Bid process valuable for bottom-line
Valuable lessons for Yorba Linda’s future economic viability can be learned from recent actions surrounding the change in the agency that will provide police services to this city.
First, a competitive bidding process turned out to be a boon for the municipal budget as suggested in my Dec. 29, 2011, column that stated seeking bids on the law enforcement contract was one of the City Council’s best decisions in 2011.
A similar process requesting bids from qualified companies for the contract to administer the city’s financially challenged Black Gold Golf Club is a “no brainer” when the current contract with Kemper Sports Management expires in 2015.
And bids again might be in order when the Sheriff’s Department contract expires in 2018, although two years written notice to terminate is required, instead of the 18 months called for in the Brea pact, and if separate agencies still exist to bid.
Both Brea and the county Sheriff presented bids substantially less than the approximate $11.5 million costs for police services listed in the 2012-13 fiscal year budget approved June 19, although partisans still dispute which agency’s bid was the better deal.
Second, Sheriff’s personnel, with experience gained from contracts with 12 other cities, clearly bested Brea staffers in submitting numbers for first-year cost estimates, showing prospective contractors seeking city business that well-honed bids are a key requirement.
Brea presented two bids at different service levels, $10.7 million and $10.3 million, both less than the $11.5 million cost projected for the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year. The bids might have been influenced by an informal Sheriff’s proposal offered Nov. 1, 2011.
On that date, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens appeared before the council and outlined a price of about $10.1 million, with a bit more than $1.5 million in start-up costs. Final Sheriff’s bid was about $9.6 million, with a city-hired consultant listing the city’s first-year budget allocation as $10.55 million for Brea and $10.49 million for the Sheriff’s Department.
Then, the Sheriff reduced costs some $665,000 by sharing six deputies with local county islands and agreed to a final $9.3 million, including start-up costs. Brea’s late-appearing offer was $8.9 million, with liability and contract-length issues to be determined, leaving an understandable suspicion of past over-charges in prior contracts with Brea.
Third, a non-economic and often over-looked lesson involves the consistent application of open-government policies, including those regarding public input at council meetings.
For example, individuals addressing the council are not permitted to single out specific members, but must talk to the panel as a body. Yet, speakers who name and praise members are allowed to proceed, while those who name and criticize members are hushed, unless they’re hammering at Jim Winder, charging a “conflict of interest.”
Setting reasonable hours for public input--not from midnight to 3 a.m. as for the police issue--and fairly applying rules for speakers are crucial tasks for elected bodies valuing transparency.
First, a competitive bidding process turned out to be a boon for the municipal budget as suggested in my Dec. 29, 2011, column that stated seeking bids on the law enforcement contract was one of the City Council’s best decisions in 2011.
A similar process requesting bids from qualified companies for the contract to administer the city’s financially challenged Black Gold Golf Club is a “no brainer” when the current contract with Kemper Sports Management expires in 2015.
And bids again might be in order when the Sheriff’s Department contract expires in 2018, although two years written notice to terminate is required, instead of the 18 months called for in the Brea pact, and if separate agencies still exist to bid.
Both Brea and the county Sheriff presented bids substantially less than the approximate $11.5 million costs for police services listed in the 2012-13 fiscal year budget approved June 19, although partisans still dispute which agency’s bid was the better deal.
Second, Sheriff’s personnel, with experience gained from contracts with 12 other cities, clearly bested Brea staffers in submitting numbers for first-year cost estimates, showing prospective contractors seeking city business that well-honed bids are a key requirement.
Brea presented two bids at different service levels, $10.7 million and $10.3 million, both less than the $11.5 million cost projected for the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year. The bids might have been influenced by an informal Sheriff’s proposal offered Nov. 1, 2011.
On that date, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens appeared before the council and outlined a price of about $10.1 million, with a bit more than $1.5 million in start-up costs. Final Sheriff’s bid was about $9.6 million, with a city-hired consultant listing the city’s first-year budget allocation as $10.55 million for Brea and $10.49 million for the Sheriff’s Department.
Then, the Sheriff reduced costs some $665,000 by sharing six deputies with local county islands and agreed to a final $9.3 million, including start-up costs. Brea’s late-appearing offer was $8.9 million, with liability and contract-length issues to be determined, leaving an understandable suspicion of past over-charges in prior contracts with Brea.
Third, a non-economic and often over-looked lesson involves the consistent application of open-government policies, including those regarding public input at council meetings.
For example, individuals addressing the council are not permitted to single out specific members, but must talk to the panel as a body. Yet, speakers who name and praise members are allowed to proceed, while those who name and criticize members are hushed, unless they’re hammering at Jim Winder, charging a “conflict of interest.”
Setting reasonable hours for public input--not from midnight to 3 a.m. as for the police issue--and fairly applying rules for speakers are crucial tasks for elected bodies valuing transparency.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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