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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration MINUTES 08-07-18 Page 2 of 9 ENTRAL SAN CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY i i IMHOFF i- MARTINEZ, + i s i REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA JAMES A.NEJEDLY SANITARY DISTRICT President ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE DAVID R, WILLIAMS President Pro Tern PAUL H.CA USEY MINMICHAEL R.MCGILL U T E S TAD J.PILECKI PHONE: (925)228-9500 Tuesday, August 7, 2018 FAX.- (925)372-0192 8:3 0 a.m. www.centralsan.org Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California Committee: Chair Mike McGill Member David Williams Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Katie Young, Secretary of the District Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Jean-Marc Petit, Director of Engineering and Technical Services (left during Item 3.b.) Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager (left during Item 3.b.) Timothy Potter, Environmental Compliance Superintendent (left after Item 3.a.) Nancy Molina, Associate Engineer (left after Item 3.a.) Keith Brauch, Electrical Technician (left after Item 3.a.) Russ Leavitt, Engineering Assistant III (left during Item 5.) Adib Musawwir, Electrical Technician (left after Item 3.a.) Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair McGill called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 142 of 149 Page 3of9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 2 3. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board a. Receive presentation regarding amendment to Resolution No. 2018-007 (adopted April 26, 2018) memorializing salary and benefits of unrepresented at-will positions Ms. O'Malley explained that she was informed late last week that the Management Group had voted to remove the positions of Director of Engineering and Technical Services and Director of Finance and Administration from the bargaining group, effectively leaving Mr. Petit and Mr. Leiber as unrepresented at-will employees. She said there are currently two other unrepresented at-will employees at Central San, herself and the Deputy General Manager. The benefits for these two positions are set forth in Resolution No. 2018-007, which was adopted by the Board last April. At this time, she said staff intends to bring forth at the August 16, 2018 Board meeting a new resolution with the same benefit levels which would include all four unrepresented at-will positions. Mr. Potter commented that the agenda wording should have included the names and positions of the two new unrepresented at-will employees. He also asked why the Management Group took such an action. He noted that the two unrepresented at-will positions covered by the existing resolution enjoy more favorable benefits than the Management Group. Adding the two director positions to the resolution would entitle them to the more favorable benefits as well. Mr. Potter also asked if it was more advantageous to negotiate via a resolution versus a memorandum of understanding. Mr. Bailey said the vote to remove the two director positions was originated by the Management Group and was a voluntary action on their part. While Mr. Bailey did not request the action be taken, he said he was in support of it. He suggested that Mr. Potter speak with the Management Group to obtain further information. Chair McGill stated that he was comfortable with the way the matter was agendized for this meeting, noting that the staff recommendation was for the Committee to provide input to staff. Board Committees can take no action on their own (they are advisory bodies only), so providing input to staff or a recommendation to the full Board at the Committee level is often recommended in matters such as this. Ultimately, the action will be decided by the full Board. Member Williams said that it is incumbent upon the Board to provide some way of memorializing the salary and benefits for unrepresented at-will employees. Therefore, he said he was satisfied with the staff August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 143 of 149 Page 4 of 9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 3 recommendation to adopt a new resolution covering all four unrepresented at-will employees with the same benefit levels. Mr. Bailey noted that adopting a single resolution covering all unrepresented at-will employees is preferable to having separate employment agreements for each of them. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board adoption of a new resolution similar to Resolution No. 2018-007 that would cover all four unrepresented at-will employees. b. Review draft Position Paper to consider adopting the following three new Board Policies and proposed resolution: ■ BP 035 — Purchasing ■ BP 035 — Informal Bidding ■ BP 035 — Delegation of Authority to General Manager ■ Resolution No. 2018- delegating claims handling authority to the General Manager and rescinding Resolution No. 2016-046 Mr. Leiber introduced the item, explaining the rationale behind bringing forth all three of these policies at one time. With regard to the Uniform Public Construction Cost Account Act (UPCCAA), adopted by the Board last May effective September 1, 2018, he mentioned that the threshold limits for informal and formal bidding may change from time to time. In fact, there is pending legislation that would increase the limits for informal bidding from X45,000 to X60,000 and formal bidding from $175,000 to $200,000 beginning in 2019. Each of the policies includes language that would allow the threshold limits to change whenever such limits are adjusted under the UPCCAA. Ms. Young introduced the new policy regarding delegation of authority to the General Manager, reiterating that the rationale for doing so was to allow for regular biennial review and to consolidate most all of the authority delegated by the Board to the General Manager in a single document that is more easily accessible to staff and the Board. Member Williams said he understood the rationale behind all three proposed policies and he was comfortable with the proposed Informal Bidding policy and had no comment with respect to the proposed Delegation of Authority to the General Manager policy. With regard to the proposed Purchasing policy, however, Member Williams prefaced his comments with the belief that Board policies should be very high level with a minimal amount of information that is not duplicative. Staff August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 144 of 149 Page 5of9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 4 should have procedures available to them to implement the Board policies. With that in mind, he offered for discussion the following feedback with respect to the numbered POLICY items included in the proposed Purchasing policy: Item 2. - Provide a fair and equitable bidding environment that fosters competition from responsive, responsible and qualified vendors; Member Williams asked if the last three words were needed because if a vendor were responsive and responsible, would they not also be qualified? Item 3. — Be transparent; Member Williams suggested that the policy should shy away from buzzwords, preferring instead to say something like, "Be open in all transactions;11 Mr. Bailey said the word "transparent"has become more known to the public and is universally understood. Staff wants to make sure there is an understanding that the District's transactions are straight up and there should be no second guessing of the processes used. Member Williams said he is supportive of the concept of transparency but would prefer that the wording be as clear as possible. Item 4. — Provide a timely, effective and consistent method of procurement of goods and services; With regard to the word "timely,"Member Williams suggested that it was implicit with having an effective method of procurement . . .. Thus, he suggested it be removed. Mr. Leiber said the issue of timeliness is one that the Purchasing staff deals with constantly. Mr. Bailey added that being timely is part of being effective; in this instance the word "timely"is used for emphasis. Mr. Williams reiterated that policies should stay brief and high level. It would be his suggestion to re-word the item to "Provide an effective method of procurement of goods and services." Item 5. — Provide best overall value for the supply of goods and services as required to support the needs of District departments and divisions with due consideration for: acquisition cost, lifetime cost of ownership, capability, qualifications, experience, skills, timeliness and value-added services; August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 145 of 149 Page 6 of 9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 5 Member Williams suggested that the sentence should end after "goods and services." The remainder of the wording would be more appropriately included in an administrative procedure. Item 6. — Following good business and ethical practices and adhere to all District policies and procedures,- Member rocedures,Member Williams questioned the inclusion of the words "and ethical," stating that good business practices do not include unethical practices. Mr. Bailey said he preferred to leave the item as written; otherwise, the language could become unnecessarily vague. Item 7. — Support the purchase of environmentally sustainable products and services to the extent feasible and in coordination with purchasing regulations, price, performance, availability and safety; Member Williams said he would end the sentence after the word "services,"asking when would staff purchase environmentally sustainable products that are not the best overall value (as required by Item 5.)? Mr. Bailey said brevity is good, but it can leave a lot to interpretation. Member Williams opined that the clarifying wording would be more appropriate for the administrative procedures. Item 8. — Balance the need for material availability with the fiscal responsibility to effectively and responsibly manage inventory investment; Member Williams suggested rewording this item to "Manage inventory in a fiscally responsible manner;" Item 10. — Encourage local purchasing when cost competitive and practical. Member Williams suggested removing this item because "providing best overall value"as stated in Item 5 should dictate. With regard to the matrix attached to the proposed Purchasing policy, Member Williams questioned the need for it on the premise that it more appropriately belongs in an administrative procedure. It was agreed that the first table could be included in the Purchasing administrative procedures and the second table be included in the proposed new policy entitled Delegation of Authority to General Manager. August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 146 of 149 Page 7of9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 6 In conclusion, Member Williams said Central San has a competent General Manager and a competent staff. He reiterated his earlier statement that Board policies should be written at the highest level and be supported by comprehensive administrative procedures, approved by the General Manager, for staff's use in implementing those policies. Chair McGill made the following observations: • With regard to procurement card limits, he noted that the Board authorized late last year an increase from $3,500 to $5,000 per purchase. • The proposed Informal Bidding policy was drafted upon the advice of District Counsel to facilitate implementation of the UPCCAA, which was adopted by the Board earlier this year. • With regard to future changes to threshold limits under the UPCCAA, it was his understanding, and staff's intention, that the limits should change whenever the legislature changes them, without the need for additional Board action. He requested that staff provide a General Manager announcement in a Board agenda packet whenever the amounts change. (Member Williams agreed with this request.) • With regard to delegating authority to the General Manager, Chair McGill said he very much agrees with Member Williams that the Board should be moving as much high-level authority as possible to the General Manager because they want him to run the District. • With regard to separating policy from procedures, Chair McGill recognized that time is of the essence to have these new Board policies in place prior to September 1, 2018, which is the effective date for implementation of the UPCCAA at Central San. For this reason, he suggested that staff present them to the Board in substantially the format as presented at this meeting, including the changes recommended by Member Williams, with the proviso that they be reviewed six months after adoption to do any further fine tuning. Thereafter, the policies could revert to the customary biennial review schedule. Mr. Leavitt, who was present for Item 4.a. and spoke in his capacity as a member of Toastmasters, commented that he appreciated the struggle over whether to include or exclude certain words in the policies. He opined that words are important and can affect the messaging. For example, a Board that wants to be seen as a champion of the environment may want to include such language in its policies. The same is true for mentioning ethical practices. August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 147 of 149 Page 8of9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 7 COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval, with the inclusion of some or all of the changes recommended by Member Williams to proposed BP 035 — Purchasing. The Committee further requested that the policies, if adopted by the Board, be reviewed six months after adoption to consider any further fine tuning. 4. Other Items a. Receive semi-annual update on participation in Talksics Toastmasters Club Mr. Leavitt reviewed the information included in the agenda material. Chair McGill said he likes that Toastmasters provides opportunities for staff to hone their public speaking skills when they are either presenting to the Board or when they are representing the District to outside organizations. He mentioned that another speaking opportunity for Toastmasters'members may be at the beginning of the quarterly meetings of the Contra Costa Chapter of the California Special District Association (CCSDA) which are held on-site in the Multi-Purpose Room. Mr. Leavitt expressed appreciation for the Committee's support. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. 5. Announcements a. Mr. Bailey announced that the new wastewater revenue refunding bonds were recently assigned a AAA'rating by Standard & Poors (S&P). The pricing for the new bonds should be known on August 13, 2018. b. Mr. Bailey said he had forwarded an informational item to the Board Members regarding a recent California Supreme Court ruling that overturned an appellate court ruling in San Diego related to a pension reform proposition passed by the voters in 2012. The Supreme Court ruled that City officials failed to meet and confer with their bargaining units before placing the proposition on the ballot. C. Mr. Bailey also announced that staff will be adding an item to the August 16, 2018 Board agenda regarding DERWA's (Dublin San Ramon Services District-East Bay Municipal Utility District Recycled Water Authority) request to divert raw wastewater from Central San for use by customers located south of Central San's service area. Staff will be seeking clarification and direction from the Board. August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 148 of 149 Page 9of9 Administration Committee Minutes August 7, 2018 Page 8 6. Future Scheduled Meetings Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. 7. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Receive list of future agenda items Received the list and, as noted above, requested that the policies discussed in Item 3.b. be brought back to the Committee for review six months after adoption. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list. 8. Adjournment— at 9:55 a.m. August 16, 2018 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 149 of 149