HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration MINUTES 09-05-23 (Special)
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE M I N U T E S
Tuesday, September 5, 20239:00 a.m. Committee: Chair Mariah Lauritzen Member Mike McGill
Staff: Roger S. Bailey, General Manager Katie Young, CMC Secretary of the District Kent Alm, District Counsel Greg Norby, Deputy General Manager – Operations (joined during Item 3.a.)
Philip Leiber, Deputy General Manager – Administration Benjamin Johnson, Internal Auditor (joined during Item 3.a.) Charles Mallory, Information Technology Manager Kevin Muzino, Finance Manager (joined during Item 3.b.) Teji O’Malley, Human Resources and Organizational Development Manager
Stacey Durocher, Administrative Services Assistant 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair Lauritzen called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
2. Public Comments
None.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
BARBARA D. HOCKETT President MARIAH N. LAURITZEN President Pro Tem MICHAEL R. MCGILL TAD J. PILECKI FLORENCE T. WEDINGTON PHONE: (925) 228-9500 FAX: (925) 372-0192 www.centralsan.org
September 21, 2023 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 162 of 174
Page 2 of 7
Administration Committee Minutes (Special) September 5, 2023 Page 2
3. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board
a. Receive update on Employee Benefits for calendar year 2024
Ms. O’Malley provided an overview of the 2024 Employee Benefits included in the agenda materials.
Member McGill asked if Board Members were covered in the Basic Life,
Accidental Death and Disbursement (AD&D) and Long-Term Disability
(LTD) policies. Ms. O’Malley responded that Board Members, the General Manager and the Secretary of the District do receive these benefits.
Member McGill recommended adding these positions to the memorandum
for transparency.
Member McGill inquired about the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Ms. O’Malley explained EAP offers employee assistance with counseling,
mental health services, and legal assistance. Member McGill
recommended adding to the Board memorandum a description of what
EAP is and what services are provided.
Member McGill inquired about the difference in rates between the regions,
and why this information is provided. Ms. O’Malley stated that there are
retirees that are not of Medicare age that may live in these other regions
or out of state and those rates as shown would apply to them. She also
confirmed that the District does not have control over the rates established by region. Member McGill recommended adding additional explanatory
language for clarity.
It was requested that this memorandum be provided to the full Board for
transparency with the additional language requested.
COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the update and recommended Board receipt. b. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute a professional services contract with Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP.
For District Counsel services.
Mr. Leiber provided an overview of the Position Paper included in the
agenda materials.
Member McGill inquired about language in the draft agreement and asked
which District employee gives consent to use District stationery. Mr. Bailey
said a separate conversation can happen to determine who gives consent,
however most likely the request would come to the General Manager and if needed to the Board, and there will be further discussions with staff to
establish a process.
September 21, 2023 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 163 of 174
Page 3 of 7
Administration Committee Minutes (Special) September 5, 2023 Page 3
In connection with another inquiry, Mr. Bailey recommended revising the
language in Item 6.4 - Payment of Services from “the District shall review
and approve” to “the District shall review and process”.
Member McGill referred to Item 10.1 - Coverages and Limits, asking if Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP (BWS) is providing adequate insurance.
Mr. Alm stated that this was discussed and BWS would get back to the
District regarding providing higher policy limits, if such were available.
In response to Member McGill’s concerns regarding Item 12 - Ownership of Documents and the Public Records Act (“PRA"), Mr. Bailey stated that
just because those privileged documents are returned to the District, it
does not necessarily mean that the public has the right to receive those
documents in a PRA request. Mr. Alm stated it would not affect Attorney-
Client privilege, however, if documents were accidentally disclosed it would become a public document. Mr. Leiber said that staff would review
this language again.
Ms. Young stated that language regarding Legal Counsel being available
to review Public Records Act Requests, when necessary, should be added to the contract as well.
In response to Chair Lauritzen inquiry about BWS onsite office hours, Mr.
Leiber stated BWS would have two days onsite for at least the first three
months but was looking to transition to one day and accessibility via TEAMs/Zoom thereafter. It was noted that this issue was a point that had
been discussed as an area of concern and Central San and BWS would
continue to consider this issue.
Member McGill asked if BWS was aware that the Board would be involved in their performance reviews and Mr. Bailey confirmed acknowledgement.
With respect to the provision that allows for BWS to terminate service with
60 days’ notice, Chair Lauritzen asked if 60-days was sufficient to replace
Legal Counsel. Mr. Alm suggested it be extended to 90 days.
Member McGill requested that staff provide a comparison of the proposed
contract for BWS to Mr. Alm’s current Legal Counsel contract.
Mr. Leiber advised that he would have a discussion with BWS regarding the proposed changes to the contract and bring the item to the full Board
for approval.
COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval with the recommended changes to the contract.
September 21, 2023 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 164 of 174
Page 4 of 7
Administration Committee Minutes (Special) September 5, 2023 Page 4
c. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to execute
an amendment to an existing professional consulting services agreement
with Bienati Consulting Group, Inc. (Bienati) in an amount not to exceed $20,000 increasing the total cost of ceiling to $222,000 to facilitate additional organizational development of the Fiscal Year 2024-2026 strategic plan as well provide assistance with additional leadership
development activities
Ms. O’Malley provided an overview of the Position Paper included in the
agenda materials. Mr. Leiber noted that since the preparation of the Position Paper, additional areas for Bienati’s consulting services had been
identified.
Member McGill asked if staff was requesting an adequate amount to cover
the service the District really needs. Mr. Bailey said that the District actually needs more services in the certain areas, and would like to
continue to use Bienati Consulting Group, Inc. because of the relationship
that has been developed with staff. Mr. Bailey requested a new total
increase of $70,000 and thanked Member McGill for his support.
In response to Chair Lauritzen’s concerns regarding the use of the same
consultant for multiple years, Ms. O’Malley stated that the District does
have other organizational development initiatives that are competitively bid
out such as the Supervisory Academy and the Conflict Resolution
Coaching. She said the District uses Bienati Consulting Group, Inc. in situations where continuity is needed and is advantageous to the District
to ensure effectiveness.
Chair Lauritzen recommended adding the information provided by Ms.
O’Malley to the Position Paper for clarity when reviewing Bienati’s contracts in the future as well as adding a second option.
COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval. d. Review draft Position Paper to adopt Resolution No. 2023-XX approving updates to the District’s Conflict Code and directing the Secretary of the
District to submit the updated 2023 Conflict of Interest Code to the Contra Costa County of Supervisor’s for approval.
Ms. Young provided an overview of the updates in the District’s Conflict of Interest Code (COI) included in the agenda materials, and said the code is
being revised this year due to title changes.
September 21, 2023 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 165 of 174
Page 5 of 7
Administration Committee Minutes (Special) September 5, 2023 Page 5
Member McGill requested some additional language be added to the
Position Paper as to why the COI was being reviewed and updated in a
non-even year instead of biannually. COMMITTEE ACTION: Recommended Board approval.
4. Other Items a. Hold a discussion regarding the utilization of part-time employees at the District.
Ms. O’Malley provided the Committee with an overview regarding the
utilization of part-time employees at the District. As detailed in the
memorandum, the District code allows for four types of employment status
categories (temporary, regular probationary, regular full-time, and regular part-time). Ms. O’Malley stated that the District has not historically utilized
the regular part-time category.
Member McGill asked what level of benefits part-time employees would
qualify for. Ms. O’Malley stated there were no guiding documents to say what benefits should be received and may need to be negotiated with the
bargaining groups.
Member McGill asked if there were any provisions that require a minimum
number of hours be worked to qualify for benefits. Ms. O’Malley said both the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and
Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association (CCCERA)
define part-time positions as a minimum of 20 hours per week worked to
be eligible. Member McGill recommended that this language be added to
the Position Paper.
Mr. Bailey asked if CalPERS has information regarding what the District
can charge the part-time employees for health insurance. Ms. O’Malley
stated that CalPERS only dictates the minimum amount that is required
which is the Public Employees’ Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) minimum and approximately $150 a month.
Ms. O’Malley suggested developing a Board policy with job specifications,
including language that an operational impact analysis must be completed
for the position, to determine if the request can be accommodated by the District. Further discussion ensued.
Chair Lauritzen asked for information regarding other public agencies that
have part-time employees, as well as a list of other companies included
when the full Board discusses this issue. Ms. O’Malley said she would reach out to other agencies to obtain that information.
September 21, 2023 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 166 of 174
Page 6 of 7
Administration Committee Minutes (Special) September 5, 2023 Page 6
COMMITTEE ACTION: Discussed and provided input to staff.
5. Announcements
Mr. Bailey will be attending a conference September 18th-20th in Washington DC.
6. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items
Member McGill requested artificial intelligence (AI) be added to a future
agenda.
COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list and provided input to staff.
7. Future Scheduled Meetings
Tuesday, October 11, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. (Special) Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. (Special) Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. (Special)
8. Adjournment – at 10:44 a.m.
September 21, 2023 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet - Page 167 of 174
Page 7 of 7