HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11182008 - SD.5 .f .� . . ...sE--L Contra
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS :=-
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FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
DATE: NOVEMBER 12, 2008 A'coon County
SUBJECT: RENEWAL POLICY FOR CONSULTING AND SERVICE CONTRACTS
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. MODIFY the County's Outreach Program for Consulting or Service Contracts as follows:
a.) STIPULATE that a contract with a one-year term may not be renewed or extended for more than
two annual periods or for more than a total of three consecutive years, and a multi-year contract of
any duration may not be renewed or extended beyond three consecutive years, without first
conducting outreach and giving due consideration to all interested service providers.
b.) DESIGNATE that the County Administrator may authorize exceptions to this policy and may
authorize multi-year contracts only when it determines that the benefit of a multi-year commitment
outweighs the benefit of increased competition.
2. DIRECT the County Administrator modify and redistribute pertinent administrative and program
policies to reflect these changes and to take other necessary measures to effectively communicate the
modified policies and objectives to operating departments.
FISCAL IMPACT
Unknown. Additional administrative costs will be incurred to conduct formal and informal solicitations
and competitions, and to track contract data.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
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JkECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMIN RA R " RECOMMENDATION OF OARD COM ITTEE
✓ APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
SUSAN A. BONILLA, CHAIR GAYLE E
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ACTION OF BOARD ON Y�, 2Ct APPROVE AS RECOMWv DED OTHER
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VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT
COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
ON THE DATE SHOWN
AYES: NOES: ATTESTED: NOVEMBER 18,2008
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: DAVID J.TWA,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISO}R�S�ANBD COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CONTACT: JULIE ENEA(925)335-1077 137y � K�l/ ' i6tt Ul ,DEPUTY
CC: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE STAFF
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
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Contract Renewal Policy November 12, 2008
Internal Operations Committee Page 2
BACKGROUND
The County has in place the Outreach Program, adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 1998 to
promote broad notification to all businesses, including minority-owned, women-owned, disadvantaged-
owned, disabled veterans-owned, small, or local businesses, of County business opportunities. The
Outreach Program applies to service contracts in the amount of$2,500 or more and purchasing
contracts that exceed $10,000. County departments are required to report to the County Administrator
their outreach efforts on a quarterly basis. These reports are also reviewed semi-annually by the
Internal Operations Committee, which is charged by the Board of Supervisors to provide policy
oversight to the County Administrator on the Small Business Enterprise and Outreach programs.
The Internal Operations Committee is concerned over the number of service contracts being awarded
by departments to the same service providers year after year, without checking the market to determine
if the contract continues to provide the best value to the County. For this reason, we are recommending
that the Board adopt a policy that requires outreach and a competitive process for service contracts at
least every three years.
In order to maximize competition, we direct the County Administrator to approve multi-year contracts
only when the benefit of a multi-year commitment outweighs the benefit of competition. Some
examples of where such a determination has been made include,but are not limited to:
♦ Countywide web-hosting services, in which it would be cost-prohibitive for the County to
change the web host more often than 3-5 years due to staff training requirements.
♦ External auditing services, in which the learning curve for the County's financial accounting
system and processes is 2-3 years and the County generally realizes a greater benefit by utilizing
one audit firm for 3-6 years.
Our committee asks that the County Administrator's Office be directed to implement these policy
changes and update any relevant administrative directives to operating departments.
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ADDENDUM TO ITEM SD.5
November 18, 2008
On this day.the Board discussed Renewal Policy for Consulting and Service Contracts;
Supervisor Bonilla requested the Board have full opportunity to review exceptions to the policy
so "exceptions" don't turn into practice. Supervisor Gioia said he was glad to see this come
before the Board, saying we need to develop a really clear process and exceptions need to come
before the Board. Supervisor Piepho recommended adding in 1. a.) after conducting outreach
"and/or a comnpetitive process ." The Board also agreed justification be stated in the Board
Order before exceptions can be made regarding multi year contracts.
By unanimous vote with District V absent, the Board of Supervisors unanimously APPROVED
with the above recommendations the Renewal Policy for Consulting and Service Contracts..