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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12162014 - C.108RECOMMENDATION(S): 1. ACCEPT the 2014 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 under Exhibit A. 4. REFER to the 2015 IOC the items listed under Exhibit B. FISCAL IMPACT: Informational report only. No fiscal impact. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 12/16/2014 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 16, 2014 , County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: C.108 To:Board of Supervisors From:INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Date:December 16, 2014 Contra Costa County Subject:2014 YEAR-END REPORT ON COMMITTEE REFERRALS AND THEIR DISPOSITION BACKGROUND: During 2014, the Internal Operations Committee (IOC) accepted 19 referrals from the Board of Supervisors, made 13 reports to the Board, and 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 the Board’s 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 one semi-annual report in August from the County Administrator’s Office, covering the period July-December 2013. The IOC accepted the report and forwarded it to the Board of Supervisors on December 2 with no recommendations for program modification. We recommend the IOC continue to provide policy level oversight of these programs and that they be continued on referral to the 2015 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 a report of their 2013 audits and the proposed 2014 Audit Schedule to the IOC at its February 3, 2014 meeting. The IOC accepted the 2014 work plan with a modification that the Auditor-Controller should additionally review prior-year contracts of the Health Services-Mental Health Division to ensure that payments to contractors were made in strict accordance with the contract payment provisions. We recommend that this referral be continued to permit the 2015 IOC to provide input on the annual audit schedule. REFER 3. Annual Report on Fleet Internal Service Fund and Disposition of Low Mileage Vehicles . Each year, the Public Works Department Fleet 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, following the establishment of an Internal Services Fund (ISF) for the County Fleet, to be administered by Public Works, the Board requested the IOC to review annually the Public Works department report on the fleet and on low-mileage vehicles. The Fleet Manager, in a report on July 7, 2014, identified 44 low mileage vehicles out of 893 vehicles in the Internal Services Fund Fleet and consulted with each department having low mileage vehicles in the formulation of his recommendations. The Fleet Manager concluded that all but 12 of the 44 low mileage vehicles had compelling reasons to be maintained in the fleet and recommended that the Public Works Department install GPS telemetric devices in those vehicles to better inform any decision to reassign those vehicles and/or develop alternatives such as use of rental or personal vehicles. Based on the Fleet Manager's assurance that the installation and subscription costs for the GPS telemetric devices were included in the FY 2014/15 fleet rates, the IOC concurred with, and the Board of Supervisors on July 29 approved, the recommendation with direction that the next annual report to the Committee be scheduled for February 2015, in preparation for the 2015/16 budget. REFER 4. Local Vendor Preference Program. In 2005, the Board of Supervisors adopted the local bid preference ordinance to support small local business and stimulate the local economy, at no additional cost to the County. Under the program, if the low bid in a commodities purchase is not from 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 of the ordinance, the IOC has continued to monitor the effects of the program through annual reports prepared and presented by the Purchasing Agent or designee. On April 14, 2014, the IOC accepted the FY 2013/14 Report from the Public Works department and reported the outcome to the Board on November 4. We recommend that this matter remain on referral to the 2015 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 to each body or a subcommittee thereof. In 2014, the IOC submitted nominations to the Board of Supervisors to fill 29 vacant seats on various committees and commissions. The IOC interviewed 20 individuals for seats on the Retirement Board, Integrated Pest Management Advisory Committee, Fish and Wildlife Committee, Local Enforcement Agency Hearing Panel, County Planning Commission, and the East Contra Costa Fire District Board of Directors. 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 a recommendation IOC conduct a preliminary review of annual FWC grant recommendations prior to Board of Supervisors review. On April 14, 2014 the IOC received a report from DCD proposing, on behalf of the FWC, 2014/15 Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund Grant awards. The IOC approved the proposal and, on April 22, recommended grant awards for 16 projects totaling $140,605, which the Board of Supervisors approved unanimously. We recommend that the annual preliminary review be continued 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 matter was first taken up by the 2013 IOC. 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. Staff additionally polled the six County departments that do the majority of County contracting, which reported that neither inappropriate employment negotiations/arrangements between County employees and prospective contractors nor "poaching" of County employees by current contractors has been a problem. The Committee decided to take no further action on this issue. TERMINATE 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 approval of PLAs used on federally funded road projects. On April 14, 2014, the IOC received a status report from the Public Works department advising that staff had worked through the logjam in obtaining approval for the use of PLAs on federally funded projects and that the County had received approval for two such projects. At the IOC’s direction, Public Works made a status report to the Board of Supervisors on July 29, and the Board determined on a 3-2 vote that PLAs have become a routine aspect of County capital projects and this referral shall be suspended until interest arises in further examination or amendment of the existing policy. TERMINATE 9. Waste Hauler Ordinance. On May 8, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Internal Operations Committee a proposal to develop a waste hauler ordinance. 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 but staff subsequently identified issues with the interplay between the proposal and current franchise agreements that must be examined before the County can proceed with an ordinance. As this continues to be a work in progress, we recommend that this referral be continued to the 2015 IOC. 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 began studying the issue in August 13, 2012 and received periodic updates over the subsequent 18 months, during which time work on the policy had to be tabled for several months due to other emerging priorities. The policy was completed and approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 17, 2014, with direction to the Communications and Media Director to work with the County Counsel and Risk Manager to prepare social media site usage guidelines, terms of use disclaimers, and staff training curriculum, and to report back to the Internal Operations Committee on the status of these efforts. 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). 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 was suspended due to a notification from the College District that it intended to cease operation of the Educational Access channel that serves Contra Costa County. The IOC reviewed and approved the final status report and recommended CCTV policies and procedures on August 4, 2014, which were approved by the Board of Supervisors on December 2. TERMINATE 12. Policy on Records Retention and Destruction for Advisory Bodies. On December 4, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred this issue to the IOC. 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 of the Board’s office to develop for Board consideration a conservative schedule of document retention to avoid retention of documents for periods longer than legally required. The IOC, on August 4, approved the plan developed by the Clerk’s Office and the Board of Supervisors on December 2 adopted the recommended records retention schedule. TERMINATE 13. Special Recruitments: RETAIN ON REFERRAL, AS NEEDED, FOR FUTURE VACANCIES Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association Recruitment. On June 30, 2014, the terms for three Trustee and one Alternate Trustee seats expired. At the direction of the Internal Operations Committee, staff initiated a nine-week recruitment, which garnered four applications. As a result of interviews conducted at a regular IOC meeting held on June 2, 2014, the Committee nominated, and the Board of Supervisors approved on June 17, incumbents Debora Allen, John Phillips, and Jerry Holcombe for reappointment to seats #5, #9, and the Alternate to Seats 4, 5, 6 & 9, to new three-year terms ending on June 30, 2017. a. County Planning Commission Recruitment. On June 30, 2014, the term for one Planning Commissioner expired. At the direction of the Internal Operations Committee, staff initiated a six-week recruitment, which garnered six applications. As a result of interviews conducted at a regular IOC meeting held on May 7, 2014, the Committee selected for nomination to the At Large #1 seat on the Planning Commission: 1. Barbara Pendergrass, if she would agree to resign from the El Sobrante Municipal Advisory Council, OR 2. Marvin Terrell, in the event that Ms. Pendergrass declined the nomination. The Board of Supervisors appointed Ms. Pendergrass on June 3, 2014. However, on June 20, 2014, Ms. Pendergrass notified the County that she would be unable to serve due to an emerging health issue. Since Ms. Pendergrass declined the appointment prior to the beginning of her term of office, the Board rescinded her appointment and reappointed Marvin Terrell to a new term ending on June 30, 2018. b. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors Recruitment. On June 30, 2014, the term forc. one Advisory Fire Commissioner expired. At the direction of the Internal Operations Committee, staff initiated a six-week recruitment, which garnered one application. The IOC nominated, and on April 22, 2014 the Board of Supervisors approved, Tom Chapman for reappointment to a new term ending on June 30, 2018. East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Board of Directors Recruitment. On February 4, 2014, the terms of the two County-appointed ECCFPD Directors expired. At the direction of the Internal Operations Committee, staff initiated a six-week recruitment, which garnered seven applications As a result of interviews conducted at a regular IOC meeting held on July 7, 2014, the Committee nominated, and the Board of Supervisors approved on July 29, Robert Kenny and Cheryl Morgan for reappointment to the Board of Directors. d. Resource Conservation District Board of Directors Recruitment. On May 14, 2014, one of the Directors seats on the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District Board became vacant with the death of incumbent Dwight Meadows. Staff opened a recruitment in mid-May that garnered one application. The Committee nominated, and the Board of Supervisors approved on July 29, Bob Case for appointment to the seat to complete the unexpired term ending on November 30, 2016. e. 14. 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) Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), 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. Several interviews were conducted and, on March 25, 2014, the Board of Supervisors appointed Ana Chavez and Darryl Young as the general members residing in Contra Costa County to the LEA IHP and directed LEA staff to continue recruitment for the technical expert member. On July 29, 2014, the Board appointed Larry Sweetser to the seat on the LEA IHP requiring technical expertise. REFER UNDER #13 SPECIAL RECRUITMENTS 15. Private Parking Facilities Ordinance.On May 13, 2014, the Board of Supervisors adopted a "Support" position on AB 2381, as introduced (Bonilla): Private parking facilities, a bill that allows cities or counties to authorize, via ordinance or resolution, operators of privately owned and maintained off-street parking facilities to regulate unauthorized parking, and referred to the Internal Operations Committee the evaluation of a county ordinance to authorize private parking lot owners to issue citations for violations of parking lot regulations. The Internal Operations Committee took this matter up on June 2, 2014 and, again, on August 4. The Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 2014-16 on September 9, 2014, modeled substantially on the City of Pleasant Hill's ordinance, adding Chapter 46-14 to the County Ordinance Code. It authorizes operators of privately owned and maintained off-street parking facilities to regulate unauthorized parking in those facilities. Specifically, the ordinance authorizes private parking operators to impose a parking violation charge on an owner of a vehicle for unauthorized parking. TERMINATE 16. Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program. On June 3, 2014, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Internal Operations Committee a review of the County's compliance with Senate Bill (SB) 1339 related to the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program. The County Administrator asked the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) to review the extent to which current County commuter programs meet the requirements of SB 1339. DCD reviewed the requirements of SB 1339 and concluded, and the County Administrator concurred, that the County already has sufficient Transportation Demand Management strategies in place to meet the requirements of this law. DCD recommended to our Committee an expansion of the County’s existing “Employee Commute Benefit Program” to encourage greater participation by employees. However, after considering the pros and cons of expansion, and considering that the regional commute benefit program is only a two-year pilot program and the County is already in compliance with the requirements, we did not recommend expansion. The Board of Supervisors approved the Committee’s recommendation on July 29, 2014 and directed DCD to report back to the Board periodically on the outcomes from all of the County’s Transit Demand Management strategies to ensure continued compliance with SB 1339. TERMINATE 17. Ban the Box Implementation. On June 17, 2014, the Board of Supervisors made a joint referral to the Public Protection Committee and the Internal Operations Committee to review the County's implementation of Assembly Bill 218 (California Labor Code Sec. 432.9), colloquially referred to as "Ban the Box". The Ban the Box bill was signed by Governor Brown on October 10, 2013 and became operative July 1, 2014. The law prohibits state and local agencies from inquiring about criminal convictions during the employment application process until the agency has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications as stated in any notice issued for the position. Both Committees received the same report prepared by the Human Resources Department. Under the new recruitment process, disclosure of conviction history information is no longer required at the time of application unless it is for a position for which the County is otherwise required by law to conduct a conviction history background check. Information is collected electronically near the end of the recruitment process after the final HR scored examination step (written exam, panel interview, performance test, etc.) and before the eligible list is established. Candidates are to provide the conviction history form within three (3) business days of notification. At the end of three business days, candidates who return the conviction history form are placed on the employment list and the top ranked candidates (depending on the specific rules) become eligible for department selection interviews. The revised process will ensure the County’s compliance with AB 218 while ensuring County liability is kept at a minimum, candidate experience is not compromised, and barriers to employment are removed. The approach recommended by the Human Resources Department was considered and approved by the Public Protection Committee on July 28 and the Internal Operations Committee on August 4, and ultimately approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 9, 2014. TERMINATE 18. Emergency Operations Plan Update. On July 29, 2014, the Board referred to the IOC the triennial update of the County’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The EOP is a working document that covers emergency management guidelines. The plan explains the emergency management cycle, which includes mitigation of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from an emergency of any size and hazard type. Prior updates occurred in 2006, 2009, and 2011. The Emergency Services Policy Board may review and make recommendations on emergency and mutual aid plans and agreements, ordinances, resolutions and regulations as necessary to implement emergency services plans and agreements. As the Policy Board has not yet forwarded its proposed updates to the IOC, we recommend that this matter be referred to the 2015 Committee. REFER 19. Evaluation of Establishing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Districts within the County. PACE financing is authorized in State law 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. On August 14, 2012, the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC an evaluation of establishing PACE districts within the County. The matter was taken up by the IOC in December 2012, but 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 committee referral. The matter was again referred to the IOC on September 9, 2014. The IOC had a lively discussion of the program on November 3, and requested additional information from staff and PACE Program administrators for future deliberations in March 2015. REFER EXHIBIT A LIST OF REFERRALS TO BE REMOVED 7. Review of Procedures Governing Employee Involvement in Contracts with Prospective Employers 8. Project Labor Agreement annual update 10. Social Media Policy 11. Contra Costa Television Policy and Procedure Update 12. Policy on Records Retention and Destruction for Advisory Bodies. 14. Local Enforcement Agency Hearing Panel Members Recruitment 15. Private Parking Facilities Ordinance 16. Commuter Incentives 17. Ban the Box Implementation EXHIBIT B LIST OF ITEMS TO BE REFERRED TO THE 2015 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 6. Review of Process for allocation of funds by the Fish and Wildlife Committee 13. Special Recruitments: (Planning Commission, Retirement Board, CC Fire Commission, ECC Fire Commission, LEA Hearing Panel, etc.) Non-Standing Referrals 9. Waste Hauler Ordinance 18. Emergency Operations Plan Update 19. Evaluation of Establishing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Districts within the County CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: Should the Board elect not to approve the recommendations, the Internal Operations Committee will not have clear direction on the disposition of prior year referrals for discussion in calendar year 2014.