HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.a. Follow-up to Questions asked at the April 21, 2020 Finance Committee meeting regarding specific expenditures Page 1 of 2
Item 4.a.
CENTRAL SAN
May 18, 2020
TO: FINANCE COMMITTEE
FROM: KEVIN MIZUNO, FINANCE MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: PHILIP LEI BER, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMI NSTRATI ON
ANN SASAKI, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER
ROGER S. BAILEY, GENERAL MANAGER
SUBJECT: FOLLOW-UP TO QUESTION ASKED AT THE APRIL 21, 2020 FINANCE
COMMITTEE MEETING REGARDING SPECIFIC EXPENDITURES
At the April 21, 2020 Finance Committee meeting, Committee Members asked for additional explanations
for a few expenditures. Following additional review of supporting documents and follow-up with personnel
from divisions more involved with the purchased services or goods in question, additional information was
obtained and is summarized below:
• Expenditures List Page 33, procurement card charges totaling $151.42 for"AC20 Conference"
Staff Response:
An Assistant Engineer in the Capital Projects Division was originally authorized to attend the Clean
Water Environment Association (CWEA) Conference in Reno, NV, and had been registered/booked
for his hotel (conference hotel) back in February 2020 before the rapid escalation of the COVI D-19
pandemic situation. The hotel charged a one-night stay upon booking, but they have since refunded
the money to Central San on the most recent procurement card statement.
• Expenditures List Page 33, procurement card charges totaling $4.732.85 for"General repairs. parts
& material"
Staff Response:
Upon inspection of the procurement card statement and inquiry with Maintenance Division
instrumentation shop staff, this included several purchases including: a "Trerice" gauge for
replacement for influent pumps, 2.5 gauges for cake pumps including a spare for the plant and pump
station, a transmitter for the pre-aeration air flow meter, and another transmitter for a shop general
replacement for the furnace gas train.
• Expenditures List Page 35, procurement card charges totaling $2,354.33 for"Mechanical seal, coat
rack"
Staff Response:
Upon inquiry with Maintenance Division staff, the coat rack was purchased for the mechanical shop's
changing area with specs of 36" long with a shelf costing approximately$74. The mechanical seal,
May 18, 2020 Special FINANCE Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 4 of 448
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comprising the bulk of the expenditure, was 1-1/2" diameter for the work on Central San's Mater
High Pressure Pump.
• Expenditures List Page 36, procurement card charges totaling $3,896.25 for"Employee w/h state
disb"
Staff Response:
Central San receives child support garnishment orders periodically from the State Disbursement Unit
(SDU), which is the agency that administers child support payments. Payments to the SDU for child
support garnishments, which is what the selected transaction pertains to, typically recur monthly and
are made via procurement card.
• Expenditures List Page 37, procurement card charges totaling $12,726.16 for"Tires, turbo fleet
parts„
Staff Response:
Regarding selected procurement card tire purchases under question, the Fleet unit of the Collection
System Operations (CSO) Division currently contracts two local vendors: Goodyear Tires and
TireHub (Formerly Dapper Tires). Goodyear is used for commercial/truck tires and TireHub is used
for passenger vehicle tires. Occasionally, if there is an urgent need for tires and neither Goodyear
nor TireHub have the appropriate sizes in stock, the CSO Fleet unit will purchase tires from
alternative vendors. Waiting for CSO's contracted tire vendors to procure the appropriate sizes may
result in delays of up to a week or two as well as premium surcharges for the special delivery
resulting in 15% higher in costs. In these types of circumstances, authorized staff in the division will
purchase tires online using their procurement card from either TireRack or SimpleTire where they
have ample stock, can deliver the tires the next business day and offer competitive prices.
Strategic Plan Tie-In
GOAL THREE:Be a Fiscally Sound and Effective Water Sector Utility
Strategy 2- Manage costs
May 18, 2020 Special FINANCE Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 5 of 448