November 21, 2020

Mallory Herrmann
Staff Reporter

The city council’s legislative intergovernmental relations committee has recommended awarding a one-year agreement to The Britton Group, LLC for lobbying services in Jefferson City.

The Britton Group is the city’s current lobbyist, assisting the City of Lee’s Summit in tracking bills of interest and to promote the City’s interests in the state capitol.

The committee considered two packages that were received in response to a request for proposal, one from The Britton Group and one from Strategic Capitol Consulting LLC.

The Britton Group is based out of Jefferson City and has served as the city’s lobbyist for the past three years. The new agreement is for a one-year term, with two additional one-year renewals, at a cost of $12,000 per year.

The proposal from Strategic Capitol Group included a monthly fee of $2,000 per month, totaling $24,000 for the year.

Councilmember Hillary Shields had ranked Strategic Capitol Group significantly higher than Britton on the scoring sheets provided to the committee, citing their more robust response and detailed expertise. But the first-year councilmember said she was interested in feedback from her more seasoned colleagues on their experience with Britton.

Councilmember Bob Johnson said Britton is a well-informed and reasonable group to deal with.

“For what I want out of a lobbying representative, it’s not worth an additional $1,000 a month for me,” Johnson said.

The committee agreed that the city’s lobbying needs were being adequately met by Britton and that doubling the current expense would not be warranted.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend the council’s approval of the agreement. Councilmembers Shields, Johnson and Trish Carlyle and Mayor Bill Baird were present via teleconference for the Nov. 16 session.