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Home My WebLink About13.c. Minutes Administration Committee 10-24-17Page 1 of 7 Item 13.c. Central Contra Costa Sanitary District November 2, 2017 TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM: ELAINE BOEHME, SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT SUBJECT: OCTOBER 24, 2017 -ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE - MEMBER MCGILL AND MEMBER WILLIAMS Attached are minutes of the above Committee meeting. Strategic Plan Tie -In GOAL ONE: Provide Exceptional Customer Service Strategy 1 - Foster Customer Engagement and Awareness ATTACHMENTS: 1. Minutes of 10-24-17 Administration Committee Meeting 2. Item 3.a. (Handout) Comparison Chart of Hourly Rates November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 293 of 303 Page 2 of 7 Jl Central Contra Costa Sanitary District MIN U T E S PHONE: (925) 228-9500 FAX- (925) 676-7211 www.centralsan.org Tuesday, October 24, 2017 8:30 a.m. Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California (-nmmittPP Chair Mike McGill Member David Williams Invited Guest: W. Daniel Clinton, Esq., Principal Counsel, Hanson Bridgett LLP (left after Item 3.a.) Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Kent Alm, District Counsel Elaine R. Boehme, Secretary of the District Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Jean -Marc Petit, Director of Engineering & Technical Services John Huie, Information Technology Manager Edgar J. Lopez, Capital Projects Division Manager (left after Item 3.b.) Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager Shari Deutsch, Risk Management Administrator Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District Lupe Saldana, Administrative Services Supervisor 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 8:34 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 294 of 303 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: PAUL H CA USEY REGULAR MEETING OF THE President CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA JAMES A.NEJEDLY President Pro Tent SANITARY DISTRICT MICHAEL R.MCGILL ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE TAD JPILECKI DAVID R. WILLIAMS MIN U T E S PHONE: (925) 228-9500 FAX- (925) 676-7211 www.centralsan.org Tuesday, October 24, 2017 8:30 a.m. Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California (-nmmittPP Chair Mike McGill Member David Williams Invited Guest: W. Daniel Clinton, Esq., Principal Counsel, Hanson Bridgett LLP (left after Item 3.a.) Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Kent Alm, District Counsel Elaine R. Boehme, Secretary of the District Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Jean -Marc Petit, Director of Engineering & Technical Services John Huie, Information Technology Manager Edgar J. Lopez, Capital Projects Division Manager (left after Item 3.b.) Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager Shari Deutsch, Risk Management Administrator Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District Lupe Saldana, Administrative Services Supervisor 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 8:34 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 294 of 303 Page 3 of 7 Administration Committee Minutes October 24, 2017 Page 2 3. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board a. Review draft Position Paper to approve the contract for labor and employment related legal services with Hanson Bridgett LLP and Principal Counsel W. Daniel Clinton, Esq., effective January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, with an option to extend an additional year with a $10 per hour rate increase Ms. O'Malley distributed a revised schedule showing the Hourly Rate Comparison — Interagency Survey (see attached) and reviewed the information included with the agenda material. The Committee noted that the Board and staff have been extremely pleased with the services provided by Mr. Clinton over the past several decades, but expressed some hesitation about his quoted hourly rate, which is currently $420 and is projected to increase to $430 in 2019. Mr. Clinton said he could quote a lower blended rate and delegate the District's work to associates, which he would oversee, but ultimately the billings could end up being higher. It was explained that his is more of a specialty rate, which takes into consideration his vast historical knowledge of the District and helps him provide services to the District in a very efficient manner. For the most part, he said he does advice work for Central San and adversary proceedings. While either could be delegated down, he does not believe that would be in the District's best interests. Over the years he said he has held his hourly rate to small incremental increases for Central San, noting that his normal billing rate is $120 higher than that quoted. Ms. O'Malley commented that Mr. Clinton's longevity with the District results in efficiencies; he is very familiar with Central San's needs and processes, resulting in less researching of District matters. She knows that when she calls on Mr. Clinton, she is assured of a quick and reliable response. Mr. Alm noted that hourly rates for very specialized work such as that performed by Mr. Clinton are justifiably higher because they do not include the more routine matters covered under the general counsel rates quoted by other districts. Mr. Bailey said there is huge value in the preventative nature of the counsel provided by Mr. Clinton. The advice he has given has helped to avoid and/or mitigate issues. He would not be in favor of asking Mr. Clinton to delegate the District's work to associates. November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 295 of 303 Page 4 of 7 Administration Committee Minutes October 24, 2017 Page 3 The Committee Members agreed with this assessment, and recommended Board approval of the contract. The Committee also requested that before the term of the new contract ends that staff return to the Committee with an independent review of legal services provided by labor counsel, assuming the Committee and full Board will be asked at that time to consider extending the contract with the $10 hourly increase for the 2019 calendar year. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval, and requested that staff provide the Committee with an independent review of legal services provided by labor counsel before the term of the new contract ends. Mr. Clinton left the meeting. b. Review draft Position Paper to consider replacing vacant Assistant Engineer position (S-73, $8,620-$10,428) with Senior Engineer position (S-83, $10,941-$13,229) It was noted that Board approval is currently required when the addition or deletion of any permanent positions approved in the annual budget will result in an increase in the District's annual budgeted labor costs (salary and benefits). Even though the proposed change will not increase labor costs in the current fiscal year, it will increase labor costs over time by $35,647 to $39,353 annually. In the interest of transparency, staff believed it appropriate to take this action to the Board for approval. Ms. O'Malley noted that the above level of authority was delegated to the General Manager in December 2016 as part of the updated General Manager Authority Resolution No. 2016-046. She added that this is the only instance since adoption of the updated resolution where a position addition/deletion has been brought to the Committee. Chair McGill appreciated staff's willingness to be so transparent by bringing forward this Position Paper, but expressed concerned that it invites the Board into a level of operations when that was not the intention. He suggested that rather than seeking Board approval in such instances, a General Manager announcement be made instead. Member Williams said he was comfortable with the criteria indicated in the GM Authority Resolution, stating that it provides clear direction and allows the General Manager to maneuver within the stated parameters. Chair McGill said he would recommend Board approval of the addition/ deletion described in the draft Position Paper, and suggested that staff November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 296 of 303 Page 5 of 7 Administration Committee Minutes October 24, 2017 Page 4 return with proposed changes to the GM Authority Resolution to broaden the General Manager's authority for such actions beyond the following existing parameters: The action does not increase the number of full-time employees; 2. The action is within the annual budgeted labor costs (salary and benefits); and 3. The changes authorized by the General Manager since adoption of the budget do not result in an overall labor cost (salary and benefits) increase, calculated by considering the maximum cost of each position added or deleted. Chair McGill added that providing broader latitude to the General Manager for position addition/deletions would enable staff to respond more swiftly to changing needs, especially with the significant increase in capital projects in the coming years. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval and directed staff to bring back to the Committee proposed changes to the General Manager Authority Resolution based on the discussion. C. Follow-up discussion from September 12, 2017 meeting on proposed new Board Policy No. BP 033 — Conducting District Business Using Personal Accounts and Devices Mr. Alm explained the proposed changes to the draft policy are indicated in strikeout in the agenda materials. The changes on page 1 generally reflect comments from the Committee at the prior meeting. He said the new paragraph on page 2 intends to discourage the use of personal mobile devices or accounts for District business other than when using an account connected to the District's servers. It also discourages the use of text messages for District business. Mr. Alm acknowledged that following this somewhat proscriptive approach could prove to be impractical given the broad use of texting and other instant messaging technologies. He also explained that in the spirit of transparency and efficiency he was not proposing any shortened retention periods for mobile devices. Mr. Huie said a survey of his peers at other special districts revealed that none has a policy setting retention periods for public records on personal devices. Chair McGill said it was unreasonable to suggest that text messages not be used. He suggested including a statement to the effect that electronic November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 297 of 303 Page 6 of 7 Administration Committee Minutes October 24, 2017 Page 5 documents (e.g. text messages and voicemails) related to District business and subject to Public Records Act requests should somehow be preserved, either on the District's server or some other medium. Based on the discussion, Mr. Alm said it appeared the Committee Members were comfortable with the changes to page 1 of the draft policy but they would like to soften the paragraph on page 2 to make it understood that anything sent via text message or similar medium may well be made public and appropriate discretion should be utilized, and that it is recommended that efforts be made to conduct District business in person or through emails and other written communications. Chair McGill said he would add that keeping appropriate records of District business is always good practice, whether they be notes of phone calls, or meeting minutes. COMMITTEE ACTION: Requested that staff bring back a revised draft policy for review at a future meeting based on the Committee's feedback. 4. Other Items a. Risk Management - Loss Control Report; discuss any outstanding claims and new claims, if any Ms. Deutsch reviewed the report with the Committee and responded to questions. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. 5. Announcements None. 6. Future Scheduled Meetings a. Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. 2018 Meeting Dates To Be Determined 7. Suggestions for future agenda items None. 8. Adjournment — at 10:28 a.m. November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 298 of 303 temUPDATED 10/24/17 3;e�: f 7 to reflect corrected CCCSD General Counsel Hourly Rate (Committee Handout) Agency Firm (If not in house) Title/Rank Hourly Rate Central San Hanson Bridgett Partner $420* Delta Diablo Meyers Nave Of Counsel $330 Contra Costa Water District Wiley, Price, and Radulovich Partner $290 Fairfield Suisun Sewer District Liebert, Cassidy Whitmore Partner $350 Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District Liebert, Cassidy Whitmore Partner $350 Napa Sanitation District Meyers Nave Senior Associate $250 Oro Loma Sanitary District Meyers Nave Partner $252 Union Sanitary District Wiley, Price, and Radulovich Varies $295-$315 West County Wastewater Wiley, Price, and Radulovich Partner $295 West Valley Sanitation District Meyers Nave Of Counsel $330 *$420 hourly rate proposed with new contract from 1/1/18 - 12/31/18 (no change from previous year), with increase of $10/hour for 1/1/19 - 12/31/19 should the Board exercise the option to extend the agreement for an additional year. Senior or Equity CCCSD General Counsel Meyers Nave Principal $3W $340** ** Hourly rate as approved by the Board on 11/17/16, effective 10/1/16, reflecting a 5% increase as part of amendments recommended by the Board following District Counsel's annual review. In addition, the District has a flat retainer (at a blended hourly rate of $325 per hour based on 74 hours per month) of $24,124. Fiscal Year 2016-17 Central San Legal Expenses Hanson Bridgett $76,427.95 Meyers Nave $409,367.29 November 2, 2017 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 299 of 303