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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12172013 - C.79RECOMMENDATION(S): 1. ACCEPT the 2013 Annual Report of the Internal Operations Committee of the Board of Supervisors. 2. RECOGNIZE the excellent work of the County department staff who provided the requisite information to the IOC in a timely and professional manner, and members of the Contra Costa community and private industry who, through their interest in improving the quality of life in Contra Costa County, provided valuable insight into our discussions, and feedback that helped us to formulate our policy recommendations. 3. REMOVE without taking any further action the referrals listed on Exhibit A. 4. REFER to the 2014 IOC the items listed on Exhibit B. FISCAL IMPACT: Informational report only. No fiscal impact. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 12/17/2013 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Julie DiMaggio Enea (925) 335-1077 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: December 17, 2013 , County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: Stephanie L. Mello, Deputy cc: C. 79 To:Board of Supervisors From:INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Date:December 17, 2013 Contra Costa County Subject:2013 YEAR-END REPORT ON COMMITTEE REFERRALS AND DISPOSITION BACKGROUND: During 2013, the Internal Operations Committee (IOC) reviewed nominations to those advisory bodies for which the IOC has traditionally made recommendations to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) for appointment or reappointment – primarily at large seats or seats on committees whose composition requirements must be monitored. Our Committee appreciates the time and effort taken by the staff to these advisory bodies to recruit, screen, and nominate individuals to our Committee for approval and appointment by the Board. Their efforts in this regard allowed the IOC to focus more of its time on the following subjects: 1. Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and Outreach Programs. The IOC accepted two semi-annual reports from the Affirmative Action Officer: one in May and one in November. Modifications to the Outreach Program for construction projects were adopted by the Board, which are described under Referral #18. Program staff also established administrative goals to improve participation and data integrity. We recommend the IOC continue to provide policy level oversight of these programs and that they remain on referral to the 2014 IOC. REFER 2. County Financial Audit Program . In 2000, the Board of Supervisors directed that the IOC review each December the annual schedule of audits and best practices studies proposed by the County Administrator and the Auditor-Controller. Due to the exigent need to complete the County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report by the prescribed deadline, the IOC agreed to change, henceforth, the Auditor-Controller’s annual audit plan deadline to February. The Auditor-Controller’s Office presented of their 2012 audits and the proposed 2013 Audit Schedule to the IOC at its February 22, 2013 meeting. The IOC accepted the 2013 work plan and recommends that this issue remain on referral to the 2014 IOC. REFER 3. Annual Report on Fleet Internal Service Fund and Disposition of Low Mileage Vehicles . Each year, the Public Works Department Fleet Services Manager has analyzed the fleet and annual vehicle usage and made recommendations to the IOC on the budget year vehicle replacements and on the intra-County transfer of underutilized vehicles, in accordance with County policy. In FY 2008/09, the Board approved the establishment of an Internal Services Fund (ISF) for the County Fleet, to be administered by Public Works (formerly by the General Services Department). The Board requested the IOC to review annually the Public Works department report on the fleet and on low-mileage vehicles. On September 9, 2013, the IOC accepted the preliminary annual report from the Public Works department and requested the Fleet Manager to return in six months (March 2014) with final recommendations on the disposition of low mileage vehicles. It is recommended, therefore, that this matter remain on referral to the 2014 IOC for continued monitoring. REFER 4. Local Vendor Preference Program. On August 10, 2004, the Board of Supervisors referred to IOC the creation of a policy to grant a five percent preference to Contra Costa County vendors on all sealed bids or proposals, except with respect to those contracts which state law requires to be granted to the lowest bidder, and review of an ordinance to be drafted by County Counsel to enact this policy. The 2005 IOC proposed a new ordinance to the Board of Supervisors, and the Board adopted the local bid preference ordinance to support small local business and stimulate the local economy, at no additional cost to the County. The program provides that If the low bid in a commodities purchase is not a local vendor, any responsive local vendor who submitted a bid over $25,000 that was within 5% percent of the lowest bid has the option to submit a new bid. The local vendor will be awarded if the new bid is in an amount less than or equal to the lowest responsive bid, allowing the County to favor the local vendor but not at the expense of obtaining the lowest offered price. Since adoption, the IOC has continued to monitor the effects of the program through annual reports prepared and presented by the Purchasing Agent or designee. On November 13, 2012, the IOC accepted the Annual Report from the Public Works department and reported the outcome to the Board of December 3. It is recommended that this matter remain on referral to the 2014 IOC for continued monitoring. REFER 5. Advisory Body Recruitments. On December 12, 2000, the Board of Supervisors approved a policy on the process for recruiting applicants for selected advisory bodies of the Board. This policy requires an open recruitment for all vacancies to At Large seats appointed by the Board. The IOC made a determination that it would conduct interviews for At Large seats on the following bodies: Retirement Board, Fire Advisory Commission, Integrated Pest Management Advisory Committee, Planning Commission, Treasury Oversight Board, Airport Land Use Commission, Aviation Advisory Committee and the Fish & Wildlife Committee; and that screening and nomination to fill At Large seats on all other eligible bodies would be delegated each body or a subcommittee thereof. In 2013, the IOC submitted nominations to the Board of Supervisors to fill 19 vacant seats on various committees and commissions. Additionally, the IOC interviewed 31 individuals for seats on the Retirement Board, Integrated Pest Management Advisory Committee, Aviation Advisory Committee, and the Fish and Wildlife Committee. REFER 6. Process for Allocation of Propagation Funds by the Fish and Wildlife Committee. On November 22, 2010, the IOC received a status report from Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) regarding the allocation of propagation funds by the Fish and Wildlife Committee (FWC). The IOC accepted the report along with the recommended modifications to improve the grant process in the future. The modifications included (1) updating the FWC Conflict of Interest Code, and; (2) having the IOC conduct a preliminary review of annual FWC grant recommendations prior to Board of Supervisors review. On March 11, 2013, the IOC received a report from DCD proposing, on behalf of the FWC, 2013/14 Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund Grant awards. The IOC approved the proposal and, on April 9, recommended grant awards totaling $80,182 for 11 projects, which the Board approved unanimously. We recommend that the annual preliminary review be confirmed as a standing referral to the IOC. REFER 7. Review of Procedures Governing Employee Involvement in Contracts with Prospective Employers. On December 15, 2009, the Board of Supervisors referred this issue to the IOC and directed the County Administrator to work with County Counsel to develop policies and procedures governing employee involvement in contracts with prospective employers. This referral had not been taken up by the previous IOCs. Staff canvassed nine comparable counties, none of which reported any conflict of interest incidents. In anticipation of such ethical question, however, the City and County of San Francisco and Napa and Alameda Counties have taken measures to alert employees and/or contractors of the conflict of interest issue. The IOC directed staff to poll selected County departments to obtain their input on methods employed by San Francisco and Alameda Counties and to report any findings back to the Committee. REFER 8. Project Labor Agreement Annual Update. On October 4, 2011, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC a review of Project Labor Agreements (PLA), with specific regard to receiving Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval of PLAs used on federally funded road projects. On November 21, 2011, the Public Works department delivered a report to the IOC and proposed several solutions to remedy operational issues with the current County PLA structure. The IOC requested that Public Works staff return with a follow up report detailing the advantages and disadvantages of increasing the current PLA cost threshold on federally funded road projects. On August 13, 2012, the IOC received the follow up report from the Public Works department and directed staff to continue working with the FHWA to remedy the situation. The IOC received no status reports in 2013. Public Works staff currently advises that the County has received approval for two federally funded PLA projects and recommends that this matter be retained on referral for an update in February 2014. REFER 9. Waste Hauler Ordinance. On May 8, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Internal Operations Committee a review of the Waste Hauler Ordinance. Pursuant to this action, the IOC received a preliminary report from the Environmental Health (EH) Division of the Health Services Department on May 14, 2012 and status report on November 13, 2013 showing substantial work and progress. The IOC requested EH staff to bring a final draft ordinance to the Committee for further consideration. REFER 10. Social Media Policy. On June 26, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC the potential development of a policy governing the use of Social Media by County departments. The County Administrator’s Office assigned the Office of Communications and Media (OCM) with the task of researching this issue and providing information to the IOC. The IOC received status reports in August and October 2012 and, in October 2013, agreed to postpone additional work on the policy until January 2014 in recognition of other pressing demands on OCM staff. For this reason, it is recommended that this referral be continued to the 2014 IOC. REFER 11. Contra Costa Television Policy and Procedure Update. On June 26, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC a review of the policies and procedures governing the operations of Contra Costa Television (CCTV). CCTV was established in 1994 and provides local government and educational programming to the citizens of Contra Costa County and is funded by franchise fees collected by cable providers and remitted to the County. Policies and procedures governing CCTV are updated on an as needed basis and were last updated by the Board of Supervisors in 2009. On August 13, 2012, the IOC received a presentation from staff on the history of CCTV and the reasons for considering an update to policies and procedures. The IOC directed staff to return with updates and ultimately draft policies and procedures for review. On October 8 and November 13, 2012, and September 9, 2013, the IOC received updates from the Communications & Media Director. However, work on the policy/procedures update has been sidelined due to a notification from the College District that it intends to cease operation of the Educational Access channel that serves Contra Costa County. The IOC concurred with staff that the County should assume temporary control of the education access cable television channel to preserve it for future use after the college district ceases operation of it. As these related issues are still works in progress, it is recommended that they be maintained on referral. REFER 12. Evaluation of Terms of Office on Various Boards, Committees, and Commissions. On August 14 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Internal Operations Committee an evaluation of the Local Appointments List to determine: (1) if the Board should reset appointment terms of Non-District seats, whose terms are not prescribed in statute, to establish a new basis for future recordkeeping purposes; and (2) if the Board should reset appointment terms of District seats to make them coterminous with the term of office for each respective District Supervisor and establish a new basis for future recordkeeping purposes. The 2012 IOC continued this referred to the 2013 IOC. The 2013 IOC took this matter under consideration at its June meeting. The Committee accepted the Clerk of the Board’s (CoB) recommendation to not reset the seat terms for all advisory body seats. The CoB presented a work plan to address the second part of the referral to reset the terms of District-nominated seats to be coterminous with the District Supervisor term of office. The Committee decided that the practical difficulties for an incoming Board of Supervisors member to, upon assuming office, be faced with a large numbers of District seat vacancies to fill would be onerous. The Committee decided that the District-nominated seat terms should not be reset, thereby terminating this referral. TERMINATE 13. Evaluation of Voluntary Participation in the AB 1998 Computer Equipment Local Donation Program. On September 25, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC an evaluation of whether or not to participate in a local computer equipment donation program as authorized by AB 1998. Governor Brown signed AB 1998, by Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian, into law on September 7, 2012. This measure will help Counties Bridge the “digital divide” for human services recipients by allowing counties to donate surplus computer property directly to recipients. Each county may choose to create the donation program, and recipients would receive surplus computer components based on a randomized lottery. The donated computers and equipment will help recipients of public assistance search for, secure, and maintain employment and participate in other required program services. On December 10, 2012, the IOC received a staff report on this issue, agreed that the County should pursue participation in the program, and directed EHSD staff to return at a future date with a plan to implement the program. On October 7, 2013, the Committee directed EHS to prepare its best proposal as a discussion item for consideration by the Board of Supervisors sometime after January 1, 2014. The proposal should minimally identify the number of computers to be donated, the gross cost to ready each computer, any mitigating grant or other revenue, an implementation plan, a plan for monitoring recipient compliance, and an estimate of the salvage revenue forfeited, if any, in lieu of the donation program. TERMINATE 14. Evaluation of Establishing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Districts within the County. On August 14, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC an evaluation of establishing PACE districts within the County. PACE financing is authorized in State law pursuant to Chapter 29 of Division 7 of the Streets and Highways Code, which was amended in 2008 by Assembly Bill 811 and further amended in 2009 by Assembly Bill 474, to allow financing of renewable energy, energy efficiency and water efficiency improvements on private property. PACE financing involves a property owner voluntarily agreeing to enter into a contractual assessment with a PACE financing provider. The PACE program provides capital for construction of energy efficiency improvements on the property, and a levy is placed on the property whereby the contractual assessment is then repaid in installment payment placed on the property tax bill and collected by the County through the property tax collection process. As with other property assessments, the County is able to charge a fee to offset the costs of collection. The 2012 IOC referred this matter to the 2013 IOC. As new information became available regarding legal and federal regulatory issues, Supervisor Mitchoff, who introduced the matter to the Board for study, decided to withdraw her recommendation. TERMINATE 15. Policy on Records Retention and Destruction for Advisory Bodies. On December 4, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred this issue to the IOC. Over the years, the County has received inquiries from its various advisory bodies to the Board of Supervisors regarding the issue of record retention and destruction. County Counsel advises that a policy on which documents advisory bodies must retain and authorization for destruction of those documents that do not need to be maintained should be developed. In June 2013, the Committee approved the Clerk of the Board's work plan for developing a records retention plan for Board advisory bodies. The Committee requested the Clerk’s office to develop for Board consideration a conservative schedule of document retention to avoid retention of documents for periods longer than legally required. As the work on this referral is still in progress, it is recommended that it be maintained on referral. REFER 16. Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association Recruitment. On June 30, 2013, the term of the Board of Supervisors Appointee #4 seat on the Retirement Board expired and the seat became vacant. On February 13, 2013, County staff issued a press release to advertise the impending vacancy. At the conclusion of the eight-week filing period, 24 applications were received and accepted. The IOC held a special meeting on April 23 at which the committee screened the 24 applications down to 10 semi-finalists, four of which later withdrew leaving six semi-finalists. On May 13, the IOC interviewed the six semi-finalists, including the incumbent, and on May 21st nominated the three specified candidates for Board of Supervisors consideration for appointment to the Seat #4 effective July 1, 2013 for a three-year term ending June 30, 2016. On May 21st, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to schedule 20-minute interviews with each of the three finalists for the morning of June 4 in the Board Chambers, and on June 4, the Board appointed Scott Gordon, effective July 1, 2013 for a three-year term ending June 30, 2016. RETAIN ON REFERRAL, AS NEEDED, FOR FUTURE VACANCIES 17. Grand Jury Report 1308 . On June 3, 2013, the 2012/13 Civil Grand Jury filed Report No. 1308, entitled “Encouraging Citizens to Apply for Grand Jury Service”, which was reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and subsequently referred to the Internal Operations Committee to prepare a response. On July 8, 2013, the IOC approved the response drafted by the County Administrator and forwarded the response to the Board on July 16. The Board approved the response with modifications and suggested that grand juror compensation should be reviewed and possibly increased. The County Administrator’s Office reviewed grand juror compensation of the nine Bay Area counties and found no basis for increasing the County’s grand juror stipend. It is, therefore, recommended that this referral be terminated. TERMINATE 18. Increase informal bid/contract limit on construction projects . On August 6, 2013, on the recommendation of the Public Works Director, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC a proposal to increase the monetary limit for informal bidding and informal contracts, and to clarify the purchasing agent’s authority to award construction contracts. The proposal would affect the current monetary thresholds in the County's Outreach Program, which is overseen by the IOC. On September 17, the IOC introduced, and on September 24, the Board adopted, an ordinance that increased the County's informal bidding limit to the current statutory limit of $175,000. Additionally, the ordinance allows the County’s informal bid limit to automatically adjust to be consistent with future adjustments of the State limit. The ordinance also clarifies the purchasing agent’s authority to award construction contracts pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 22032(a) and delegates authority to award contracts for public projects with an estimated cost of $175,000 or less to the Public Works Director or County Administrator. As the ordinance adoption completed the assignment, the IOC recommends termination of the referral. TERMINATE 19. Recruitment for Local Enforcement Agency Hearing Panel Members. On November 5, 2013, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC the recruitment of three nominees, for BOS consideration, to serve on the Local Agency Enforcement (LEA) Hearing Panel, a body that implements enforcement and permitting activities at local solid waste facilities. On December 9, the Committee approved a recruitment plan and schedule prepared by the County Administrator’s Office in consultation with Environmental Health, calling for interviews to be held in February 2014. Therefore, we recommend that this matter be referred to the 2014 IOC. REFER EXHIBIT A LIST OF REFERRALS TO BE REMOVED 12. Evaluation of Terms of Office on Various Boards, Committees, and Commissions 13. Evaluation of Voluntary Participation in the AB 1998 Computer Equipment Local Donation Program 14. Evaluation of Establishing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Districts within the County 17. Grand Jury Report 1308 18. Increase informal bid/contract limit on construction projects EXHIBIT B LIST OF ITEMS TO BE REFERRED TO THE 2014 INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Standing Referrals 1. Continued policy oversight and quarterly monitoring of the Small Business Enterprise and Outreach programs, and e-Outreach 2. Review of the annual audit schedule 3. Review of annual Master Vehicle Replacement List and disposition of low-use vehicles 4. Local Vendor Preference Program 5. Advisory Body Recruitment (Planning Commission: At Large 1 seat; Retirement Board: BOS 5, 6 & 7 and Alternate seats); CC Fire Commission: At Large 2 seat) 6. Review of Process for allocation of funds by the Fish and Wildlife Committee 8. Project Labor Agreement annual update Non-Standing Referrals 7. Review of Procedures Governing Employee Involvement in Contracts with Prospective Employers 9. Waste Hauler Ordinance 10. Social Media Policy 11. Contra Costa Television Policy and Procedure Update 15. Policy on Records Retention and Destruction for Advisory Bodies. 16. Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association Recruitment 19. Local Enforcement Agency Hearing Panel Members Recruitment CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: The report will not be accepted by the Board of Supervisors. The Internal Operations Committee will not have clear direction on the disposition of prior year referrals for discussion in calendar year 2014.