To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sheriff’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Maureen Nicklas, 565-8831
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Agreements for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize the Sheriff-Coroner to execute Agreements and future amendments with Citiguard, Inc., Good Guard Security, Inc., Defense Block Security, Whitestar Group, and Armorous Security & Investigations for the term of August 15, 2023, to August 14, 2026, for an annual amount not to exceed $200,000 per supplier, per year, with the option to extend for two additional one-year terms.
end
Executive Summary:
The Sheriff’s Office requests the Board’s authorization for the Sheriff to execute agreements for on-call armed security guard services with Citiguard, Inc., Good Guard Security, Inc., Defense Block Security, Whitestar Group, and Armorous Security & Investigations for the term of August 15, 2023 to August 14, 2026 for an annual amount not to exceed $200,000 per supplier, per year, with the option to extend for two additional one-year terms. The Sheriff’s Office has been contracting for armed security guard services since November 2022 to help relieve the need for deputy sheriff overtime in certain non-emergency situations such as guarding incarcerated persons at medical facilities. Due to the volume of services utilized, under the County’s purchasing policies, the Sheriff’s Office needed to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to establish longer term, non-exclusive agreements and for amounts that exceed County Purchasing’s authority of $100,000 per year. The RFP resulted in the selection of five armed security guard service suppliers. The Sheriff is requesting authorization to execute these agreements.
Discussion:
Background The Sheriff’s Office is experiencing unprecedented staffing shortages with 16 vacant positions and 35+ deputies unavailable due to illness or injury as of June 30, 2023. To provide relief to the remaining deputies, private security firms are being used to cover hospital guard shifts. Before the Sheriff’s Office staffing crisis, deputy sheriffs covered hospital guard shifts, mostly on an overtime basis. The term hospital guard refers to court-ordered security for incarcerated persons while they are being treated off site, in a hospital. Hospital guards are one area of law enforcement service that can be legally delegated to private armed security contractors under certain circumstances. The use of private armed security for hospital guard services was approved by the appropriate parties, including County Human Resources, labor unions, and County Counsel as a solution to help with the Sheriff’s Office staffing issues.
In November 2022, the Sheriff’s Office entered into three non-exclusive armed security guard service Agreements, with Armorous Security & Investigations, Whitestar Group, and Defense Block Security, under the Sheriff’s delegated contracting authority of $50,000 per year. The three Sheriff’s Office Agreements were executed to provide these services until such time as County Purchasing could issue an RFP for new County-wide security service agreements. As a result of the high need for hospital guard services and the frequent use of these Agreements due to the on-going staffing challenges, all three Agreements reached the Sheriff’s delegated limit of $50,000 in less than four months after execution. With approval of County Purchasing, the Agreements were amended to increase the contracted limits to $100,000 per year, per contract. County Purchasing was unable to issue the larger County-wide service RFP as planned and requested the Sheriff’s Office issue a department specific RFP instead. In the meantime, on-going, acute staffing shortages combined with a high volume of hospital guard needs resulted in the existing Agreements quickly exceeding the $100,000 per year contract limit, requiring a second amendment to increase the contract limits yet again. The Amendments were approved by the Board on May 16, 2023, to allow for the continuation of services while the Sheriff’s Office specific RFP process was completed.
Request For Proposal (RFP). The Sheriff’s Office issued an RFP for On-Call Armed Security Guard Services on March 21, 2023. Responses to the RFP were evaluated by a five-member panel made up of the: Sheriff’s Field Services Captain, Sheriff’s Patrol Lieutenant, Sheriff’s Department Analyst, Permit and Resource Management Code Enforcement Manager, and Regional Parks Principal Park Ranger. The vendor proposals were scored on the following main criteria:
• Licensed by the California Department of Consumer Affairs
• Provide evidence of having met the State of California’s armed security guard minimum requirements
• Complaint with the training standards of the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
• Experience in providing similar services
• Possess a current Private Patrol permit in the city in which they maintain a business address.
• Availability to be on-site within a reasonable response time of service request.
Five of the six proposals were deemed capable and qualified to provide services. The five selected vendors have expertise and accreditation, have experience providing similar services to law enforcement and/or governmental agencies, and have an adequate pool of armed guard personnel in the region available to provide the level of services required by the Sheriff’s Office within a two-hour call-out request. The evaluation panel recommended the Sheriff award Agreements to Citiguard, Inc., Good Guard Security, Inc., Defense Block Security, Whitestar Group, and Armorous Security & Investigations. The five selected armed security guard service suppliers’ hourly rates range between $48.00 to $77.00 per hour. The Sheriff’s Office hourly overtime rate for a deputy sheriff is $110.08, resulting in an estimated cost savings of $33 to $62 per hour of service. Three of the six proposals were submitted by vendors who currently contract with the Sheriff’s Office for on-call armed security guard services. The Sheriff’s Office has been very satisfied with the services currently being provided by these three vendors. The proposed agreements will cover from August 15, 2023, through August 14, 2026, with the option to extend for two additional one-year terms. Due to the unpredictable nature of hospital guard services, the Sheriff requests payment terms not to exceed $200,000 per supplier, per year. Although the Sheriff does not expect to need the total annual not to exceed amount of $1,000,000, we cannot predict which of the five vendors will be available at any given time or what the duration of any given hospital guard duty will be. The proposed payment term will allow the flexibility throughout the year to cover these mandated services appropriately without needing to return to your Board for additional fiscal authority.
Once approved, all existing Agreements will be terminated and replaced with the new, Board approved Agreements. Since the initial Agreements were executed in November 2022, on-call armed security guard service expenditures totaled $288,000, or $41,150 per month. As such, costs are estimated to be under $500,000 in the first twelve months of contracted services. It is essential that services are not interrupted; given this, the Sheriff is also requesting authority to amend any one of the five Agreements as necessary to increase the spending limits in the event there are offsetting under expenditures from one of the other Agreements. The Sheriff’s Office uses the providers on a rotational basis and based on availability and responsiveness. However, in the event the Agreements are not spent down at an even rate over the duration, contract limits may need to be adjusted accordingly to ensure the continuation of services. Any such adjustments would be offset by underspending from the other Agreements. While the total amount of services needed is anticipated to be approximately $500,000, it is difficult to precisely predict how the costs will actually be spread among the five providers.
If approved, the armed security guard services provided under the five Agreements will be funded with General Fund savings from budgeted hospital guard deputy sheriff overtime expenses that would otherwise be providing these services. No additional General Fund appropriations are being requested.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
5/16/23 - Board approved 2nd Amendments for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services Agreements with Armorous Security and Investigations, Whitestar Group and Defense Block Security, to increase each annual contract limit from $100,200 to $200,000, each for a not-to-exceed total cost of $600,000 per year, with no change to contract terms ending October 31, 2025.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY 25-26 Projected |
|
Annual Estimated Expenses |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
|
Funding Sources |
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|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
|
State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The estimated annual expenses for contracted hospital guard services is $500,000; however, the need for services and the spread among the proposed five providers is unpredictable. To allow for flexibility and continuity of services, each contract has an annual not to exceed limit of $200,000 for a total not to exceed limit of $1,000,000 across all five proposed Agreements. However, actual spending is expected to be in line with historical averages (less than $500,000). In the event the service provider Agreements are not spent down at an even rate over the duration, contract limits may need to be adjusted accordingly. Any increases will be offset with underspending from the other Agreements. All services will be funded by deputy sheriff overtime savings included in the Sheriff’s Office FY 23-24 Adopted Budget. No additional appropriations are being requested.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Armorous - Agreement for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services
Whitestar Group - Agreement for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services
Defense Block Security - Agreement for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services
Citiguard, Inc. - Agreement for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services
Good Guard Security, Inc. - Agreement for On-Call Security Armed Guard Services
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A