Monrovia May Terminate Contract with State Lobbyist

The Monrovia City Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to terminate the contract of a state lobbying firm it retained in 2011 to aid in obtaining funding for the Gold Line Foothill Extension and other projects, according to city records.

Joe A. Gonsalves & Son was hired in September 2011 for $3,000 per month to lobby Sacramento lawmakers on issues like the Gold Line and the elimination or redevelopment but the city no longer needs the firm's services, a staff report written by management assistant Jennifer McLain states.

"While Gonsalves & Son has been helpful in the past for our specific issues as they related to the Gold Line and Redevelopment, at present time the city does not have a specific issue in which we require their services," the report states.

While staff recommends the termination of the Gonsalves & Son contract, it wants to retain the services of the city's federal lobbyists. Staff recommends that the council approve a two-year, $24,000 contract extension with David Turch & Associates.

"David Turch regularly communicates with the City through monthly updates, by alerting the city of available funding, through regular telephone calls, and in providing political and logistical assistant to Council members when they have participated in lobbying activities in Washington, D.C.," the report states. "The assistance of David Turch & Associates has been particularly helpful in recent months on their attention to the unfunded mandates implemented in the Clean Water Act, on the National Recreation Area, and in providing insight on available grant funding."

David Turch & Associates agreed to reduce its fees by $6,000 per year under the proposed agreement "in an effort to continue to show sensitivity to the city’s financial situation...," the report states.