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Municipal Judge Request for QualificationsREQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQs) FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE POSITION OF CITY OF KALISPELL MUNICIPAL JUDGE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO INTERESTED APPLICANTS 1 - GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 The City of Kalispell seeks to appoint a qualified individual to the position of Municipal Judge for the City of Kalispell to fill the position that will be vacated by Judge Heidi Ulbricht on December 31, 2012. The individual appointed will be required to stand for election during the election cycle of 2013 if it is that person's desire to remain in office. 1.2 The qualifications for the position of Municipal Judge are delineated in Chapter 2, Article 11 of the Kalispell Municipal Code. Specifically, a Municipal Court Judge must have the same qualifications as a judge of a district court, as set forth in Article VII, Section 9, of the 1972 Montana Constitution, except that a Municipal Court Judge need only be admitted to the practice of law in the State for at least three (3) years prior to the date of appointment or election. A Municipal Court Judge must be a resident and voter in Flathead County at the time of election. The authority and duties of the court are delineated at Title 3 Chapter 6 of the Montana Code. 1.3 The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be received by the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00 p.m. local time, November 21, 2012. 1.4 Questions pertaining to the selection process should be directed to Charles Harball, City Attorney, at 758-7709 or at charball@kalispell.com. 1.5 The City of Kalispell shall not be held responsible for any oral instructions. Any changes to this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be in the form of an addendum, which will be furnished to all applicants. 1.6 The City of Kalispell reserves the right to reject any or all SOQs, to waive any informality or irregularity in any SOQ received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the respective SOQs received. 1.7 The Municipal Judge will be selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualification for the position. The salary and benefits for this position shall be consistent with state law and city code. 2 - ANTICIPATED SCOPE OF WORK After being selected, the Municipal Court Judge shall provide the services as set forth in state and municipal codes. 3 - STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS SELECTION CRITERIA 3.1 The Municipal Court Judge will be selected through a qualification -based selection process. Attorneys interested in being appointed to the position of Municipal Court Judge for the City of Kalispell must submit a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) that addresses the following evaluation criteria. Applicants are encouraged to organize their submissions in such a way as to follow the general evaluation criteria listed below. Information obtained from the SOQ and from any other relevant source may be used in the evaluation and selection process. 3.2 Cover Letter (1-page) containing at a minimum: Name, address, telephone number, and email address. 3.3 Qualifications Criteria 3.3.1 General Information a. Description of current law practice. b. Bar license number. 3.3.2 Relevant Experience (33 points) a. Applicant's overall reputation, judicial capabilities and qualities. b. List and briefly describe the legal services the applicant has provided and the length of time the services have been provided. c. A minimum of three referrals and references. d. List and describe any litigation; arbitration; claims or bar complaints filed against the applicant in the last five years. e. Applicant's capacity and intent to proceed without delay if selected for this position. f Applicant's specific experience in the areas of law over which the Municipal Court has jurisdiction. 3.3.3 Judicial Understanding and Approach (33 points) a. Judicial approach to the application of justice in the civil and criminal aspects of municipal court. b. Approach to the efficient administration of the court's duties. 3.3.4 Other Factors (33 points) a. Current work obligations and ability to proceed promptly. b. Willingness to abide by the City's needs and requirements with few or no objections or changes. c. Relevant factors impacting the quality and value of service. 4 - SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS 4.1 The SOQ shall include a one -page cover letter plus a maximum of fifteen (15) pages to address the SOQ criteria specified in Section 3 (excluding Resumes). Table of Contents and section divider pages do not count towards the total page count. 4.2 Five copies of the Statement of Qualifications must be submitted to the City Clerk at 201 First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana, by 5:00 p.m. local time, November 21, 2012. 4.3 Failure to comply with the following criteria may be grounds for disqualifications: Receipt of submittal by the specified cut-off date and time. Number of originals and/or copies of the submittal specified. Adherence to maximum page requirements. 4.4 Adherence to the maximum page criteria is critical; each page side (maximum 8 1/2" x 11") with criteria information will be counted. 5 - SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE 5.1 A three -member Evaluation Board comprised of one city council member, one member of the Montana Bar, and a member of a victim's advocate group, will evaluate each Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) according to the above criteria and select up to three finalists that will be Short Listed for the position. The Short List applicants will meet with the Evaluation Board for interviews. The purpose of the interview will be to expand on the information provided in the SOQ, not to repeat information already provided. Those applicants selected for the Short List will be provided additional instruction by the City. Those applicants not selected for further consideration will be notified. 5.2 The following tentative schedule has been prepared. Applicants interested in this position must be available on one of the following interview dates. SOQs due: 5:00 p.m. November 21, 2012 Applicants notified for interview: By November 28, 2012 Interviews: December 3, 4, 5, 2012 5.3 Following the interviews the Evaluation Board will determine a ranking for each Short List applicant based on the published criteria in 3.3 of this RFQ. Consideration will be given to both the written Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) and any oral presentations or interviews. No other factors or criteria will be used in the qualification ranking. 5.4 The highest ranked applicant will be recommended to the City Council for appointment to the position. 5.5 All information submitted by applicants and related Evaluation Board evaluations and rankings shall be considered confidential to the extent that the privacy interests of the applicant exceed the right of the public to access that information.