Concerns raised over Turlock proposal to hire city attorney with no government experience
The Turlock City Council on Tuesday is set to consider a contract appointing real estate lawyer George Petrulakis as interim city attorney, marking another leadership change.
Two council members questioned the cost of the proposed contract with his firm Petrulakis Law & Advocacy and raised concerns over how Petrulakis has not worked as a city attorney before.
Council Members Nicole Larson and Andrew Nosrati both noted higher costs in the proposed contract with Petrulakis compared to the agreement with the Churchwell White law firm. Turlock announced the resignation of City Attorney Doug White, managing partner of Churchwell White, after a closed meeting last month; his last day is Feb. 28. While White’s firm charged the city $30,000 per month for 155 hours of general legal services per its March 2019 agreement, Petrulakis’s firm proposed charging $300 per hour for such services in the pending contract.
If the city needs more than 100 hours of general legal services per month, contracting with Petrulakis’s firm, which primarily handles real estate law, will cost more. Churchwell White, which specializes in public policy, charged $195 per hour for those services if the city went over its monthly 155 retainer hours and rollover hours.
“It would be unfair to Mr. Petrulakis and our City to expect him to perform the same amount of legal services that we receive from Churchwell White’s team of attorneys,” Larson said in a text. “If he does, we will be paying tremendously more than we are currently. We should not be making regressive decisions when tax payers have trusted us with progressing the city forward toward the standards, efficiencies and timeliness that we deserve.”
In November, Turlock residents passed the Measure A general sales tax, which officials said can help maintain services from roads to public safety and will generate about $11 million per year for the city’s general fund. The tax passed after the council froze a total of 35 city jobs in the past two years and called the current budget unsustainable. But Nosrati said the city has spent unnecessary administrative and legal fees in the last month.
City management communications suggest Turlock has been using all of the 155 retainer hours from Churchwell White, Nosrati added. As the city grows and attracts more businesses, he said he anticipates Turlock’s legal needs will increase, too. The Bee asked Acting City Manager Gary Hampton how often Turlock used all the general legal services hours, among other questions, but he did not respond before publication.
Turlock council divided over changes
Nosrati and Larson cast the two dissenting votes against appointing Petrulakis, pending approval of a contract, in a closed meeting on Feb. 3. They also voted against accepting White’s resignation and putting City Manager Toby Wells on investigatory leave on Jan. 7.
For the appointment, Nosrati said he voted no because the Modesto-based Petrulakis Law & Advocacy firm has fewer resources than the Sacramento-based Chruchwell White and Petrulakis has never worked in municipal law. Petrulakis confirmed he has not served as a city attorney before in a text to The Bee.
“While I’ve worked across the table from city attorneys for almost thirty years, in this interim appointment not having been employed as one appears to have been in my favor,” Petrulakis said. “If I am understanding the City Council‘s goal, they want someone unburdened by lifetime government service to help them address how to best serve the city’s need for legal services.”
Mayor Amy Bublak and Council Members Pam Franco and Rebecka Monez all declined to speak with The Bee about the proposed contract for Petrulakis prior to Tuesday’s meeting. Franco said it would be premature to comment on the matter until after the meeting and she will make her final decision after hearing comments from the public and other council members. Monez likewise said she was not comfortable commenting about an issue before public comment.
Nosrati added he has no reason to doubt Petrulakis’s integrity or his qualifications as an attorney. Petrulakis has worked as an attorney since 1991 and his firm deals with land use, local regulation and government relations in addition to real estate, according to his resume.
“My only concern is specifically in his experience working with cities and his ability to provide the same or comparable levels of services as we were getting in Churchwell White’s firm,” Nosrati said.
While Larson said she respects White’s resignation, she said she believes the city can continue working with his law firm.
“I’m excited to continue to serve the city through the end of February,” White told the Bee for a Jan. 7 article. “To the extent that the city needs assistance beyond that, I’m willing and able to assist them.
The council is scheduled to discuss the proposed agreement for interim city attorney services during its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Members of the public can join via Zoom. A closed session will follow the regular meeting and the agenda includes an employee discipline, dismissal, or release.
