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AGREEMENT FOR SPECIAL MAGISTRATE SERVICES
This Agreement is made and entered into by and between the City of Crestview (the "City")
and Samuel B. Taylor (the "Special Magistrate") as of the 21st day of October, 2020.
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the City requests the services of Special Magistrate to act pursuant to
Chapters 162 and 316, Florida Statutes, for the purpose of taking testimony and hearing
arguments at hearings, and making recommendations or final decisions which include findings
of fact and conclusions of law to the City; and
WHEREAS, the Special Magistrate desires to provide such services to the City as an
independent contractor; and
WHEREAS, the.Special Magistrate is qualified to provide such services.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual terms and conditions, promises,
covenants and payment hereinafter set forth, the City and Special Magistrate agree as follows:
SECTION ONE: SERVICES
1.1 The Special Magistrate shall :perform professional services to the City as a Special
Magistrate. The Special Magistrate services shall include, but not be limited to the following:
a. Taking testimony and hearing legal arguments at hearings;
b. Making recommendations, which include findings of fact and conclusions of
law, to the City, within ten (10) business days of each hearing date assigned to the Special
Magistrate when applicable law requires issuance of a final order by the City; and
c. Making and issuing final orders pursuant to Chapter 162.
d. Special Magistrate will be trained on and utilize the City's CivicClerk software
or such replacement as the City may choose.
e. Additionally, Special Magistrate shall:
(i) Avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety during all
Special Magistrate activities,
(ii) Promptly review case lists provided by the Clerk, and recuse himself
from any hearing in which recusal is necessary by law or regulation or to
avoid the appearance of impropriety.
(iii) Promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the
special magistrate process,
(iv) Limit all discussions to the merits of each petition, and only have such
discussions during properly scheduled hearing times in the presence of all
parties,
(v) Avoid any and all ex parte communications, and report any and all ex
parte communications to the City Clerk in writing,
(vi) Perform all Special Magistrate duties impartially and diligently,
(vii) Be patient and courteous to the parties and witnesses,
(viii) Adhere to the rules and statutes regarding admission of evidence,
(ix) . Notify the City Clerk of any scheduling conflicts so that such
conflicts may be resolved in a timely manner,
1.2 The Special Magistrate shall be responsible for complying with all federal, state and
local rules, regulations, statutes, laws or ordinances, regarding payment for his services under
this Agreement, and any reporting requirements thereunder.
1.3 The Special Magistrate will•;not display or distribute business cards or otherwise
advertise his at any special magistrate hearing or meeting, while serving as Special Magistrate
for the City.
1.4 During any hours the Special Magistrate provides services to the City, the Special
Magistrate shall devote his full time and effort to the services being performed for the City. The
Special Magistrate shall accurately maintain all records and make such reports as the City may
require. The Special Magistrate may complete work on files in his law office or home and
transmit the results to the City. The Special Magistrate shall comply with all requirements of
Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.
SECTION TWO: FEES
2.1 The City shall pay the Special Magistrate the rate of $450 per month for up to three
(3) hours of hearing time, $150 per hour for any hour over three (3) for his services as a Special
Magistrate.
2.2 This agreement is neither a guarantee that the Special Magistrate will be scheduled
to conduct hearings, nor a guarantee that the Special Magistrate will be available to provide
services to the City on all potential hearing dates. The City Clerk will work with the Special
Magistrate to coordinate scheduling of hearings.
SECTION THREE: TERM OF SERVICE
3.1 The term of this Agreement shall begin on the date of this Agreement and shall
continue until formally terminated by the Special Magistrate or the City.
3.2 This Agreement may be terminated by either party, with or without cause, by
written notice to the other party of the intent to terminate. Such termination shall be effective
at any time specified more than 90 days after either party gives notice.
3.3 In the event of termination, the Special Magistrate shall be entitled to compensation
for services rendered through the effective date of termination. All finished or unfinished
documents prepared by the Special Magistrate shall become the property of the City and shall
be delivered by the Special Magistrate to the City Clerk immediately upon the effective date of
termination.
SECTION FOUR: METHOD OF BILLING AND PAYMENT
4.1 The Special Magistrate will maintain a detailed record of time for his work under
this Agreement, to include hearing date, time spent hearing each petition on said date and time
spent providing services after each hearing date in order to complete recommendations for each
petition on said hearing date. The Special Magistrate shall submit an invoice for each assigned
hearing date, in the format specified or accepted by the City, immediately upon completion of
a final order or recommendations to the City for petitions heard on each hearing date. All
invoices shall be submitted directly to the City Clerk Finance at the mailing address or email
address provided by the City Clerk. Invoices will not be paid unless and until all
recommendations and orders for the corresponding hearing dates are completed and submitted
to the City.
4.2 The Special Magistrate acknowledges that each invoice must be reviewed and
approved by the City. Should the City or its designee determine that the invoice is not
commensurate with services performed, work accomplished, hours allotted pursuant to this
Agreement or hours extended, the City Clerk will contact the Special Magistrate in order to
resolve any issues or concerns.
SECTION FIVE: STANDARDS AND CORRECTIONS
5.1 The Special Magistrate shall perform or furnish to the City his professional services
in accordance with thegenerally accepted standards for attorneys and in accordance with any
laws, statutes, ordinances, codes, policies, rules and regulations governing the Special
Magistrate's services hereunder.
5.2 The Special Magistrate shall, without additional compensation, correct and revise
any errors, omissions, or other deficiencies in his work product, services, or materials arising
from the negligent act, error or omission of the Special Magistrate. The foregoing shall be
construed as an independent duty to correct rather than waiver of the City's rights under any
applicable statute of limitations. The review of, approval of, or payment for any of the Special
Magistrate's work product, services, or materials shall not be construed to operate as a waiver
of any of the City's rights under this Agreement, or cause of action the City may have arising
out of the performance of this Agreement.
SECTION SIX: NO ASSIGNMENT
6.1 This Agreement, or any interest herein, may not be assigned or delegated without
the prior written consent of the City.
SECTION SEVEN: SEVERABILITY AND WAIVER
7.1 In the event any provision of this Agreement shall be held invalid and unenforceable,
the remaining provisions shall be valid and binding upon the parties. One or more waivers by
either party of any breach of any provision, term, condition or covenant shall not be construed
by the other party as a waiver of any subsequent breach.
SECTION EIGHT: GOVERNING AND LAW VENUE
8.1 This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with Florida law. In
the event litigation arises involving the parties in connection with this Agreement, venue for
such litigation shall be in Okaloosa County, Florida.
SECTION NINE: INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS
9.1 The Special Magistrate is an independent contractor and is not an employee, servant,
agent, partner or joint venturer of the City.
SECTION TEN: PUBLIC RECORDS
10.1 The Special Magistrate as Contractor, shall comply with the requirements of
Florida's Public Records law. In accordance with Section 119.0701, Florida Statutes, Contractor
shall:
a. Keep and maintain public records required by the public agency in order to perform the service.
b. Upon request from the public agency'scustodian of public records, provide the public agency
with a copy of the requested records or allow the records to be inspected or copied within a
reasonable time at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided under Florida's Public Records
Law or as otherwise provided by law.
c. Ensure that public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public records
disclosure requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law for the duration of the
contract term and following completion of this contract if Contractor does not transfer the
records to the public agency: and
d. Upon completion of the contract, transfer, at no cost, to the public agency all public records in
possession of Contractor or keep and maintain public records required by the public agency to
perform the service. If Contractor transfers all public records to the public agency upon
• T
completion of the contract, Contractor shall destroy any duplicate public records that are
exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure requirements. If Contractor
keeps and maintains public records upon completion of this contract, the Contractor shall meet
all applicable requirements for retaining public records. All records stored electronically must
be provided to the public agency, upon request from public agency's custodian of public
records, in a format that is compatible with the information technology systems of the public
agency.
e. If Contractor has questions regarding the application of Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, to
Contractor's duty to provide public records relating to this Agreement, Contractor shall
contact the Custodian of Public Records at:
City Clerk, City of Crestview
198 North Wilson Street
P.O. Box 1209
Crestview, Florida 32536
(850) 682-1560 Extension 250
cityclerkc cityofcrestview.org
f. In the event the public agency must initiate litigation against Contractor in order to enforce
compliance with Chapter 119, Florida. Statutes, or in the event of litigation filed against the
public agency because Contractor failed to provide access to public records responsive to a
public record request, the public agency shall be entitled to recover all costs, including but not
limited to reasonable attorneys' fees, costs of suit, witness, fees, and expert witness fees extended
as part of said litigation and any subsequent appeals.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the City and the Special Magistrate have caused these presents to
be executed in their names, the day and year first above written.
Samu?1 Taylor, Special Magistrate
CITY OF CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA
By.
.B. Whitten, Mayor
ATTEST:
By:
Elizabeth I. Roy, City Clerk