Mission Statement
The Office of the City Attorney is committed to protecting the legal interests and assets of the City, with the highest level of professionalism and ethics and dedication to serving the City of Gainesville for the benefit of its citizens. This Office provides legal counsel to the City Commission, the Charter Offices, all City Departments, including Gainesville Regional Utilities, Gainesville Police Department and Gainesville Fire Rescue Department, 42 City Boards and Committees, and the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency.
The Office of the City Attorney is staffed by 8 attorneys (three of whom are certified by the Florida Bar in City, County and Local Government Law) and 8 legal assistants, under the leadership of City Attorney Marion Radson. The City Attorney is a state and nationally respected authority and leader in municipal law. In 2009, in recognition of his work on the Florida Bar's Attorney-Client Task Force relating to enhancing the attorney-client privilege for public entities, the City Attorney received the Ethics in Government Award from the Florida Association of County Attorneys. In addition, the City Attorney was selected by his peers and conferred the title "Florida Legal Elite Government Attorney" by Florida Trend Magazine.
The primary role of the Office of the City Attorney is to protect the legal interests of the City in the conduct of its day-to-day business (handled by the transactional division of this Office) and in the prosecution and defense of legal challenges (handled by the litigation division of this Office.)
On the transactional side, this Office interprets and applies state and federal statutory and case law and the City Charter and Code of Ordinances; researches legal authority in order to provide guidance to the City; prepares ordinances and resolutions; negotiates, drafts and reviews contracts, bonds, and other legal instruments and sits as Commission, Board and Committee Counsel. The City of Gainesville is often on the cutting edge of local government policy and regulation and the transactional division works proactively to ensure that documents produced and guidance provided will assist the City in achieving its objectives and will withstand legal challenge. Our solid work product is often acknowledged by courts when upholding our ordinances and by other governments who use our ordinances as a model or seek guidance from our experiences. In 2009, the transactional division reviewed 574 Contracts, drafted 89 ordinances, and assisted in numerous business and real estate transactions, some of the highlights include:
- Solar feed-in-tariff ordinance and contracts. This is the first European style solar feed-in-tariff in North America and allows the City to contract with private parties to produce solar power for the municipal utility;
- Hospitality ordinance to address issues of underage drinking and overcrowding in establishments that serve alcohol beverages;
- Ordinances, in response to state law, creating transportation concurrency exception area zones throughout the City to address transportation impacts resulting from development and to encourage multi-modal and transit improvements;
- Ordinance establishing a red light camera enforcement program;
- Served as issuer’s counsel for the $180,090,000 Utilities System 2009 Series A and B Bonds and for the $13,000,000 Gainesville Improvement Revenue Notes Series 2009;
- Assisted in the negotiation of the Purchased Power Agreement and land rights agreements for the construction and operation of the 100MW biomass power plant at the Deerhaven Generating Station; and
- Assisted the Code Enforcement Department in preparing 192 cases for the Code Enforcement Board and collecting $14,197.97 in fines and $5,929.98 in costs.
On the litigation side, this Office prosecutes, defends and settles all legal challenges filed on behalf of or against the City, in State and Federal courts and before administrative agencies. This includes challenges to City ordinances, development approvals, employment actions, civil rights actions, torts (including vehicle accidents, trip and falls on City property and other personal and property damage claims), tax liability issues, the foreclosure of City liens and mortgages, the prosecution of municipal ordinances and adjusting claims made. These efforts save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year by defending the City against these claims. Highlights for the last year include:
- Challenging the property appraiser’s imposition of ad valorem taxes on the City’s fiber optic and internet service, saving City taxpayers millions of dollars in past and future taxes;
- Defending and upholding the quasi-judicial decisions of City land development boards in court;
- Successfully defending the City against claims for tens of thousands of dollars in trip and falls and negotiating settlements in vehicle accident cases; and
- Successfully defending the constitutionality of the City’s landlord permit and underage drinking ordinances.
In addition, the Office of the City Attorney takes an active role in the community, by mentoring undergraduates and supervising legal externs from the University of Florida and our attorneys often lecture, judge oral arguments, participate in mock trial programs and the Florida Bar Justice Teaching Program, and serve on the board of state and federal bar organizations.
The City Attorney's Office does not represent or give legal advice to citizens. For legal representation, you should contact a private attorney, the Florida Bar (850) 561-5600 (www.flabar.org), or Three Rivers Legal Services at (352) 372-0519 (www.trls.org).
Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 7:00am-6:00pm, Closed on Fridays.
City Attorney's Law Links
City of Gainesville Code of Ordinances www.municode.com/Resources/ClientCode_List.asp
Gainesville Code Enforcement Board www.cityofgainesville.org/GOVERNMENT/CityDepartmentsAM/CodeEnforcement/CodeEnforcementBoard/tabid/230/Default.aspx
Gainesville Police Dept. Guide for Recipients of Notices to Appear (Municipal Code Violations)
This site is not regularly monitored. If you desire a timely response, you may contact our office in person, delivery of written communication (P.O. Box 490, Sta. 46, Gainesville, Florida 32601), or call us directly at (352) 334-5011. Thank you.