Item 30 - Agreement for Public Works Cost Recovery Analysis Services

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plans and assumptions fit the city we are working with. This fundamental error can be a nagging, sometimes unseen, fatal error. Bill's assignment in this study is to navigate and guide our team through this hurdle. Bill ended his career in local government as the Director of Utilities in the city of Sacramento. He worked his way up from being a front-line Caltrans engineer and junior staff member in Sacramento, to working in the highest levels of city government. He brings an extensive resume to our team. City Staff Members: It would be a huge oversight to minimize the effort and contribution of city staff in this effort. Without their knowledge, determination and enthusiasm, this project will fail. We look forward to working hand in hand with city staff, managers, and directors. of Fixed Fee oz Variable .,R Project Targets: While the targets for success and the hurdles in front of those targets are many, they can be summarized in five key areas: Development related services in Santa Ana account for HourlyRate almost $12 million of cost. This is our main target. The calculation and recovery of those costs. These services ®Reimbursement employ a number of costing and charging permit fee charging mechanisms. These fees are designed to address the unique nature of each permit. Many services lend themselves to a fixed fee. These services are more often routine in nature, each similar to the next, and the effort by staff members can be estimated fairly accurately. These services are then charged using a fixed fee based on an assumed number of hours. Fees charged on a variable basis - valuation, and square footage - represent several challenges not found when analyzing services charged by fixed fees. The complexity of valuation tables and the estimation of project size represent unique challenges - both positive and negative. The experience of our project team makes sense of this complexity and brings order to what can be a confusing process. A third, very key target in Santa Ana public works, are services that are charged using hourly rates. When done correctly, this is the most accurate method of charging for services. But it is complex - because there are a hundred moving parts - and therefore, a daunting challenge for local governments to harness accurately. Because this is a methodology that many state and federal government reimbursing agencies require, it represents the biggest challenge for local governments to meet. Many give up and forfeit any chance of recovery for these related services. Our project team understands the mechanics of doing these studies - fees based on fixed and variable fees, and the calculation of hourly rates. Notably, what sets our team apart is our experience in obtaining reimbursement of costs through each of these charging mechanisms. It is not our goal, or the city's goal, to employ a consultant year after year to manage this effort. One important aspect of our work is to set a foundation of systems that define repeatable steps that city staff can follow to obtain long term reimbursement of city costs. Government Consulting Partners �j City of Santa Ana PW Proposal 5 1111_ll