Title
Body
MEMORANDUM
TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Carol J. Huchingson, County Administrative Officer
DATE: November 6, 2018
SUBJECT: (a) Waive the Consultant Selection Policy; (b) Award the Contract to Conduct Lake County’s Comprehensive Classification and Total Compensation Study to CPS-HR, in the amount of $100,000 and authorize the County Administrative Officer to Sign
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
As you are aware, the County last conducted a Classification and Compensation Study in 2003, and our salaries and benefits have become uncompetitive, reducing the success rate of our employee recruitment efforts and creating significant employee retention and understaffing issues in many County departments. Earlier this year, your Board directed staff to seek a contractor to conduct a study.
Conducting a Comprehensive Classification and Total Compensation study qualifies as provision of “Special Services,” as defined in Government Code Section 31000, and Lake County’s norms and processes for Purchasing are thus governed by our “Consultant Selection Policy,” Section 4, subsections 1-4, of the Lake County Policies and Procedures Manual.
Section I, D of the Consultant Selection Policy indicates that the policy may be waived under certain circumstances, including situations where it is determined to be in the County’s best interest.
In this case, we recommend that your Board (a) waive the Consultant Selection Policy, and (b) award the contract to Conduct Lake County’s Comprehensive Classification and Total Compensation Study to CPS-HR, in the amount of $100,000, and authorize me to sign and enter into the Agreement, for the following reasons:
• CPS-HR, also known as “Merit Systems Services,” is a Joint Powers Agency (JPA), formed to provide sophisticated Human Resources consulting services to public agencies.
• California’s State Contracting Manual notes that agreements between CPS-HR and State Agencies and other entities that have adopted the State Contracting Manual do not require competitive bidding, and CPS-HR has been providing classification and compensation services to state, federal and local governments, special districts and non-profit organizations for more than 30 years.
• CPS-HR recently agreed to significantly discount their cost, meeting the County’s budget. The change in their proposed cost was driven by the efficiency of an approach to the employee questionnaire suggested by Administrative and HR staff, and not a significant reduction in the level of service provided.
FISCAL IMPACT: __ None _X_ Budgeted __Non-Budgeted
Estimated Cost:
Amount Budgeted: $100,000
Additional Requested:
Annual Cost (if planned for future years):
FISCAL IMPACT (Narrative): None
STAFFING IMPACT (if applicable): None
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
(a) Waive the Consultant Selection Policy.
(b) Award the Contract to Conduct Lake County’s Comprehensive Classification and Total Compensation Study to CPS-HR, in the amount of $100,000 and authorize the County Administrative Officer to Sign.