To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Yvonne Shu 565-1739, Christel Querijero 565-7071
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Procurement Review - Consultant Recommendations
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Receive consultant’s recommendations from a review of the County’s procurement function;
B) Direct staff to develop implementation plans and resource requirements for the Board’s consideration.
end
Executive Summary:
The County’s procurement system is an integral part of the County’s overall operations. As part of the Organizational Excellence pillar of the County of Sonoma’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, a comprehensive review of the County’s procurement system and policies was conducted as a first step toward improving current processes and internal/external customer satisfaction. Civic Initiatives LLC will present recommendations on areas of improvement based on their assessment of the County’s procurement function. Following the Board’s review of the recommendations identified in the Needs Assessment report and the Board’s direction to move forward, staff will return to the Board in Spring 2024 with detailed implementation plans for the first set of initiatives and include anticipated resource requests, if applicable.
Discussion:
Background
In May 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved a scope of work for a proposed procurement assessment. Staff issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in July 2022, and Civic Initiatives LLC was awarded a contract at the November 8, 2022 Board meeting. Identified as a key deliverable under the County’s Five-Year Strategic Plan under the Organizational Excellence pillar <https://socostrategicplan.org/organizational-excellence/> (Goal 1, Objective 5), a comprehensive review of the County’s procurement system and policies will provide recommendations for improving current processes and internal/external customer satisfaction.
A Procurement Ad Hoc <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/board-of-supervisors/assignments/ad-hoc-committees>, comprised of Supervisors Gore and Rabbitt, was established to provide input to staff throughout the procurement assessment. The Ad Hoc has convened three times to receive findings at various stages of this project, including the current state and needs assessment.
Current State Assessment
Completed in early summer 2023, the current state assessment encompassed broad stakeholder input, including over 40 on-site interviews with County staff, a supplier survey, targeted supplier interviews, multiple discussions with departments and the procurement division, and internal stakeholder presentations of the current state findings. As the County moves forward with any improvement or change initiatives, stakeholder input will continue to be part of the process.
The high-level takeaways for the County’s current level of procurement maturity are as follows:
§ Enterprise practices: County leadership, management and staff share a sense of urgency to transform and optimize procurement practices.
§ Organizational design: The staffing structure of the Purchasing Division could be reexamined to determine the optimal structure to support current expectations, roles and responsibilities, and operational needs.
§ Workforce development: Updating procurement training is an opportunity to ensure competency and understanding of procurement functions and processes across County departments and agencies.
§ Stakeholder engagement: Standard communications and clarity of roles would improve operational efficiencies.
§ Policy management: Revisiting the County’s procurement policies could facilitate the agility needed for current market conditions and better align them with County values.
§ Procurement planning: Implementing cyclical procurement planning would improve workload and resource planning.
§ Procurement execution: Procurement execution, including processes and technology, could be reexamined for more standardization, efficiencies, and user friendliness for all stakeholders.
§ Contract administration: Elevating and sharing best practices for contract administration and management would reinforce optimal service delivery.
§ Strategic contracting: Strategic contracting represents an opportunity to leverage technology and information across County departments so that the County maximizes resources.
§ Integrity and controls: Continuing to implement internal controls and training to support a solutions-oriented procurement approach and process will benefit all stakeholders.
The current state report can be viewed in Attachment 1 and is part one of the overall assessment.
Other Jurisdictions
Civic Initiatives either interviewed or surveyed a group of counties (Monterey, Marin, Santa Barbara, Alameda, San Diego, San Francisco and San Luis Obispo) on their procurement practices, to understand how Sonoma County’s current practices compare. For counties of similar size to Sonoma, procurement staff typically numbered between five and ten employees, with the majority of counties surveyed having decentralized procurement staffing models (Sonoma County has seven procurement staff). Of particular note is Monterey County, whose procurement function, in the consultant’s assessment, offers a robust internal procurement training program. The majority do not have comprehensive technological solution for the procurement function.
Today’s Discussion: Needs Assessment
Civic Initiatives has identified specific projects and focus areas, stemming from the current state assessment, that will enable the County to advance its procurement function. The recommendations vary in complexity, resource need and timing. At a high level, the recommendations are as follows:
§ Enterprise practices: Optimize the current delegated authority model to implement a competency-based delegation model supported by trained Department Procurement Officers (DPO).
§ Organizational design: Identify and implement an organizational model that supports transition of the Purchasing Division to a strategic procurement operation for the County.
§ Workforce development: Develop and implement a Procurement and Contracting Training Model that utilizes a combination of external (e.g., National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, National Association of State Procurement Officials, State, etc.) and internal, County-specific procurement training that supports the DPO and competency-based delegation model.
§ Stakeholder engagement: Improve engagement of central procurement staff as liaisons to promote more proactive department stakeholder planning with their DPO’s.
§ Policy management: Develop and implement a Procurement Manual that establishes clear roles, responsibilities, expectations, and processes for the execution of all procurements and contracting practices at the County. (A Procurement Manual is part of the current project scope and is expected to be delivered in early 2024).
§ Procurement planning: Formalize and make mandatory the completion and submission of an Annual Procurement Plan that, at minimum, seeks to identify major procurement projects during the upcoming fiscal year.
§ Procurement execution: Draft a desk guide for central procurement staff that details standard operating procedures for all required procurement and contracting processes.
§ Contract administration: Develop and implement a tracking/advising practice to identify, monitor and assist with high-risk procurement projects early in the procurement process (extension of the procurement planning process).
§ Strategic contracting: Implement strategic sourcing practices and processes within central procurement supported by tools, templates and training.
§ Integrity and controls: During implementation efforts, ensure both process compliance and throughput are considered, in order to create a balance between the two.
Specific recommendations under each area above, including a recommended implementation timeline, can be viewed in Attachment 2.
Ad Hoc Direction
The Procurement Ad Hoc has indicated that the pacing and prioritization of the proposed initiatives is best determined by staff, in consultation with Civic Initiatives. The Ad Hoc understands that a transformation of the County’s procurement function into a strategic partner will require time and resources, and therefore the Ad Hoc defers to staff to determine the most reasonable approach forward, including cost benefit considerations.
Next Steps
CAO and Public Infrastructure Procurement division staffs have reviewed the consultant’s recommendations and in general concurs with the proposed areas to address. Following the Board’s review of the recommendations identified in the Needs Assessment report and the Board’s direction to move forward, staff will return to the Board in Spring 2024 with detailed implementation plans for the first set of initiatives and include anticipated resource requests, if applicable.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 1: Strengthen operational effectiveness, fiscal reliability, and accountability
Objective: Objective 5: Align procurement and grant guidelines with strategic priorities and racial equity principles.
The procurement assessment will result in recommendations for improvements in the County’s procurement system and over the long term, will help to support the strategic plan pillars of Climate Action & Resiliency and Racial Equity & Social Justice.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
It is possible that a future project stemming from this assessment will utilize the Racial Equity Toolkit as part of the project due diligence.
Prior Board Actions:
§ 11/8/22 - Authorized the Chair to execute an Agreement for Procurement Assessment Services with Civic Initiatives LLC for a comprehensive review of the County’s procurement system and processes, in an amount not to exceed $250,000 and with a term ending on October 31, 2024.
§ 5/10/22 - Approved scope of work for the procurement assessment.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Any anticipated fiscal impacts will be presented with the detailed implementation plans for the Board’s review and approval.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
1 - Current State Findings
2 - Needs Assessment Findings - Draft
3 - Presentation
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A