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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.d.1)b) Committee Minutes-Administration 06-06-17 9odol cen.trai contra. costa sanitary.District REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA PAUL.H.CAUSE SANITARY DISTRICT President A.ADMINISTRATION C JAMESPresident Y ntt Pro ro TTeem MICHAEL R.MCGILL M I N U T E TAD J.PILECI�I DAVID R. WILLIAMS PHONE: {925 225-9500 Tuesday, June , 2017 FAX: (925)372-0192 8:39 a.m. wvvw cerntralsan.org Executive Conference Room 5919 Imhoff Place Martinez, California Committee: Chair Mike McGill Member David Williams Invited Guest: Brent.Ives, Principal of BHI Management consulting Nicholas Jones, Sr., PFM Financial Advisors LLC Sta ft, Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Kent Alm, District counsel (left at beginning of Item 5.) Elaine R. Boehme, secretary of the District Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager Thea Vassallo, Finance Manager Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. 3. Follow-up discussion on proposed amendments to Board Policy No. BP 013 — Standing Committee charters to incorporate committee protocols This item was Beard out of order, immediately following Item No. 4. Administration Committee Minutes June 6, 2017 Page 2 Mr. Ives said he and staff had met since the April 24, 2017 meeting to incorporate the Committee's feedback into the proposed Committee protocols and guidelines. He said the opportunity also was used to propose changes to the committee charters to more accurately reflect current practices, focus on policy areas, reduce ambiguity, and simplify the template. once BP 013 has been upda ted,:he and staff will review BP 023 — Board Ethics and conduct with the Committee to eliminate any inconsistencies between the two policies and to discuss other changes suggested by the Committee at the April 24 meeting. The use of standing►'items on Committee agendas was discussed, after which it was decided to leave the proposed wording that "the use of standing items . . . is ,generally discouraged"as is. However, it was the consensus of the committee that if standing items are used, they should be accompanied by a clear, brief description of the.anticipated action, or a statement that no report or other action is contemplated. Ms. Boehme said staff will use the procedures described in Mr. Alm's April 17, 2017 memo to the Real Estate, Environmental& Planning (REEF) committee on the use of standing items. with regard to items for which Committees recommend Board approval, it was the consensus of the committee that they should be broken into two categories: Routine items may generally be put on the Board consent Calendar for approval, but non-routine items should be agendized separately for discussion. with respect to the proposed changes to the A dministra tion Committee charter, it was the consensus of the Committee to remove the last sentence of the introductory paragraph under "scope"because it repeats what is set forth in the new protocols and guidelines. it was suggested that this change be made to all four Committee charters. COMMITTEE ACTION: Reviewed and recommended Board approval with the changes noted above. 4. Receive information on requirement for Board review and approval of expenditures This item was taken out of order, immediately following Item 2. Mr. Alar stated that both statutes in the sanitary District Act of 1923 addressing the requirement for Board review and approval of expenditures were written at a time when most sanitary districts were much smaller. Neither statute has been amended and both remain in force. The intent of section 0801 is to assure that the elected body takes responsibility for keeping a fairly close watch on the financial actions of the agency. Administration Committee Minutes June 6, 2017 Page 3 Mr. Alm explained that, for practical reasons, the signing of checks at the District generally takes place prior to the Finance Committee having reviewed the check registers. Given the number of checks generated by a district the size of Central Sara and the impracticality of obtaining advance approval of the Board prior to signing every check, this practice was adopted to implement a process that follows the "spirit"of section 8801. While not literally compliant with the statute, he considers this.system to be substantially compliant. Mr. Bailey raised the possibility of pursuing amendments to these outdated statutes through legislative channels to align them more with modern practices. Mr. Alm agreed with that suggestion. This idea was supported by the Committee. chair McGill suggested using an omnibus bill process through the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA). COMMITTEE ACTION: discussed and provided input to staff. 5. Risk Management— Loss Control Report; discuss any outstanding claims and neer claims, if any In the absence of Risk Management Administrator Shan'Deutsch, Mr. Bailey briefly reviewed a new claim shown on the Loss Control Report. COMMITTEE ACTION: Discussed and provided input to staff. 0. Discuss proposed new Board Policy No. 029 — Debt Policy Mr. Leiber introduced the discussion, noting that staff presented two versions of a debt policy for consideration: one containing high-level, poly"cy-related guidance and the other containing► that plus procedures with detailed guidance on specific issues. He said staff obtained feedback from PFM Financial Advisors and Sperry Capital in developing the proposed policy and both versions meet the five requirements of a debt policy under SB 1020. Mr. Bailey noted that the Board typically desires to keep Board policies very brief and high-level. However, in this case, since the intended audience is external stakeholders, there is merit to incorporating the procedures into the policy document so all critical information is available in one place. Chair McGill agreed that it is important for external stakeholders to have the full .policy. He also said it is easy to.confuse policy with the law, and it is important that the policy be flexible enough to apply for years to come. He expressed appreciation for the comprehensive draft developed by staff and said he was supportive of the longer version, so long as it distinguishes between what is legally required and what is Board policy. Administration Committee Minutes June 0, 2017 Page 4 Member Williams concurred with the suggestion to embed the procedural aspects under the various sections of the policy. From his perspective, however, he sought additional clarification as to what is procedure versus policy. For example, he asked if the collection system day-to-day pipe replacement should be solely rate-funded, and whether it is a policy issue. to rate-fund versus bond- fund for certain.capital projects. Chair McGill suggested that the proposed policy be brought back at a future meeting with 1) the legal requirements clearly separated from policy and procedural clauses, 2) clarification as to what the District can do with bonds, 3) more specificity with regard to pipeline replacement, and 4) whether the 1.0- year period for determining the minimum capital project funding from rates versus debt is rolling or fixed.. COMMITTEE ACTION: Reviewed, provided input to staff, and directed staff to bring the proposed policy back at a future meeting for further discussion. 7. Review Gantt chart of activities leading up to 2017 Labor Negotiations Ills..O'Malley said labor negotiations have begun with all three bargaining units. COMMITTEE ACTION: Reviewed the Gantt chart. 8. Announcements a. Future scheduled meetings: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. b. Ms. Boehme announced that the June 15, 2017 Board meeting may be cancelled because two Board Members are expected to'be absent and there are no time-sensitive items on the agenda. C. chair McGill thanked staff for all it does for this Committee. 9. suggestions for future agenda items None. 10. ..Adjournment at 10:00 a.m.