TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Justin Clifton, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Isaac Bravo, Management Analyst
SUBJECT:
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Approval of the Third Amendment with Alchemy Group, Inc. for Federal Legislative Advocacy and Fifth Amendment with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. for Grant Writing and Legislative Advocacy
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RECOMMENDATION
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Approve the Third Amendment to the Agreement with the Alchemy Group, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $60,000 for federal legislative advocacy services for an additional year;
Approve a Fifth Amendment to the Agreement with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. for an additional three years in the total amount not to exceed $414,000, for grant writing and legislative advocacy services; and
Authorize the City Manager to execute the amendments in a form approved by the City Attorney.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On April 20, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 21-4391, authorizing the First Amendment to the Agreement with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. to include federal legislative advocacy services, effective April 5, 2021, and increasing the contract amount not-to-exceed to $90,000 (Vote: 5-0).
On March 31, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 23-4650 extending the agreement with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. to December 31, 2024, increasing the not-to-exceed amount to $126,000, and adding inclusion of state legislative advocacy services (Vote: 5-0).
On August 17, 2023, the City Manager entered into an agreement with The Alchemy Group, Inc. for federal legislative advocacy services in the amount not to exceed $25,000.
On June 24, 2024, the City Manager authorized an amendment to the agreement with The Alchemy Group, Inc., extending the agreement to December 31, 2024, and increasing the amount not to exceed $75,000.
On December 3, 2024, the City Council approved the Second Amendment with Alchemy Group Inc., and the Fourth Amendment with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc., for grant writing and legislative advocacy. (Vote: 5-0)
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Maintain a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency.
DISCUSSION
The City of Murrieta (City) has historically contracted for both legislative advocacy and grant writing professional services. As of 2024, the City has contracted with two firms, Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA) and The Alchemy Group (Alchemy), for grant writing and legislative advocacy services. While both firms offer similar scopes, each firm offers distinct services to the City.
Townsend Public Affairs
In 2019, TPA was originally selected after a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process for grant writing services by the City. The contract with TPA was expanded in 2021, to include federal legislative advocacy, and in 2023, to include State legislative advocacy. TPA has worked with the City to organize and coordinate legislative trips to both Sacramento and Washington, D.C. They have also helped the City secure over $15 million of State and federal grant funding for the City for various uses, including public safety, transportation, and infrastructure improvements.
TPA routinely informs the City of various State and federal grant opportunities, as well as potential legislation that may adversely impact the City or align with its legislative platform.
The Alchemy Group
The City Manager’s Office contracted with The Alchemy Group to augment and specifically focus on advocacy to federal representatives. Following federal redistricting for the United States House of Representatives, the City was moved from CA-41 (Ken Calvert, (R)) to CA-48 (Darrell Issa, (R)). Alchemy has had tremendous success in helping the City establish and build a positive working relationship with the new Congressional representative’s office. This relationship is critical to the City, especially with major projects on the horizon, including the Interstate 215 at Keller Road interchange project.
Although City staff are assigned to grants administration and legislative affairs, the same staff perform other duties. As such, the availability of staff to dedicate time to the performance of the critical work of coordinating and performing advocacy at the State and federal levels is limited. Given the significance of the possible funding opportunities and the need to secure funding to complete key projects, such as roadway and infrastructure projects, and to establish and keep good working relationships with State and Federal representatives, staff recommends the City continue to engage Alchemy through 2026 and extend TPA through 2028.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact associated with the amendment to the TPA Agreement is $3,000 for FY 2025/26 and $6,000 for FY 2026/27. Sufficient budget appropriations are available to cover these costs in each respective fiscal year. Funding for year 3 will be incorporated into the City’s biennial budget development.
As part of the annual contract review, Townsend requested an adjustment to their monthly fee to reflect the continued level of service and increased volume of grant activity.
The revised contract amount for Townsend is as follows:
• Year 1: $11,000 per month. $132,000 annually. Approximately a 4.8 percent increase.
• Year 2: $11,500 per month. $138,000 annually. Approximately a 4.5 percent increase.
• Year 3: $12,000 per month. $144,000 annually. Approximately a 4.3 percent increase.
Alchemy Group’s contract amount remains unchanged; therefore, there is no fiscal impact associated with the amendment to the Alchemy Group’s contract.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Third Amendment with The Alchemy Group, Inc. for Federal Legislative Advocacy
2. Fifth Amendment with Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. for Grant Writing and Legislative Advocacy