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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBozeman MT proposal 1 A Proposal for Legislative Lobbyist Services for the City of Bozeman By Communication and Management Services Kerins, Geiger, Managing Partners 629 Helena Avenue P.O. Box 125 Helena, MT 59624 (406) 442-4934 (phone) (406) 442-9573 (fax) Andrew.drew.geiger@gmail.com 2 1. Cover letter October 17, 2016 Chris Kukulski City Manager City of Bozeman Dear Mr. Kukulski, CMS is pleased to submit this proposal for Legislative Lobbyist Services to the City of Bozeman. Our firm was formed 15 years ago and specializes in governmental affairs, technical writing, human resources, and management consulting. I joined the firm in 2008 and have expanded our governmental affairs representation in the areas of tourism promotion, health care finance, and trade associations. I will be the primary contact and representative for the City of Bozeman (support staff roles are defined in our staff bio section). Myself and our firm have completed projects for municipalities and counties across the country, and thus have a firm understanding of the challenges and opportunities of delivering direct public services to your constituents. We are aware of many of the innovations taking place in both the public and private sectors in and around Bozeman, and would be proud to assist in connecting the public policy processes for the upcoming 2017 legislative session. Drew Geiger Managing Consultant CMS, LLC 629 Helena Avenue P.O. Box 125 Helena, MT 59624 (406) 442-4934 (phone) (406) 442-9573 (fax) Andrew.drew.geiger@gmail.com 3 2. Executive Summary Section 3. of this proposal provides greater detail of the tasks in the scope of work of the RFP (Section 3.1), but I wanted to provide a little background on my approach to lobbying and preferred roles for a contract lobbyist and the City as the client. I strive to make clear distinctions between the analysis and advocacy function of the lobbyist, and the policy prioritization and positions of the represented entity. While I will be monitoring all bills and looking for items of concern or potential benefit to the City, I will be looking for major policy decisions to come from the elected officials and senior management team of the City of Bozeman. To me there is no one approach to lobbying, rather strategies need to be constantly honed with each issue, bill, legislator, or committee. I maintain a constant presence at the capitol from the start of the session through Sine Die. In addition to tracking bills and monitoring committee hearings, it is important to keep a pulse on the personal and political dynamics of any particular legislative session. I will provide briefings to City officials on such dynamics within caucuses as they relate to major bills and issues to Bozeman and City government. As an example, I would place infrastructure as the major item facing the legislature this term; last session it was Medicaid expansion which passed without a single affirmative vote from leadership in either chamber. I anticipate the same coalitions to be in place with regards to infrastructure, hopefully without the overlay of national political battles. The other component of the Montana Legislature at present is the harmful impacts of term limits. This not only adds to the acrimony seen in the last few sessions, but the lack of institutional knowledge means we need to constantly educate legislators as to the basic issues. In addition to supporting or opposing bills, I will be explaining some of what local government does best: providing clean water to homes and business, public safety, roads and infrastructure, and recreational and economic development. In addition to the issues of infrastructure, property taxes, and local control currently prioritized by the City, I will maintain close coordination with representatives from the Montana League of Cities and Towns on items such as local option taxes, annexation and political boundaries, expansion or restrictions on law enforcement, collective bargaining bills impacting the management of the City’s workforce, etc. 4 3. Scope of Services I will address each of the 14 tasks identified in the Scope of Services section of the RFP, with the mutual understanding that many of these functions blend together. I will address potential challenges in any area as appropriate. The timeframes for each task are included in this section. Task 1-Represent and Advocate As mentioned in the executive summary, the role of advocacy is ongoing and very important to a successful lobbying effort. A legislator who has a good feeling for what Bozeman is already doing proactively to partner with the state and serve mutual constituents is more likely to both listen and vote appropriately. Between now and the session the City can provide policy positions, data, and narratives that best highlight innovations and successes in solving public policy and service delivery problems while serving Bozeman residents. Another component is to keep special contact with legislators representing Bozeman to give them that level of attention from the City’s representative. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 2-Identify Legislative Priorities and Confirm City of Bozeman’s Policy Positions As mentioned in the executive summary, I will provide analysis and input to the City management and elected officials to put together the 2017 legislative priority list. I would anticipate two to three meetings prior to the start of the legislative session (note this is a suggested change from the City’s RFP due to current date). As the management team looks at potential legislation, which many times means only looking at a short title, I can provide analysis on the general background of the legislator to attempt to develop a sense of intent. Timeframe: This should begin as soon as possible, and continue into the start of the session as bill language continues to be added. Task 3-Track Legislation This task flows directly from the previous one. I will be tracking bills as they come online and even before. One has to be sensitive to the workloads of legislative staff, but I do make contact with them as appropriate to see if they have source materials for a bill even if their drafting prioritization system does not have them drafting it yet. I would anticipate email and phone communication to be frequent for this function. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 4-Monitor Legislative Committee Meetings and Hearings This is one of the daily functions of maintaining a constant presence in the capitol. I will provide the City with items of importance regarding the process of legislating (committee dynamics, coalitions/schisms within committee, other lobbying presence, reasons for votes, and likely outcomes in other committees or the other chamber. In addition, for bills of upmost importance to the City, I will partner with you to provide the best strategy for representation in the hearing. Timeframe: Ongoing. 5 Task 5-Draft Public Testimony, Support Letters, Talking Points, White Papers (Letters to Newspapers) The verbal and written communication of City officials is one of the most important pieces of a successful lobbying effort. I will provide drafts of all of the abovementioned components for the City to use after making any edits as to style or technical need. I will use knowledge of the legislative environment to provide these written documents in a style so as to be most impactful to the audience. In addition to drafting public testimony, I am available to any City official that would like to discuss their testimony to a particular committee. The challenge in this area is to break through the cacophony of four months of so much testimony and lobbying. I can offer advice on brevity and strategic communication. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 6-Advise and Counsel As mentioned in the executive summary, it is important to place any individual issue or bill within the broader context of the legislative and political environment at that time. The biggest mistake organizations make in lobbying is assuming they are going to be successful based on the logic of what they are proposing. There are times when a whitepaper with empirical evidence makes sense to advance; there are times when a quick narrative story to the committee will be more effective. In addition to transmitting the actions of the legislature to the City, I will provide the background for why such actions are taking place. This also involves providing the City with an unbiased analysis of the impact of other lobbying groups. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 7-Understand and Communicate the City of Bozeman’s Positions I will anticipate an intense schedule of getting up to speed on all of the issues important to the City, details on the City structure and operations, intergovernmental issues with state government, etc. Timeframe: This should begin as soon as possible. Task 8-Develop and Enhance Relationships As mentioned earlier, I will use any opportunity when speaking with a legislator to best represent the City’s interest to legislators, staff, and statewide elected officials and their staff. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 9-Schedule Meetings and Appointments It is understood the City would like to have meetings scheduled as feasible to discuss emerging developments or issues of importance to the City. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 10-Assist in Acclimating the City of Bozeman to Montana’s Legislative Environment I will be available to any City official who is interacting with the legislature or an executive branch agency. This not only involves making introductions as appropriate, but providing City officials with advice on the backgrounds of legislators so they may frame their interactions in the most appropriate manner. While this will likely involve senior management and elected officials, I will be available to any level of the City who are participating in a legislative effort (e.g. if the Fire Chief is testifying on a bill impacting their department). Timeframe: Ongoing. 6 Task 11-Summarize Legislation of Interest to the City of Bozeman and Offer Strategic Counsel I will provide written analysis summarizing the components and potential impact of any bill of interest to the City so that officials may access this information and provide feedback within their schedules. This approach will also provide strategies for defeating, supporting, or amending legislation within the City’s objectives and political realities. Timeframe: Ongoing. Task 12-Provide Legislative Analysis I will provide a mid-session report on the current status of bills the City is tracking as well as any political development important to the City’s broader objectives. This process will be repeated following the conclusion of the 2017 session. Timeframe: Immediately following transmittal break and in May 2017 respectively. Task 13-Register as a Lobbyist I have been continuously registered as a lobbyist since 2008 and will add the City of Bozeman at the appropriate time. Timeframe: Upon City’s acceptance. Task 14-Perform Ad Hoc Duties It is understood that I will be available to perform ad hoc duties as needed to best address City objectives. Timeframe: Ongoing. 7 4. Cost Proposal The following is a project budget for services related to Communication & Management Services, LLC’s Legislative Lobbyist Services to the City of Bozeman. CMS will provide monthly invoices throughout the course of the project. The following budget correlates to the work plan described in Section 3 of this proposal. The amounts included herein include all costs related to the firm’s activities (travel, printing, supplies, support staff, routine entertaining, incidentals, etc.). No other costs, fees, or monies will be accrued or spent without the prior approval of the City. Final terms and amounts can be negotiated by CMS and the City as needed. October 2016 $2,000 November 2016 $2,000 December 2016 $2,000 January 2017 $4,500 February 2017 $4,500 March 2017 $4,500 April 2017 $4,500 May 2017 $1,000 $25,000 8 5. CMS Bios Drew Geiger Drew is a managing partner at CMS and takes the lead on governmental affairs for the firm. A former senior analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures, Drew has a wide background working in public policy with both the legislative and executive branches in state governments across the country. Prior to joining CMS, Drew also served as a senior associate with the Yarger Group, the Communications Director for the Montana Department of Commerce, and as a Legislative Analyst with the Montana Legislature. Since joining the firm he has expanded CMS’ clients to include a balance of trade associations and the tourism industry, as well as arts and cultural groups. He has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Akron. Shannon Voss Shannon is a consultant with CMS on a wide variety of client services, including assisting with bill tracking and analysis, session logistics, and external communications. Prior to joining the firm she had a variety of professional experience that included publications, communications, and property management. She has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Montana. 9 6. References and Sample Work 1. Alan Hall, Vice-President Allegiance Life and Health (406) 532-3100 2. Paul Stahl Montana Cultural Advocacy (406) 447-8221 3. Bruce Halcro Montana Collision Repair Specialists (406) 439-6841 For two examples of similar work, please see SB223 from the 2013 legislative session: http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2013/billpdf/SB0223.pdf, and HB265 from the 2011 session: http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2011/billpdf/HB0265.pdf. I drafted both bills and served as chief lobbyist during all phases of the legislation. bb