AGENDA TITLE:
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Adopt a Resolution Appointing John Luebberke as Interim City Attorney and Approving the Corresponding Legal Services Agreement with Law Firm Herum Crabtree Suntag (CA)
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MEETING DATE:
April 1, 2026
PREPARED BY:
City Attorney’s Office
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt a Resolution appointing John Luebberke as Interim City Attorney, and approving the corresponding Legal Services Agreement with law firm Herum Crabtree Suntag.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On March 9, 2026, Katie Lucchesi notified the City Council of her resignation from her role as City Attorney with the City of Lodi. In preparation for the upcoming vacancy, Council will need to appoint an Interim City Attorney to fill the role while the City undertakes the recruitment process to hire a permanent replacement for the City Attorney position.
On March 18, 2026, City Council considered multiple candidates for the Interim City Attorney position and interviews were then held with the top candidates at a Special Council Meeting on March 26, 2026. Following those interviews, the City Council selected John Luebberke with the law firm Herum Crabtree Suntag as the preferred candidate and directed staff to finalize negotiations of agreement terms for final Council consideration and approval in open session.
Staff followed Council’s direction and negotiated the final terms with Mr. Luebberke and then received the Legal Services Agreement for this appointment from law firm Herum Crabtree Suntag as shown in Attachment 1.
Therefore, staff recommends Council adopt a resolution appointing John Luebberke from Herum Crabtree as the Interim City Attorney effective upon expiration of City Attorney Katie Lucchesi’s employment with the City of Lodi, and approving the Legal Services agreement with Herum Crabtree included as Attachment 1 to compensate Mr. Luebberke’s firm for his service in this role.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Not Applicable.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
Funding for the legal fees for the Interim City Attorney are available from salary savings in City Attorney’s Budget.