Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration MINUTES 07-09-19 Page 2 of 6 Arlai CENTRAL SAN CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT 5019 IMHOFF PLACE, MARTINEZ, CA 9,4553-A392 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: DAVID R, WILLIAMS CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA President SANITARY DISTRICT MICHAEL R.MCGHL President Pro Tem ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAUL CASEY JAMES A.NEJEDLY TAD J PHECKI MINUTES PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX.- (925)372-0192 Tuesday, July 9, 2019 www.centralvan.org 8:30 a.m. Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California Committee: Chair David Williams Member Mike McGill Guests: W. Daniel Clinton, Principal Counsel of Hanson Bridget LLP Staff.- Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Katie Young, Secretary of the District Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Teji O'Malley, Human Resources Manager Todd Smithey, Finance Administrator (present for Item 3.b. only) Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District Shenae Howard, Administrative Assistant (left after Item 3.a.) 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. July 25, 2019 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 62 of 72 Page 3 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes July 9, 2019 Page 2 3. Other Items a. Receive "Engage" Employee Wellness Program Annual Report Ms. O'Malley reviewed the presentation included with the agenda material and introduced Ms. Howard, Chair of the Wellness Committee. During last year's report on the Wellness Program, Member McGill asked if any measurable statistics or linkages exist as to how the program ultimately benefits the ratepayers. Ms. O'Malley said she is still trying to find a direct, measurable correlation or causal effect, but at this point there are no measurable metrics. In response to an inquiry from Member McGill, as to performing a regression analysis by age of workforce and sick days used, Ms. O'Malley said sick days are not always associated with an employee's health so that type of analysis would not provide useful data. Any meaningful metrics that come to light that might help determine a direct, measurable nexus between employee health and the Wellness Program will be incorporated into future reports. Given that approximately one-third of the employees currently participate in the program, a brief discussion took place as to whether they represent a broad cross-section of employees. Ms. Howard said that, in her opinion, employee participation is a fair representation of the employee base. Many employees have expressed to her that they feel no need to join because they exercise regularly and obtain the same biometrics offered through the Wellness Program from their own doctors. Chair Williams thanked Ms. Howard and Ms. O'Malley for their work with the Wellness Program. Ms. Howard thanked the Committee for their support and Ms. O'Malley for giving the Wellness Committee more structure and definition over the last several years. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. Mr. Clinton joined the meeting, at which time Chair Williams said Item 3.d. would be heard out of order. b. Receive update on premium rate adjustments for CalPERS Medical Plans for Calendar Year 2019 Item 3.b. was heard immediately after Item 3.d. Ms. O'Malley highlighted some of the information included in the agenda material, stating that, after considering all rate adjustments, the overall average premium increase for all Ca1PERS health plans was 4.65%. The rates for Kaiser Permanente and Health Net SmartCare increased by 0.03% and 10.98%, respectively. In response to a question from Member July 25, 2019 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 63 of 72 Page 4 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes July 9, 2019 Page 3 McGill, Ms. O'Malley said staff was expecting an increase of approximately 28% for Health Net if the transition to Ca1PERS had not occurred. Given that roughly 70% of employees opt for Kaiser coverage, Chair Williams commented that having such a slight increase for most of the employees was very good news. Ms. O'Malley agreed, noting that even with the Health Net increase, the savings is still significant, and within the range of savings that had been anticipated at the time the decision was made to switch to Ca1PERS. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. C. Receive update on constructive receipt issue related to District leave cash-out practices Ms. O'Malley explained that in 2017, it was discovered that Central San was not in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations regarding the constructive receipt doctrine, in which the IRS considers income to be "received"for tax purposes if the individual either receives it or has an option to receive it during that tax year. Staff met with all three bargaining units in October 2017 to discuss current accrued leave cash-out practices for both accumulated vacation time and earned overtime. Ms. O'Malley stated that the bargaining units do not want to lose the ability to make elective buybacks. It was hoped that an agreement could be reached during the recently completed labor negotiations, but that did not occur. Meetings have been scheduled later this month to revisit the issue. Chair Williams asked how many elective buybacks occur each year. Ms. O'Malley said that roughly 60 employees per year take advantage of the option. These cash-outs are properly taxed, but employees not electing to make a sale are not taxed. This potentially creates tax liabilities for the employees and Central San may be subject to penalties. She also noted that the IRS has the right to reach back up to three years. Ms. O'Malley reviewed the five options explained in the agenda material for bringing Central San's practices into IRS compliance, noting that most agencies implement the first option which requires employees to irrevocably elect an accrued leave cash-out in advance. She concluded by stating that the purpose of the update was informational only and that the Committee will receive an update after meetings with the bargaining units have taken place. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update. July 25, 2019 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 64 of 72 Page 5 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes July 9, 2019 Page 4 d. Discuss succession planning from Principal Counsel W. Daniel Clinton of Hanson Bridget LLP This item was heard out of order, immediately after Item 3.a. Mr. Clinton, the District's long-term labor counsel, said the reason for his visit was that the Committee had asked him to think about a transition plan for labor counsel services given that he may have plans to retire at some point. He said that request caused him to think about what he is committed to in terms of his future services. He is willing to commit for the current and next calendar years (2019 and 2020); beyond that, he is not sure. Therefore, a transition will occur at the end of 2020. Mr. Clinton noted that the Committee had also mentioned issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services he has been providing Central San. Mr. Clinton said he discussed the situation with his firm and identified one of their partners, Jennifer Martinez, as a potentially good fit for Central San. Ms. Martinez is a rising star at Hanson Bridget with at least 10 years' experience. She has been a partner for approximately two years and has expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of succeeding him. In terms of the transition itself, Mr. Clinton said there would be a hard stop at the end of 2020, but he would never leave Central San in a lurch and would be willing to assist as long as needed during the transition period, whether or not the new counsel is with Hanson Bridget. He added that there is no training involved if a new firm were hired. Any new person will have a learning curve to become familiar with Central San, and he would be willing to assist if needed. Mr. Clinton identified two challenges for the transition. First, in terms of volume of work, he said Central San's current labor situation is as calm as he has ever experienced, and it has never been particularly voluminous from his perspective. There are currently no work opportunities for Ms. Martinez to interact with Central San's staff and Board. Second, arriving at an appropriate billing rate for Ms. Martinez presents a challenge. It would be significantly below his current rate but would also need to be high enough so that Ms. Martinez is incentivized to work with Central San. In terms of historical knowledge regarding past practices, Ms. O'Malley stated that since she joined the District in 2012, staff has documented all Central San's labor issues and she feels comfortable that the historical information regarding past labor practices are well documented. July 25, 2019 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 65 of 72 Page 6 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes July 9, 2019 Page 5 Mr. Clinton said he would like to introduce Ms. Martinez to the Committee and staff in about three months'time. COMMITTEE ACTION: Held the discussion and welcomed the idea of meeting Ms. Martinez several months from now. Mr. Clinton left the meeting after which Chair Williams resumed the agenda order by returning to Item 3.b. e. Receive annual status report on biennial review of Board Policies COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the report. f. Receive list of future agenda items Member McGill inquired about his earlier suggestion that security issues be reviewed, including those related to the Board Room, and that active shooter training be provided. Ms. Young said that suggestion has been combined as part of the discussion related to potential options for improving the Board Room, which is scheduled to come to the Committee later this summer. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list. 4. Announcements a. Mr. Bailey announced that he will postpone Item 7 on the July 11, 2019 Board agenda Consent Calendar regarding revisions to Board Policy No. BP 006— Records Management Program and the records retention schedules because there is now time to have the matter reviewed by the Administration Committee before it is considered by the full Board. 5. Future Scheduled Meetings a. Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. 6. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Mr. Bailey and Mr. Leiber stated that the risk inventory discussed at the last meeting, which has been developed by staff and finalized with an outside consultant, will be brought to the Administration Committee for review in the near future before it is presented to the full Board. 7. Adjournment— at 9:54 a.m. July 25, 2019 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 66 of 72