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RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, TO ENTER INTO A CONTINGENT FEE CONTRACT WITH ABERNATHY, ROEDER, BOYD & HULLETT, PC PURSUANT TO THE TEXAS TAX CODE, SECTION 6.30 AND GOVERNMENT CODE 2254.1036 FOR THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT TAXES OWED TO THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Paris, Texas ("City') wishes to enter into a contingent fee contract with the law firm of Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, P.C. ("Firm") pursuant to the Texas Tax Code, Section 6.30, and Government Code 2254.1036 for the collection of delinquent taxes owed to the City of Paris, Texas; and WHEREAS, the City is pursuing a renewal of its contract with the Firm for the collection of delinquent property taxes owed to the City and through this contract the City seeks to increase recovery of its delinquent debts in the most effective and efficient manner. The desired outcome is the efficient collection of delinquent property taxes, penalties, and interest. GOVT. CODE § 2254.1036(1)(A); and WHEREAS, the City believes the Firm has the qualifications, competency, and experience necessary to fulfill the contract. GOVT. CODE § 2254.1036(1)(B). The Firm and its predecessors have collected delinquent government receivables for nearly 40 years. The Firm is local, with its principal office in McKinney, Texas. It employs more than 50 individuals, including 19 attorneys. Its collection team consists of long-term Firm employees, including attorneys, paralegals, law clerks, legal secretaries, collection support personnel and information technology experts; and The nature of any relationship between the City and the Firm is as follows. GOVT. CODE § 2254.1036(1)(C). i. The Firm and its predecessor The Pounders Law Firm, has represented the City in the collection of delinquent taxes for over eight (8) years; and WHEREAS, the City is unable to perform this function and efficiently collect its own delinquent taxes. GOVT. CODE § 2254.1036(1)(D). The services involve filing a high volume of cases each month and performing the services in-house would require the taxing units to invest in additional technology, personnel, and other resources to provide adequate support services incidental to the legal services; and WHEREAS, these collection services cannot be provided for an hourly fee. GOVT. CODE § 2254.1036(1)(E). The Tax Code allows the assessment of a percentage -based fee to recover the costs of collecting delinquent taxes (Texas Tax Code Sections 6.30, 33.07, 33.08, 33.11, and 33.48). This percentage -based fee is assessed only against the debtor and not the City or taxpayers of the City. The collection of delinquent taxes is a high-volume practice,