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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration MINUTES 08-20-19 Page 2 of 6 ol&)i Cwil ENTRAL SAN CONTRACENTRAL • IMHOFF PLACE, MARTINEZ, CA 9AS53-A392 REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: DAVID R, WILLIAMS CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA President SANITARY DISTRICT MICHAEL R.MCGILL President Pro Tem ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE PAUL H.CASEY JAMES A.NEJEDLY TAD J PHECKI MINUTES PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX.- (925)372-0192 Tuesday, August 20, 2019 www.centralsan.org 8:30 a.m. Executive Conference Room 5019 Imhoff Place Martinez, California Committee: Chair David Williams Member Mike McGill Staff.- Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Kenton L. Alm, District Counsel Ann Sasaki, Deputy General Manager Phil Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Emily Barnett, Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Manager Kevin Mizuno, Finance Manager Todd Smithey, Finance Administrator (left after Item 3.d.) Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. 2. Public Comments None. 3. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board a. Consider staff proposal for support in fostering additional contributions for Central San's employee workplace giving program, reflecting the Committee's input from the June 4, 2019 meeting September 5, 2019 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 184 of 201 Page 3 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes August 20, 2019 Page 2 Ms. O'Malley said this item was originally discussed with the Committee on June 4, 2019, and the Committee requested additional information regarding the proposal's nexus to Central San's Vision, Mission and Values as well as what other agencies are doing in this regard. She said the agenda backup materials include the requested information. Member McGill said he supports the proposal, adding that being so intensely focused on environmental issues and wastewater treatment, it is easy to lose sight of other components of Central San's Vision, Mission and Values. Chair Williams raised the issue of gifting of public funds. Mr. Alm said the funds must be used for a public purpose. In this case it serves to enhance the existing employee giving program and foster good relations with the community. The key distinction with this proposal is that the District will be making no decisions as to which charities receive the donations; those selections will be made solely by the employees. Central San's participation in this proposal is essentially to support a charitable giving program where the employees can support the communities served by the District. Ms. O'Malley noted that this proposal is for a three-year pilot program to see if the change garners a higher level of employee participation. Ms. Barnett added that if the proposal is approved, much of the program's success will center around communication, and she will work with the Human Resources staff to facilitate that process and get the word out to employees. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval of staff's proposal to implement a three-year pilot program to cover the administration fees associated with Central San's existing employee charitable giving program. b. Review draft Position Paper to approve proposed revisions to Board Policy No. BP 011 — Policy for the Submission and Tabulation of Proposition 218 Notice Written Protests, reflecting the Committee's input from the August 6, 2019 meeting Ms. Anderson explained that the Board had asked at the last meeting for clarification in the policy regarding verbal protests. While implementing those changes, she said staff separated the policy into three sections: written protests, verbal protests, and provisions common to both types of protests. The Committee concurred with the proposed changes. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. September 5, 2019 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 185 of 201 Page 4 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes August 20, 2019 Page 3 C. Review draft Position Paper to approve proposed revisions to Board Policy No. BP 030 - Cost of Service Study, reflecting the Committee's input from the August 6, 2019 meeting Ms. Anderson stated that at the last meeting, the Committee sought clarification regarding the frequency of conducting cost of service studies as related to two Government Code statutes relevant to Central San. She said Mr. Alm reviewed the statutes and has proposed revised policy wording that is consistent with both. Mr. Alm said the two statutes relate to different types of fees. One provides that a wastewater agency may adopt a schedule of fees and charges for a period not to exceed five years. The other mandates a cost of service study at least once every ten years that primarily addresses capital charges (e.g. connection fees). He confirmed that he cited both statutes in the revised policy to provide clearer guidance. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. d. Review draft Position Paper to approve proposed revisions to: 1) Board Policy No. BP 005 - Statement of Investment Policy; and 2) Investment Guidelines Documents (IGDs) related to the Public Agencies Post-Retirement Health Care Plan Trust, which includes both of the following: IGD for the existing Government Accounting Standards Board 45 Other Post-Employment Benefits Trust (GASB 45 OPEB Trust), and • IGD for the Pension Prefunding Trust Mr. Mizuno explained that the Board's investment policy and two IGDs are reviewed annually. Although not required, this is considered a best practice by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). He said a couple of relatively minor changes to BP 005 are proposed related to Assembly Bill 1770, which became effective January 1, 2019, and as more fully explained in the draft Position Paper. Those changes are reflected in strikeout on page 4 of the policy. He said no substantive changes are recommended for either of the IGDs. Mr. Leiber said staff also has considered an alternative to the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) — the California Asset Management Program (CAMP). Mr. Mizuno said CAMP is a California Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that provides California public agencies with professional September 5, 2019 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 186 of 201 Page 5 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes August 20, 2019 Page 4 investment services directed by a Board of Trustees comprised of experienced local government finance directors and treasurers. It offers a range of services to assist investors and participants with their investment and arbitrage compliance needs. One of the advantages of CAMP is that it is a large JPA that is very easy to utilize by logging into its system. Because of this, CAMP operates a bit quicker than LAIF and pays monthly interest. Funds in both alternatives are entirely liquid. No changes to BP 005 would be needed to switch to CAMP, and a transition would be relatively simple. Mr. Mizuno added that in growing economies, CAMP operates a bit more quickly, however, in a down economy, LAIF may be better. For that reason, there is no urgency in considering a change at this time. Member McGill asked Mr. Smithey what the unfunded liabilities are for the OPEB and Pension Trusts. Mr. Smithey said that the funds, which have market values as of June 30, 2019, of$65.9 million and$8.4 million, respectively, are both approximately 83% funded. For this reason, the Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget does not include any additional contributions to either trust. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. 4. Announcements a. Receive semi-annual update on participation in Talksics Toastmasters Club COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the announcement. b. Mr. Alm announced that a recent California Supreme Court decision in City of Oroville v. Superior Court has ruled that public agencies are not liable in inverse condemnation for property damage from a sewer backup where the property owner failed to have a legally required backflow device (aka overflow protection device, or OPD). In this case, a new dental office with no backflow device experienced flooding from a sewer overflow and sued the city for damages. Both the trial and appellate courts ruled for the plaintiff. The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts'rulings on the basis that there was evidence that the property owner failed to have a backflow device which was required by local ordinance, and testimony by the city's experts that the sewage backup incident could have been averted had there been a backflow device. The damage was caused by the property owner's failure, not the city's sewer system. Mr. Alm said the law of the state is now changed rather dramatically in favor of public agencies. September 5, 2019 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 187 of 201 Page 6 of 6 Administration Committee Minutes August 20, 2019 Page 5 Mr. Alm's announcement sparked questions about renewed outreach to those property owners who have no backflow device and whether provisions of the District Code need to be revisited in light of this Supreme Court decision. Mr. Alm said at this point it would be useful to review the District Code provisions to make sure the District is set up as well as can be, given the new ruling. One consideration is whether a new provision should be added that grandfathers older residences or buildings constructed before backflow devices were required. Chair Williams suggested it may be possible to codify something to the effect that property owners assume the risk if they do not install a backflow device. Mr. Bailey said that since this is a policy issue, staff will review options and present them to the Committee at a future meeting. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the announcement and requested that staff return at a future meeting with additional information, including possible changes to the District Code regarding backflow devices. 5. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items 1) As mentioned in Item 4.b., staff will present information and identify possible revisions to the District Code regarding backflow prevention devices. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list and provided input to staff. 6. Future Scheduled Meetings Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. 7. Adjournment— at 9:30 a.m. September 5, 2019 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 188 of 201