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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01092007 - C.105 v� TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS s L - Contra CostaFROM: SUPERVISOR GAYLE B. UILKEMA DATE: DECEMBER 18, 2006 County STA C UKP SUBJECT: FINAL YEAR-END REPORT ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND DISPOSITION OF REMAINING REFERRALS TO THE INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE C 1 O SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Board of Supervisors referred 13 issues to the Internal Operations Committee(IOC)for its review and consideration during 2006, in addition to the screening of nominees for seats on selected advisory bodies. 2. FIND that the 2006 IOC made 15 reports on issues referred by the Board of Supervisors, and 33 separate recommendations for appointment of individuals to 71 Board advisory body seats, including recruitment for seats on the County Planning Commission, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Advisory Commission, and the East Bay Regional Park District Advisory Board. 3. 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. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: ®YES ❑NO SIGNATURE: -- -- ------------------------ ------------------------------------ ----- - ------ ------- ----- RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BUARD ON APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED: JANUARY 9,2007 CONTACT: JULIE ENEA (925)335-1077 JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE STAFF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR DEPUTY 4_ FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 18,2006 2006 10 COMMITTEE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 2 4. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Internal Operations Committee did not have a quorum for the month of December due to Supervisor DeSaulnier's departure from the Board of Supervisors. Therefore, these recommendations are my own. 5. REMOVE without taking any further action the referrals to the 2006 IOC listed on Attachment A. 6. REFER to the 2007 IOC the items listed on Attachment B. BACKGROUND: During 2006,the Internal Operations Committee(IOC)reviewed nominations to those advisory bodies for which the IOC has traditionally made recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for appointments or reappointments, and recruited to fill vacancies on the County Planning Commission, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Advisory Commission, and East Bay Regional Park District Advisory Board. 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. EHS Internal Security Plan. The IOC was asked to monitor the status of the Employment and Human Services (EHS)Department's corrective action plan to prevent welfare fraud. Our Committee received a report from EHS on September 18. The Board of Supervisors accepted that report and directed the EHS Director to report back to the Internal Operations Committee in April 2007 the establishment of controls and monitoring tools to track changes in income eligibility for various welfare benefits. 2. Small Business Enterprise (SBE)and Outreach Programs. The IOC reviewed the semi-annual SBE and Outreach reports and provided guidance to County staff on policy issues related to the administration of the programs. We continue to be encouraged by the positive statistics. The County Administrator's Office coordinated three regional outreach workshops to educate vendors about the County's SBE and Outreach Programs and to encourage new businesses to compete for County business opportunities. The IOC recommended and the Board of Supervisors approved a new Internet-based business opportunity outreach program (e-Outreach)that is being administered by the General Services Department. e-Outreach continues to be refined; separate recommendations regarding the e-Outreach are transmitted to the Board today under separate cover. I recommend that the 2007 IOC continue to review these programs on a semi-annual basis. 3. County Audit Program. In 2000, the Board of Supervisors directed that the IOC review each December the annual schedule of audits proposed by the County Administrator and the Auditor- Controller. On behalf of the IOC, I reviewed the County Administrator's management oversight activities for 2006 and his plan for 2007, and am reporting my recommendations to the Board today in a separate report. The Auditor-Controller will make his report to the Committee in early 2007. As the review of the annual audit plan'is a standing referral, I recommend that this item be referred to the 2007 IOC. FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 18,2006 200610 COMMITTEE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 3 4. Multi-Language Capability of the Emergency Telephone Ringdown System. The IOC was asked to monitor the status of the development and implementation of a multi-language emergency telephone ringdown system. On May 9,the Board authorized the Sheriff and Health Services Departments to proceed with the installation of up to 300 public safety messaging devices to the Laotian pilot program community using the FSK(frequency shift key)technology, which does not require the Caller ID (Identification) service to dispatch emergency messages; to continue to develop methods to provide multilingual emergency messaging utilizing cellular phones,and Internet and cable television broadcast; and to report back to the IOC the results of the installation. I recommend that this matter be referred to the 2007 IOC for ongoing monitoring. 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 Board also directed that the IOC personally conduct interviews of applicants for At Large seats on the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District's Fire Advisory Commission,the County Planning Commission and the Board appointees to the County Employees' Retirement Board. On June 30, 2006,the terms one County Planning Commissioner and one Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Advisory Commissioner expired. The IOC recruited for each of the vacancies and the Board of Supervisors made new appointments effective July 1,2006. In June 2007,the term for the Board Appointee#4 currently held by Maria Teresa Viramontes will expire. Therefore, I recommend that recruitment to fill this vacancy be established as a referral to the 2007 IOC. 6. Food Stamp Error Reduction. On February 5, 2002,the Board of Supervisors referred to the IOC a letter from the State Department of Health and Human Services appealing to the Board to make a strong commitment to improving California's overall performance in administering the Food Stamp Program, and the task of overseeing the development of a Corrective Action Plan to reduce the County's error rate. The IOC has been monitoring this problem on an annual basis and last reported to the Board on October 10, 2006 the Employment and Human Services Department's success in reducing the error rate to 1.4%for Federal Fiscal Year 2005,well under the federal tolerance level 5.84%and significantly reduced from the 13.99%rate that was the original cause for concern. The Board of Supervisors commended the department and removed this item as a referral to the IOC. 7. Vehicle Replacement Policy. At the 2003/04 Budget Hearings,the Board of Supervisors requested the IOC to revisit the County's vehicle replacement policy in light of what appeared to be a high frequency in vehicle purchases. The General Services Department(GSD)Fleet Services Manager conducted an analysis of vehicle usage and made recommendations for the intra-County transfer of underutilized vehicles, in accordance with County policy. The County Administrator's Office used that information to develop the annual vehicle replacement list that, since 2003/04, has been used as a planning tool during budget deliberations. On May 23, 2006,the Board approved the Recommended 2006/07 Vehicle Replacement List prepared by the GSD-Fleet Services Manager, with the condition that alternate financing be identified for those vehicles that were to have been financed partially or FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 18,2006 2006 10 COMMITTEE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 4 wholly by the fleet replacement budget; and directed the GSD to analyze the list of"low-use"vehicles —those vehicles that were driven less than 3,000 miles in the prior 12-month period and to return to the Internal Operations Committee within 90 days with recommendations regarding the disposition of those vehicles. GSD reported back to the IOC in September with a report showing the final disposition of the low-use vehicles. As the vehicle review has become a part of the annual budget process, I recommend that this matter be referred to the 2007 IOC for continuing oversight. 8. Local Vendor Preference. 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 that would grant a five percent preference to self-certified local vendors for purchases in excess of$25,000. This ordinance was introduced on August 9 and adopted on September 13, 2005. The Purchasing Services Manager advised in a status report in May 2006 that although no awards had yet been made under the program, approximately 25%of the business opportunities governed by the ordinance—equating to over$1 million—was awarded to local vendors based strictly on their low bids. I recommend that this matter be kept on referral and that GSD Purchasing be directed to make another status report to the IOC in June 2007. 9. Supervisor Agenda Item Policy. On January 17,2006,the Board of Supervisors deliberated adoption of a resolution calling upon the Governor to ensure that the President and the Congress take immediate steps to withdraw California National Guard troops serving outside the country. Several speakers from the public suggested that the subject matter of the resolution was outside of the purview of the County Board of Supervisors and misdirected the Board's energy from matters more directly within the Board's purview. The Board requested the IOC to develop and recommend to the Board guidelines on issues scheduled on the meeting agenda of the Board of Supervisors for consideration and/or action by the Board. The CAO surveyed California counties,consulted the County Ordinance Code, and presented two options to the Committee, one of which was forwarded to the Board in May 2006 on a split recommendation of the committee members. The Board decided not to change the existing policy for scheduling matters on the Board Agenda. I recommend, therefore, that this matter be removed as a referral to the IOC. 10.Aviation Advisory Committee Bylaw Amendments. On April 4,2006,the Board of Supervisors amended the bylaws of the Aviation Advisory Committee(AAC) to stipulate that members may serve up to three consecutive one-year terms in any one office if confirmed by a majority of the AAC membership; clarified that the AAC is subject to the requirements of the Better Government Ordinance; and clarified the powers of the AAC. The IOC,on July 17, considered additional proposals from the AAC to amend its bylaws to increase flexibility as to when meetings may be scheduled and to also require establishment of an annual meeting schedule to facilitate better planning and attendance. The Board of Supervisors approved the additional amendments on August 1. Therefore, I recommend that this matter be removed as a referral to the IOC. 11.Project Labor AgLeement Update. In January 2002,the Board of Supervisors adopted a policy FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 18,2006 200610 COMMITTEE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 5 requiring the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)on all County construction projects in which the actual construction cost is in excess of$1 million. The Board of Supervisors directed the CAO to report to the IOC in one year regarding the County's experience implementing and administering the PLA policy, and the CAO has been reporting periodically to the IOC since that time. The County Administrator reported in October 2006 that the implementing departments have experienced no negative impacts due to the PLA except for a lengthening in the amount of time between the bid opening date and award. Since only one project since 2004 has been subject to the PLA policy and two pending projects are anticipated to trigger the policy, I recommend that the County Administrator be directed to make a follow-up report to the IOC in October 2007. 12.Citizen Response System. On July 18, 2006,the Board of Supervisors directed the CAO to assess the benefits of adopting an Internet-based computer software program that would track citizen comments, inquiries, and requests, and to present its findings to the Board of Supervisors and the Internal Operations Committee for discussion and appropriate action. On September 18,the CAO and Department of Information Technology made a six-week progress report. Staff met with District Supervisor and County department staff, and received demonstrations of similar systems used by other public agencies. Staff recommended further investigation into issues identified in the progress report and report back to the IOC. I recommend,therefore,that this matter be referred to the 2007 IOC for continuing oversight. 13.Coordination of Municipal Services. On August 2,2006,the Board of Supervisors requested the CAO to work with the County's municipal services departments to identify opportunities for service improvements and to report any findings to the Internal Operations Committee. The IOC received a status report from the CAO on December 18 reviewing efforts that are underway and recommending additional areas for review and better coordination. The CAO intends to monitor this effort and report back to the IOC in June 2007. FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 18,2006 200610 COMMITTEE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 6 ATTACHMENT A LIST OF REFERRALS TO BE REMOVED # 6 Food Stamp error rate reduction # 9 Supervisor Agenda Item Policy #10 Aviation Advisory Committee Bylaw Amendments. FINAL YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 18,2006 2006 10 COMMITTEE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS PAGE 7 ATTACHMENT B LIST OF ITEMS TO BE REFERRED TO THE 2007 INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE # 1 Continued monitoring of the implementation of the EHS Internal Security Plan # 2 Continued policy oversight and quarterly monitoring of the Small Business Enterprise and Outreach programs, and e-Outreach # 3 Review of the annual audit schedule # 4 Continued monitoring of the progress on implementing a multi-language emergency telephone notification system # 5 Retirement Board member recruitment # 7 Review of annual Master Vehicle Replacement List and Disposition of Low-Use Vehicles # 8 Local Vendor Preference Program #11 Project Labor Agreement Update #12 Citizen Response System #13 Coordination of Municipal Services