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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-13 Policy & Services Committee Agenda PacketPolicy and Services Committee 1 Tuesday, October 13, 2020 Regular Meeting 7:00 PM ****BY VIRTUAL TELECONFERENCE ONLY*** https://zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 946 1874 4621 Phone: 1-669-900-6833 Pursuant to the provisions of California Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20, issued on March 17, 2020, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, this meeting will be held by virtual teleconference only, with no physical location. The meeting will be broadcast on Midpen Media Center at https://midpenmedia.org. Members of the public who wish to participate by computer or phone can find the instructions at the end of this agenda. PUBLIC COMMENT Members of the public may speak to agendized items. If you wish to address the Committee on any issue that is on this agenda, please complete a speaker request card located on the table at the entrance to the Council Chambers/Community Meeting Room, and deliver it to the Clerk prior to discussion of the item. You are not required to give your name on the speaker card in order to speak to the Committee, but it is very helpful. Public comment may be addressed to the full Policy and Services Committee via email at City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org. Call to Order Oral Communications Members of the public may speak to any item NOT on the agenda. Action Items 1. Staff Recommends the Policy and Services Committee Recommend the City Council Accept the Status Updates on Recommendations From the Community Services Department Fee Schedule Audit 2. Discussion Regarding the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as a Component of Citywide Diversity and Inclusion Future Meetings and Agendas Adjournment AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT (ADA): Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities, services or programs or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact (650) 329-2550 (Voice) 24 hours in advance. 2 October 13, 2020 Public Comment Instructions Members of the Public may provide public comments to virtual meetings via teleconference or by phone. 1. Spoken public comments using a computer will be accepted through the teleconference meeting. To address the Committee, click on the link below to access a Zoom-based meeting. Please read the following instructions carefully. A. You may download the Zoom client or connect to the meeting in- browser. If using your browser, make sure you are using a current, up-to-date browser: Chrome 30+, Firefox 27+, Microsoft Edge 12+, Safari 7+. Certain functionality may be disabled in older browsers including Internet Explorer. B. You may be asked to enter an email address and name. We request that you identify yourself by name as this will be visible online and will be used to notify you that it is your turn to speak. C. When you wish to speak on an Agenda Item, click on “raise hand.” The Clerk will activate and unmute speakers in turn. Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to speak. D. When called, please limit your remarks to the time limit allotted. E. A timer will be shown on the computer to help keep track of your comments. 2. Spoken public comments using a smart phone will be accepted through the teleconference meeting. To address the Committee, download the Zoom application onto your phone from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and enter the Meeting ID below. Please follow the instructions B-E above. 3. Spoken public comments using a phone use the telephone number listed below. When you wish to speak on an agenda item hit *9 on your phone so we know that you wish to speak. You will be asked to provide your first and last name before addressing the Committee. You will be advised how long you have to speak. When called please limit your remarks to the agenda item and time limit allotted. https://zoom.us/join Meeting ID: 946 1874 4621 Phone No: 1-669-900-6833 City of Palo Alto (ID # 10937) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Report Type: Action Items Meeting Date: 10/13/2020 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: Status Update - CSD Fee Schedule Audit Title: Staff Recommends the Policy and Services Committee Recommend the City Council Accept the Status Updates on Recommendations From the Community Services Department Fee Schedule Audit From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Recommendation Staff recommends the Policy and Services Committee recommend that the City Council accept the attached Status of Audit Recommendations resulting from the City Auditor’s Community Services Department Fee Schedule Audit. Background The City Auditor’s Office issued the Community Services Department (CSD) Fee Schedule Audit on February 14, 2017. The full audit report can be found here. The audit objective was to determine if department fees cover the cost of services to ensure: • Financial sustainability of CSD programs; • Customers pay the appropriate share of service costs, including direct costs and the indirect cost rate related to the service; • City programs are subsidized in accordance with the City’s cost recovery policy and that the financial impact of subsidies on total cost recovery is clear. The City Auditor made three recommendations to strengthen the department’s cost recovery procedures and processes for monitoring program costs. The key recommendations were: 1. The City Manager’s Office should coordinate with the City Attorney’s Office and the Administrative Services Department to revise the City’s cost recovery policy and Questica budget system procedures to clarify which fees are not subject to laws limiting fees to cost recovery. 2. CSD should create a procedure to implement the City’s User Fee Cost Recovery Level Policy and incorporate relevant and useful elements from its City of Palo Alto Page 2 existing “Class Cost Recovery Policy,” which can then be rescinded. 3. CSD should work with the Administrative Services Department (ASD) and the Information Technology Department to configure SAP or include a requirement for the proposed new enterprise resource planning system to align cost centers with CSD programs. Discussion The final open audit recommendation (Recommendation #3) was completed in this review cycle. Details on its implementation are described in Attachment A. With City Council approval, this will be the final status report on this audit. Attachments: Attachment A: Status Update Attachments: • Attachment A: Status Update STATUS OF AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS FEE SCHEDULE AUDIT – ISSUED 2/4/17 Page 1 The City Manager has agreed to take the following actions in response to the audit recommendations in this report. The City Manager will report progress on implementation six months after the Council accepts the audit report, and every six months thereafter until all recommendations have been implemented. Recommendation Responsible Department(s) Original Response and Target Date Reviewed and Verified by the City Auditor’s Office Current Status (Complete, In Progress, or Not Started) Implementation Update and Expected Completion Date Finding: Most Community Services Department (CSD) programs recover costs consistent with City policy; however, CSD does not consistently apply its cost recovery policies and procedures 3. CSD should work with ASD and the Information Technology Department to configure SAP or include a requirement for the proposed new enterprise resource planning system to align cost centers with CSD programs. CSD Concurrence: Agree Target Date: 7/1/2018 Action Plan: While we will begin working on this in earnest, realistically, we anticipate that we will not fully implement this recommendation for at least two budget cycles. We are currently working with ASD to better align CSD’s Cost Centers in SAP with our individual lines of business. We expect we will complete much of this recommendation by 7/1/2017 but that there will be additional clean up in the next budget year. Complete November 2019 Management Update: CSD and the Budget Office have completed the clean up alignments that were identified in the FY 20 budget cycle, as described in the March 2019 update and now consider this recommendation complete. CSD staff also use the Base Budget Adjustment Period that the Budget Office delineates as a time to review cost centers and staff allocations to ensure that cost centers remain aligned with CSD Programs. This will be an ongoing, annual process for CSD. Expected Completion Date: July 1, 2019 March 2019 Management Update: CSD and the Budget Office have completed cost center alignments to account for programs clearly under cost centers. CSD has proposed several additional budget clean up items that will take effect in SAP July 1, 2019. Expected Completion Date: July 1, 2019 June 2018 Management Update: 2 Community Services Department: Fee Schedule Audit Recommendation Responsible Department(s) Original Response and Target Date Reviewed and Verified by the City Auditor’s Office Current Status (Complete, In Progress, or Not Started) Implementation Update and Expected Completion Date No change. Staff have identified several clean- up items to further improve cost center alignment to programs. Staff will complete these clean-up actions over the next several months. Expected Completion Date: November 2018. November 2017 Management Update: CSD has worked with Budget Office staff to better align cost centers with CSD programs. Staff have already updated cost centers for the Children’s Theatre and Human Services and are in the process of updating Recreation, Teen Programs, and Cubberley. Staff have also reviewed CSD staff assignments to ensure that positions are assigned to the appropriate cost centers. Staff anticipates that this review of staff and budget by program should be substantially complete this fall but will likely require clean-up at the beginning of FY 2019. Expected Completion date: 11/1/18 City of Palo Alto (ID # 11658) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Report Type: Action Items Meeting Date: 10/13/2020 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: CEDAW and Diversity/Inclusion Title: Discussion Regarding the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as a Component of Citywide Diversity and Inclusion From: City Manager Lead Department: City Manager Recommendation Staff recommends that Policy and Services Committee discuss CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, as it relates to recent City Council conversations about diversity and inclusion. Discussion The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Including a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and proposes an agenda for national action to end the discrimination. In 2002, Council passed Resolution #8217, in support of CEDAW (CMR: 405:02). On December 12, 2016, the Council passed Resolution #9653, “Reaffirming Palo Alto’s Commitment to a Diverse, Supportive, Inclusive and Protective Community.” As part of the approval motion, Council moved to refer the subject matter to the Human Relations Commission (HRC), for “recommendation of implementation measures and additional elements that should be considered by the Council in the future” (Council Action Minutes 12/12/16). In 2018 (February 8, 2018), the HRC ad hoc committee on CEDAW presented a report with a “goal…to identify and study gender equality issues, as they affect and apply to Palo Alto.” Meeting minutes reflect the discussion, with the expectation that this would move to City Council for consideration and action. Council received this information at their October 1, 2018 meeting (CMR: #9646). As part of recent Council ad hoc discussions regarding race, equity, diversity, and inclusion, plans to work on these topics have emerged and are under consideration by Council. The CITY OF PALO ALTO City of Palo Alto Page 2 Citywide Diversity & Inclusion ad hoc proposes data collection and analysis, community programs and engagement, training, and other actions. Areas of data collection and other City workforce analysis include bias, gender, pay equity, hiring practices, training, and related activities. Stakeholder Engagement The Mayor and City Council have engaged on various ad hoc committees to identify actions and recommend plans on the topics of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the summer and fall of 2020. These efforts have incorporated community outreach, programs, and data gathering on the topic of race, racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. As noted, prior HRC Committee work has included studies of gender and related discrimination in Palo Alto. Environmental Review This is not a project as defined in CEQA and no environmental review is required.