final approval.
DISCUSSION
· Could secure project funding that the Town staff had not been aware of previously.
· Could provide the Council with a greater number of contacts at the Federal level.
Disadvantages of Hiring a Lobbyist
· Expense. The proposal quoted to the Manager would cost the Town $54,000 beginning in October, plus hourly rates for time in excess of 20 hours of principal equivalent time.
· Could identify possible federal funding sources and advice about how to seek funding, without spending $54,000 or more.
· Could provide greater communication opportunities with Representative Price’s Office.
Disadvantages of Working with Representative Price
· We can see no disadvantages to working with Representative Price.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the possible expense involved in working with a lobbyist, the uncertainty of the return on investment, and the difficult financial situation facing the Council in 2001-2002, we do not recommend hiring a lobbyist at this time.
We do, however, realize that there is potential in working with Representative Price. With that goal in mind and with Council approval, we will initiate a review process with all Town departments to determine community needs that might be met by Federal funding and report to the Council at a future meeting. Subsequently, the Council could submit a request to Representative Price.
If the Council wishes to further consider employment of a federal lobbyist, we recommend that the Council instruct the Manager to propose a request for proposal that could be advertised to firms that might have an interest in providing such services.
1. Proposal from the Ferguson Group, LLC (p. 5).
2. March 20, 2000 Memorandum from Charlotte Council Member Rod Autrey, with highlights from The Ferguson Group (p.19).
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