Indian Wells City Council
Action Plans for Fiscal Year 2015-16:
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Strengthen Contract Administration
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
DISCUSSION and DIRECTION relating to this strategic action plan.
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Objectives: Status
A. Written report to Council on types of contracts, number of, Attached
and outline how departments manage said contracts.
B. Expand financial software (Eden) module pilot program to June 2016
include contracts over $25,000.
C. Add to City website “Contracts approved within last 60 days” Complete
section to include a link to the contract, short description of
contract, contract amount and contract administrator information.
D. Expand existing availability of contracts on City website and Complete
establish a user friendly contract organization structure.
E. Quarterly report outlining City Attorney’s Office work product Attached
to include: code enforcement activity, the City tracks recovered
legal costs, which are used to offset the City’s gross legal costs.
Co-Champions: Anna Grandys, City Clerk
Wade McKinney, City Manager
Desired Outcomes: Council and residents have a clear understanding of the life cycle of a contract, and the internal management of contracts. Enhance web-based accessibility of City contracts by the public.
DISCUSSION:
The Council directed Staff to strengthen contract administration and to examine the existing policies and procedures for any needed improvement. Staff has taken this opportunity to audit the contract administration lifecycle process, to engage all City staff in discussions on improving the process, to standardize the process, and to improve public accountability.
City Staff has engaged in extensive discussions regarding a common understanding of contract administration, contract management responsibilities, review of procedures of other cities, education and training requirements/needs, internal controls, and streamlining of the process. The contract administration lifecycle refers to the five phases of the contracting process:
The Bid phase identifies the contract need, develops the scope of work, and determines the type of bid solicitation. The Award phase selects the winning bidder and executes the contract. The Monitor phase processes payments, issues contract amendments and contract renewals, and addresses any corrective actions necessary. The Closeout phase verifies all invoices are paid, all goods and services are received, and vendor evaluations are completed. The Review phase determines if monitoring of vendor phase needs improvement, gathers information on factors influencing vendor performance, and determines if the vendor is in good standing with the City.
The Council directed Staff to prepare a report (Attachment 1) on the types of contracts, number of, and the responsible department for the contract. The City has 140± active contracts with Professional Services Agreements as the most common type of contract, and Public Works responsible for administration of the greatest number of contracts.
The City has strengthened the contract administration by developing a standardized Request for Proposal (“RFP”) template (Attachment 2) and a Proposal Evaluation Form (Attachment 3) to rank proposals based on the firm’s qualifications, experience, approach, services, references, and the proposed fee. In addition, an Annual Assessment Form (Attachment 4) was created to standardize the vendor performance evaluation process to be used during the budget preparation cycle and at project completion.
Through the Staff engagement process a need for Contract Processing Guidelines (Attachment 5) and a contract information form became apparent. A Staff sub-committee prepared the Guidelines and the contract information form which is combined with a Requisition form (Attachment 6). A Contracting Overview graphic (Attachment 7) was also created for ease of use for Staff.
The Council requested a City Attorney work product report (Attachment 8) be developed to include the monthly retainer, litigation services, code enforcement, Housing Authority, and Fire Access Maintenance District services. This report also tracks recovered legal costs, which are used to offset the City’s gross legal costs. These reports will be distributed monthly to the Council.
Attachments:
1. Existing contracts listing
2. Request for Proposals template
3. RFP Evaluation Form
4. Annual Assessment Form
5. Contract Processing Guidelines
6. Contract Information/Requisition Form
7. Contracting Overview
8. BB&K Fees and Recovered Costs Report
9. FY 2015-16 Action Plan #1