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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/2000 - STAFF REPORTS (11) DATE:: November 15, 2000 TO: City Council FROM: Director of Finance &Treasurer RE: State Mandated Cost Claiming Services- DMG Maximus Contract Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council approve a contract with DMG Maximus to file claims on behalf of the City with the State for mandated cost reimbursement for a flat fee of$7,200. Report Summary: The proposed contract would pay DMG Maximus $7,200 to file all the City's claims for mandated cost reimbursements for Fiscal Year2000-01. The expected revenue to the City for this year is$130,000. Background: When the State mandates local governments to provide new services or services beyond the normal levels the State is required to reimburse the costs of those services. Unfortunately it is not an automatic or formulaic reimbursement, and the record keeping, reporting and filing documentation can be onerous. DMG Maximus (formerly David M. Griffith&Associates) has been filing these types of claims for the City for the last fifteen years. In prior years,the annual fixed cost was less than$5,000 and the contract was approved by the City Manager. Because the fixed cost is expected to exceed the current limit on professional services contracts, the contract needs City Council approval. Last fiscal year, the City received net reimbursement of just under$71,000. In the current fiscal year, because the State paid some old claims filed by DMG Maximus, the City has already received over$100,000. � 3A DMG Maximus is familiar with the City's reporting requirements and types of documentation. In addition to efficiently filing our claims,the firm is a de facto lobbyist in Sacraments,ensuring that the State abides by its own rules. The cost of the contract is paid by the funds recovered. Staff recommends approval of the Minute Order awarding the contract. Submitted by: Thomas M. Kanarr Director of Finance &Treasurer Approved: David H. Ready City Manager Attachments: Letter from DMG Maximus Contract Minute Order AXIMUS Helping Government Serve The People June 14, 20©0 Mr. Tom Kanarr Director of Finance City of Palm Springs P.O. Box 2743 Palm Springs, CA 92263 Subject: State Mandated Cost Claiming Services Dear Mr. Kanarr: MG-NIAXIMUS is pleased to submit this proposal to renew its agreement with the City of Palm Springs to provide comprehensive State Mandated Cost Claiming Services for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. We propose to prepare all state mandated cost claims based on claiming instructions issued by the State Controller during the fiscal year. For the 2000-2001 fiscal year, DMG-MAXIMUS will provide all necessary services to prepare and file the following state mandated cost claims: ➢ Annual Claims due January 15, 2001 ➢ All Other Eligible New Claims • New mandate claims recently approved by the Commission on State Mandates • New claims the Commission is expected to approve in FY 2000-2001 ■ All other claims for which claiming instructions are issued in FY 2000-2001 The 2000-2001 fiscal year will be another busy claiming year. There are 17 annual claims and there will be a number of new first-time claiming opportunities. The new claiming opportunities will include new claims covering multiple fiscal years. A discussion of each claiming opportunity is presented below. 110 4320 Auburn Boulevard, Suite 2000 • Sacramento, CA 95841 • 916.485.8102 • FAX 916.485.0111 City of Palm Springs Annual Claims Annual claims are those claims which are funded in the State Budget and must be filed by the statutory deadline of January 15, 2001. These include actual cost reimbursement claims for fiscal year 1999-2000 and estimated reimbursement claims for the 2000- 2001 fiscal year.The 17 possible claims include the following: ➢ Absentee Ballots -- Election costs associated with issuing and processing absentee ballots. ➢ Domestic Violence Arrest Policies & Procedures -- reimburses the cost of developing a revised policy, training employees and carrying out additional activities during each respective domestic violence incident. ➢ Open Meetings Act -- Agenda preparation, editing, review and posting costs required by the Ralph M. Brown Act. ➢ Mandate Reimbursement Process -- Costs of preparing reimbursement claims, participating in the SB 90 and test claims process: including all DMG-MAXIMUS' fees and local agency staff time. ➢ Firefighters' Cancer Presumption -- Worker's compensation, benefits, administrative and legal costs in firefighter cancer cases. ➢ Peace Officers' Cancer Presumption -- Worker's compensation, benefits, administrative and legal costs in peace officer cancer cases. ➢ Brendon McGuire Act -- Election costs incurred by an agency in the event that an elected candidate dies before taking office. ➢ Regional Housing Need Assessment -- provides for reimbursement of costs incurred bringing the housing element into compliance with the regional housing need assessment. ➢ Two-way Traffic Signal Communication Controller -- requires local agencies to purchase traffic signals that comply with new state requirements when replacing two-way traffic signals. ➢ Stolen Vehicle Notification -- Notifying vehicle owners or operators regarding the location of their stolen vehicle. ➢ Rape Victim Counseling Center Notices -- Providing rape victims information regarding counseling and treatment services. ➢ Misdemeanors: Booking & Fingerprinting -- Time to provide misdemeanant verification that they were booked and fingerprinted. ➢ Investment Reports -- Rendering Quarterly Investment Reports to the local governing body, and preparing the Annual Statement of Investment Policy. ➢ Threats Against Peace Officers -- Requiring local entities to pay moving expenses if there are credible threats against the safety of either the peace officer or immediate family members. ➢ Airport Land Use Planning -- this requirements of this mandate apply in cases where a city participates in an Airport Land Use Commission. 1AMMUS 2 June 14, 2000 13A 4 City of Palm Springs ➢ Firefighter: SIDS Training -- cost of providing mandatory training to fire fighters when responding to the scene of an infant death. ➢ Very High Fire Hazard Zones -- the cost of developing an ordinance and procedures to comply with the new State program requiring additional actions by all owners that have property in these extra hazardous fire areas. Other Opportunities—Claims Approved by the Commission on State Mandates The Commission has already determined that reimbursable state mandated costs exist in these programs and Controller's claiming instructions are scheduled for release during this fiscal year. The claims approved by the Commission are: ➢ Peace Officers Bill of Rights — includes the costs of personal/labor relations, legal counsel, and law enforcement officers that are involved in POBR matters to the extent that exceed Skelley requirements. Police Officer Incident Reports — includes costs of developing policies and complying with new reporting requirements for domestic violence cases. New Claims Pending Approval By The State In addition to the claims already approved, there are also several other claims that are pending before the Commission, which appear to have excellent chances for approval. In some cases, the only question is the scope of the mandate and not whether a reimbursable mandate exists. The claims in this category include the following: ➢ Megan's Law — requires law enforcement agencies to provide a public access system containing video photographs of sex offenders. ➢ Stray Animals (Animal Adoption) — requires cities and counties to provide a wide range of new services to stray animals picked up by or delivered to the local government. ➢ Law Enforcement Racial and Cultural Diversity Training — requires local agencies to provide racial and cultural diversity training to its law enforcement employees. ➢ Law Enforcement: Elder Abuse Training — requires all peace officers at the supervisory level or below that has field or investigative duties to complete training in elder abuse. ➢ Sex Crimes Confidentiality — requires victims of sex crimes to be notified they have the right to keep their name and address confidential, and if requested, the law enforcement agency must do so. ➢ Drunk Driver License Suspension (Admin Per Se) — reimburses peace officers costs for the time spent in the suspension or revoking of driver licenses when a driver is arrested for driving under the influence. AXIMUS 3 June 14, 2000 I�� City of Palm Springs ➢ Domestic Violence Incident Reporting and Treatment Services — requires law enforcement to prepare an additional report at each domestic violence case. This is an expansion of the claim already found to be a mandate. ➢ Sexual Harassment Training in the Law Enforcement Workplace — reimburses the trainers and law enforcement officers receiving sexual harassment training. ➢ Photographic Record of Evidence — requires law enforcement agencies to provide a photographic record of evidence in lieu of actual drugs for court proceedings. ➢ California Firefighter Incident Report System — the initial equipment and training on the computer system should be reimbursable, the state is still contesting the additional time to complete the reports. ➢ Health Benefits for Survivors of Peace Officers and Firefighters — provides for fully paid benefits for the spouse and any dependent children of a peace officer or firefighter that had a job related death. ➢ Grand Jury Proceedings — reimburses cities for the time to prepare responses to County Grand Jury reports. We anticipate that some of these claims will be processed before the end of the 2000- 2001 fiscal year. Other Benefits and Services Included as part of services provided for the cost proposed, DMG-MAXIMUS provides the most comprehensive services available to any city. These services include: • Compimentary Newdatter— Our newsletter helps to keep the City on top of current issues and forthcoming claiming opportunities. • Eu1L-ttrne Attorney on_staff— DMG-MAXIMUS has a full-time, senior attorney, Ms. Pamela Stone, available to provide limited consultation with the City if applicable mandate issues should arise. As the mandate process is becoming more legalistic, DMG-MAXIMUS found it necessary to have a legal advisor on staff to help with current issues or to assist the City if it should be interested in pursuing a new test claim before the Commission on State Mandates. Any actual test claim or incorrect reduction claims preparation will be covered in a separate agreement. • Disco_unt for the_Caiifornia Ci1ips-48_g_o Serw-ce — DMG-MAXJMUS offers membership in the California Cities SB go Service. This Service, endorsed by the League of California Cities, offers cities a wide range of benefits in the mandated cost area. If the City is interested in the service, all of our clients are eligible to receive the service for a 5o% discount. AXIMUS 4 June 14, 2000 � � City of Palm Springs DMG-MAXIMUS is the clear leader in providing the highest quality and most comprehensive services to cities to assist them in maximizing their claims. COST DMG-MAXIMUS is proposing the same payment process option that you selected last year. There has been a small increase to partially offset our cost-of-living expenses. ♦ Annual Claims: Fixed Fee We propose to complete all annual state mandated cost reimbursement claims for the City for a fixed fee of four thousand three hundred fifty dollars ($4,350). This fee will be billed after the claims have been filed with the State on or before January 15, 2001 and is due upon receipt of the invoice. ♦ All Other New Claims: fixed Fee We propose to complete all other new or first-time state mandated cost reimbursement claims for the City for a fixed fee of two thousand eight hundred fifty dollars ($2,85o). This fee is due upon receipt of the invoice from the Consultant. If your agency prefers to structure this agreement differently, we are pleased to discuss it with you. DMG-MAXIMUS is very flexible and will gladly tailor a payment approach to meet your City's preferences. We are excited about the State mandated claiming opportunities available to your City this year. If you have any questions, please contact Allan Burdick or me at (9i6) 485- 8102 or Terry Birgel in the So. California office at (626) 821-0725. Thank you for considering our proposal. We look forward to working with you and your staff again. Sincerely, y, radleyf�urges Vice President 1AMMUS 5 June 14, 2000 130 Contract Number: OOF-115 Agreement to Provide Mandated Cost Claiming Services THIS AGREEMENT, entered into this day of 2000 and effective immediately by and between DMG-MAXIMUS (hereinafter "Consultant") and the City of Palm Springs (hereinafter "City"), WHEREAS, Article XIIIB of the California State Constitution provides that cities may recover costs associated with carrying out programs mandated by the State of California, WHEREAS, the City desires to obtain maximum reimbursement for costs incurred in carrying out State mandated programs, and has determined that engaging the Consultant to assist in the mandated cost claim preparation process is the most economical and cost effective means for preparing the City's state mandated cost claims; and WHEREAS, the Consultant is staffed with personnel knowledgeable and experienced in determining the costs of governmental programs and in the submission of cost claims to the State of California, and WHEREAS, the City desires to engage the Consultant to assist in developing, submitting, and negotiating cost claims pertaining to state mandated programs. NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto mutually agree as follows: 1. Scope of Services The Consultant shall prepare claims for reimbursable state mandated costs as provided herein. A. Annual State Mandated Cost Reimbursement Claims The Consultant shall prepare and file applicable actual annual state mandated cost reimbursement claims for the 1999-2000 fiscal year and estimated claims for the 2000 - 2001fiscal year. The fiscal year 1999-2000 actual claims to be filed are claims that are included in the State Controller's Claiming Instructions that provide for timely filed claims to be submitted by January 15, 2001. B. All Other Claims for Which Claiming Instructions Are Issued in FY 2000- 2001 With the exception of the claims in Scope of Services I.A. above, the Consultant shall prepare, submit and file on the City's behalf, all other eligible actual and estimated state mandated cost reimbursement claims for which State Controller Claiming Instructions are issued in the 2000-2001 fiscal year. City of Palm Springs 1 - June 14, 2000 14541 Contract Number: OOF-115 2. Consultant Claim Filing Requirements The Consultant shall file these claims to the extent that appropriate documentation is available and verifiable and that claim amounts exceed $200 per claim. 3. Costs and Method of Compensation A. Scope of Services I.A. -Annual State Mandated Cost Reimbursement Claims For the services provided pursuant to Scope of Services 1.A., the City agrees to pay the Consultant upon submission of the claims to the State Controller, a fixed fee of four thousand three hundred fifty dollars ($ 4,350). The fixed fee shall be due upon receipt of Consultant's invoice following submission of such claim(s). B. Scope of Services LB. -All Other New Claims for Which Claiming Instructions are Issued in FY 2000-2001 For the services provided pursuant to Scope of Services 1.13, the City agrees to pay the Consultant upon submission of the claims to the State Controller, a fixed fee of two thousand eight hundred fifty dollars ($ 2,850). The fixed fee shall be due upon receipt of Consultant's invoice following submission of such claim(s). 4. Services and Materials to be Furnished by the City The Consultant shall provide guidance to the City in determining the data required for claims submission. The Consultant shall assume all data so provided to be correct. The City further agrees to provide all specifically requested data, documentation and information to the Consultant in a timely manner. Consultant shall make its best effort to file claims in a timely manner pursuant to Scope of Services. Consultant shall not be liable for claims that cannot be filed as a result of inadequate data or data provided in an untimely manner. For purposes of this Agreement, data that is requested by the Consultant must be provided within three weeks of the request, or three weeks prior to the filing deadline, whichever would come first, to be deemed to have been received in a timely manner. It is the responsibility of the City to provide the Consultant with payment information upon receipt of disbursements from the State for any and all clairns filed pursuant to this agreement. 5. Not Obligated to Third Parties The City shall not be obligated or liable hereunder to any parry other than the Consultant. City of Palm Springs - 2- June 14, 2000 13A4 Contract Number: OOF-115 6. Consultant Liability if Audited The Consultant will assume all financial and statistical information provided to the Consultant by City employees or representatives is accurate and complete. Any subsequent disallowance of funds paid to the City under the claims for whatever reason is the sole responsibility of the City. 7. Indirect Costs The cost claims to be submitted by the Consultant may consist of both direct and indirect costs. The Consultant may either utilize the ten percent (10%) indirect cost rate allowed by the State Controller or calculate a higher rate if City records support such a calculation. The Consultant by this Agreement is not required to prepare a central service cost allocation plan or departmental indirect cost rate proposals for the City. 8. Consultant Assistance if Audited If audited, the Consultant shall make workpapers and other records available to the State auditors. If requested by the City, the Consultant shall provide assistance to the City in defending claims at the desk audit level if an audit results in a disallowance of at least twenty percent (20%) or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750), whichever is greater. Reductions of less than twenty percent (20%) or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) shall not be contested by the Consultant. Nothing in this section or any part of this Agreement shall be construed to include Incorrect Reduction Claims preparation. 9. Insurance Consultant shall acquire and maintain appropriate general liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance, automobile insurance, and professional liability insurance. 10. Changes The City may, from time to time, require changes in the scope of services of the Consultant to be performed hereunder. Such changes, which are mutually agreed upon by and between the City and the Consultant, shall be incorporated in written amendment to this agreement. 11. Termination of Agreement If, through any cause, the Consultant shall fail to fulfill in a timely and proper mamier its obligation under this agreement, the City shall thereupon have the right to terminate this agreement by giving written notice to the Consultant of such termination and specifying the effective date thereof, at least five (5) days before the effective date of such termination. City of Palm Springs - 3 - June 14, 2000 M* �� Contract Number: OOF-115 12. City Contact Person The City designates the following individual as contact person for this contract: Name: Telephone: Title: Fax: Address: OFFER IS MADE BY CONSULTANT OFFER IS ACCEPTED BY CITY ��— By By: rgess��icc r-21dent City Official DMG-MAXIMUS Date: June 14 2000 Date: City of Palm Springs -4- June 14, 2000 I'sA1� 1 MINUTE ORDER AWARDING A CONTRACT TO DMG MAXIMUS FOR A FIXED RATE OF $7,200 FOR THE FILING OF THE CITY'S MANDATED COSTS WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000-01 1 HEREBY CERTIFY that this Minute Order, awarding a contract to DMG Maximus for a fixed rate of $7,200 for the filing of the City's mandated costs reimbursement claims with the State of California was adopted by the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California in a meeting thereof held on the 151h day of November, 2000. City Clerk /3