RFP Contracting Committees To Be Formed

ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVES TO PARTICIPATE
Interim Communication Director Bill Lobdell distributed a Press Release with the following title, "City to add employee association representatives to outsourcing process".



A POSITIVE RESPONSE TO NENADAL'S LETTER
In a nutshell, in response to a letter by Costa Mesa Employee Association President Helen Nenadal earlier this month, CEO Tom Hatch has formed Contracting Committees, that will include employee association representatives, to research the viability of outsourcing some City Services.

A LINK TO THE PRESS RELEASE
You can read the entire press release, including the attached letter to Nenadal and the city policy HERE.

THREE RFPS TO BE RECALLED AND REVIEWED
The three Requests for Proposals (RFP) that have been distributed, video production, animal control services and building inspection services, will be recalled and reviewed by the new committees, who "will explore the benefits of outsourcing each particular service."

JAIL OPERATIONS RFP ALSO TO BE REVIEWED
There will also be a Contracting Committee established to review the RFP for jail operations that had been prepared by the Police Department staff.

A GOOD MOVE, BUT VERY TARDY
It seems to me that this is an excellent step - but one that should have been taken months ago. Had this plan been announced simultaneously with the announcement of the outsourcing plan it might have taken some of the sting out of that announcement. We'll never know. I'm looking forward to seeing just how this process plays out and hope that, with the calm deliberations by the committees, ways may be found to avoid outsourcing some or all of the operations previously announced for elimination.

NOTE:
I'll be unable to post comments for a few hours... be patient.

P.I.s, RFPs, E-Verify, Pillow Talk And More

PRIVATE EYE GRILLING KIDS OVER SIGNS?
Jon Cassidy in the Orange County Register, HERE, had a story on Thursday indicating that a private investigator has been tracking down high school students at their homes and interrogating them regarding the removal of "Cancel The Layoffs" signs around town. This has, as might be anticipated, caused a good deal of discussion around town since it appeared.

MURTHA, SR.-" P.I. HIRED BY UNION"
In the article Cassidy quotes Robert Murtha, Sr., father of Estancia football star Robert Murtha, Jr., when discussing the investigator, as saying, "The funny thing is that he actually told me that he was hired by the employees association." The investigator, identified as George Rowell, declined comment for Cassidy.

MENSINGER APPARENTLY DENIES THE CHARGES
I've heard a rumor around town for a couple weeks that councilman Steve Mensinger, head of the Estancia boosters group, had offered $1.00 for each sign removed, but could not verify that information, so didn't report it. In the comment thread of Cassidy's story mention is made of that bounty - still not verified. Mensinger is quoted without attribution or verification, however, in another local blog of ill-repute as denying the bounty on the signs. Did Mensinger actually offer a buck a sign? I don't know. However, it sure wouldn't surprise me if, in passing, he made some flip comment about a bounty within earshot of some of those kids - who worship the ground on which he walks.

SIGNS ARE RECEIVING SPECIAL TREATMENT
I do know that all the "Cancel The Layoffs" signs that Code Enforcement have removed from public property were not taken to the corporate yard like other signs. They are all stored in a room at City Hall, awaiting owners to come in and pay the $15.00 fee for their retrieval. Since the signs cost about $5.00 to make, I doubt if many will be retrieved.

DON'T LIKE THE SIGNS OR TACTICS
Personally, I don't like seeing all those signs around town, nor do I like the pervasive and obnoxious pop-up adds that appear constantly on my computer with the same message. One portrays a combined image of the four male members of the city council and I'm REALLY getting tired of seeing their faces before me - a comment you may take literally and/or metaphorically.

RFP'S BEGIN TO TRICKLE OUT
As promised late last week, The City of Costa Mesa has released three of the Requests for Proposals for units they are studying for possible outsourcing over the past couple days. Those units or functions are Video Production, Animal Control and Building Inspection. Those RFPs are available for review on the City web site in the "The Latest Headlines" block in the center of the page. The RFP for Jail Operations was previously distributed and will be discussed at the council meeting on Tuesday, August 2nd.

WHAT THIS ACTUALLY MEANS NOW
Now that these documents are beginning to flow from City Hall I've spent a little more time just thinking about what this initiative actually represents. For months there has been turmoil in the city and a lot of screaming back and forth between employees and council members, with hundreds of speakers standing before the council, expressing their views. During that interval, with volume on the rhetoric turned up, it was difficult to focus on the personal impact these RFPs will have on individual employees.

PUTTING A FACE ON THE FUNCTION
When I read the RFP for the Video Production operations - basically Dane Bora and Brad Long - I found myself thinking about those two talented men, who devote so much of their lives performing their duties at a consistently high level. Because I've been paying close attention to city operations for nearly a decade both of them have been primary contacts. They helped me understand how to access streaming video, for example. I began to pay more attention to the "other stuff" they do - the Community Reports; City Talk; the youth sports coverage; the dozens of other special events that kept them from their friends and families. To me, they represent the best of what we've become accustomed to when interacting with city employees. They, along with many other employees, consistently perform "above and beyond". Every one of those RFPs carry with it the faces of many loyal, hard-working employees. I worry that we will lose that dedication if municipal operations are turned over to mercenaries.

TUESDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING MAY BE BRIEF - OR NOT...
Speaking of Tuesday's council meeting, which begins at 6:00 p.m. in City Council chambers, the agenda was released yesterday and included some provocative items. You can find the agenda on the City web site. There are no Public Hearings and no Old Business items, but there is fun awaiting the review of items under New Business.

WILL MENSINGER FOLLOW THE RULES?
For example, Item #1 is a request, HERE, from Costa Mesa Pop Warner to include the use of Jim Scott Stadium at Estancia High School as part of the Joint Use Agreement with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and includes a request for the City to pay up to $10,000 in fees, including a large chunk of unpaid fees from last year. As most know, Mensinger was "Mr. Pop Warner Football" in Costa Mesa, but the current roster of officials does not show him listed. His wife, Robin Mensinger, though, is listed as "League Ambassador". That relationship should disqualify Mensinger from participating in this discussion - we'll see if he follows the rules.

WHAT NERVE!
Regardless, it takes pretty large cojones to ask a city in "big financial trouble" to fork over fees for the use of a field that is not within its purview - and retroactively, at that! I'm really looking forward to the rationale for this one - other than the fact that Mensinger wants it, that is.

EVALUATING PROPOSALS
Item #3 is titled "Approval of Request for Proposal (RFP) Evaluation Process, HERE, which presents to the City Council the staff proposal for a methodology by which proposals submitted for potential outsourcing of operations will be evaluated. While certainly necessary, this seems just a little bit tardy, since the proposals for operating our Jail have already been received and screened using some criteria and methodology already. In fact, that's the very next item on the agenda.

JAIL PROPOSALS INCOMPLETE
As mentioned, the next item on the agenda, HERE, are the two proposals in response to the RFP issued several weeks ago for the operations of the Costa Mesa Jail. Quite frankly, I'm baffled why this item is even on the agenda since neither of the proposals fully addressed the scope of work prescribed in the RFP. It seems to me that the staff should have gone back to the proposers and gotten sufficient information BEFORE presenting this to the council. These RFPs will take forever if the council is presented with incomplete information.

ANTI-BUSINESS E-VERIFY STUDY
Item #5 is a request by Mayor Gary Monahan, HERE, for staff time to research E-Verify, the federal program used to verify employment status. Apparently he wants to know how it can be used in the City employment process; including clauses in future contracts and sub-contracts with the city; requiring employers seeking new business licenses and renewals of business licenses to use E-Verify and any other potential alternatives the staff may discover during research. Yes sir, this is another business-unfriendly initiative that will cause potential business operators to pause when they think about Costa Mesa as a place to settle down.

REDUCING COUNCIL PAY AND BENEFITS
Item #6 is one of two bombshells councilwoman Wendy Leece has on the agenda Tuesday. This one, HERE, requests the staff to prepare documents to potentially reduce City Council members salary and benefits. While I think this is worth a conversation, nothing can be done with this council, even if they did approve a pay change. Pay changes for the city council may only take place following an election in which council members are selected. The next election - assuming there is no recall before then - is the General Election next year.

TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY REFORM ACT
Item #7 is another request from Leece, HERE, this time to authorize staff time to research the viability of a Costa Mesa Transparency and Accountability Reform Act, a draft of which, HERE, is included in the staff report. The discussion on this one is going to be VERY interesting. I found the section regarding Ex Parte Communications fascinating. Harkening back to the Pop Warner discussion, above, this ordinance would potentially require Mensinger to share all ex parte communications with his wife - this could be FUN!

Summertime...

...AND THE LIVIN' IS QUEASY
It's the beginning of the summer doldrums, with not a lot happening at Costa Mesa City Hall this week. The only City Council meeting of August will happen on Tuesday, August 2nd. We're told it will have a full agenda. The council voted to cancel the meeting of the 16th - not sure why.

RFP FAUCET TO BE OPENED - FINALLY
Last week we were told that "several" of the outsourcing RFPs will finally be released to the public this week. We'll believe it when we see it. Among the many unfortunate moves made by the current administration, the delay in producing the RFPs after making such a big deal of it four months ago may be among the most disappointing. Since that fateful day in March, when the layoff notices were issued, employees of the City of Costa Mesa have been looking over their shoulders. They've found themselves attacked by the leaders of this city and their sycophants as "greedy union thugs" and are working in a hostile environment caused by the ignorance of municipal governance and micro-managing by council members.

RFPS WILL CLOG THE WORK FLOW
Despite promises of frequent updates of the list of RFPs, there was a two-month gap in updating the list. It was finally updated last week after some not-too-gentle prodding. That update showed that the process has now stretched until the end of the year, and I expect those dates will slip some more as the process bogs down. If the City releases a half-dozen RFPs, the responses to those will come flooding back at about the same time, forcing the same staffers who created the RFPs to become part of the review process. It's going to be like a python eating a small dog, or, actually, several small dogs. The bulge(s) in the work flow will necessarily cause the processes to slow down.

CAN'T "FIX" PENSIONS - TOSSES PEOPLE
Of course, all of this is completely unnecessary. The only driving force for all this chaos is the political ambitions of one man - Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer. He campaigned as a "pension reformer", but can't do a thing about Costa Mesa pensions because the contracts with the bargaining units stretch beyond his term. So, the "next best thing" for him to do is flush those employees who will receive the pensions, like pushing the plunger on a toilet. So, he fabricates a fiscal crisis and cooks up the "outsourcing" fiasco. His actions have already caused many senior staffers - those with the institutional knowledge and skills developed over decades on the job - to either retire early or seek employment in a less-hostile environment elsewhere. Only Public Works Director Peter Naghavi remains from those department heads on the job a year ago.

HOSTILITY ON THE DAIS, TOO
Over the past several months, when speaker after speaker would address the folly of this council during Public Comments and while addressing specific issues before the council, Righeimer and his majority on the council either ignored the speakers or, in many instances, snapped back at the criticisms. During this time Righeimer has frequently dismissed those speakers as not being representative of the view of the majority of residents - those who can't be bothered to come speak at meetings. He apparently felt that the 12,997 votes he received last November gave him a mandate to run roughshod over the city.

CHILLY RECEPTION AT "CONCERTS IN THE PARK"
Well, last night at the Concerts In The Park in Fairview Park Righeimer may have had his eyes opened. When the Master of Ceremonies, former councilman Mike Scheafer, mentioned to the thousands of folks attending the concert that Righeimer was in the crowd that introduction was greeted by sparse applause - a few people scattered throughout the throng. One observer said, "You could hear a pin drop!"And, it is reported to me, that he also got into a shouting match with a long-time resident and community activist - a woman highly respected in the community for her tireless volunteerism and for her willingness to speak to the council on important issues. So, how's that "mandate" working out for you now, Jim?

RFP Tracking Sheet Updated

FINALLY!
News from Transparency Central! The City has finally updated the tracking sheet for the RFPs outlined back in January for units and functions that might eventually be outsourced. After announcing the plan to outsource 18 units the tracking process was created to help interested parties stay abreast of the progress - or lack thereof - in the management of this situation.

BACK TO CURRENT STATUS
Although the original plan was to perform weekly updates, that quickly fell by the wayside and, as of three days ago, the list had not been updated for over a month. Happily, the City responded to some gentle prodding and this new, updated list, HERE, is available for your review. It is also linked on the City Home Page.

UPDATES TO FOLLOW - EVENTUALLY...
According to Interim Communication Director Bill Lobdell, it is the intent to update this roster as often as necessary. That seems just a little vague, but it's all we've got right now. As of today the list is current. It is also "enhanced", with color coding to show where each RFP is in the process.