To: The County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Barbara Lee, 707-483-5323; Jaida Nabayan, 707-460-5744
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): County-Wide
Title:
Title
Cost-Benefit Analysis Agreement for the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the County Administrator to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Consero Solutions in an amount not to exceed $218,721 with a term end date of December 31, 2024, to develop a cost-benefit analysis for the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan.
B) Adopt a Resolution authorizing the use of $123,721 in General Fund Contingencies in the 2023-2024 County Administrator’s Office Climate Action and Resiliency Division budget to cover the Professional Services Agreement costs. (4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
The Climate Action and Resiliency Pillar of the County’s Strategic Plan sets an overarching goal for the County to become carbon neutral, zero waste, and resilient by 2030. The Pillar’s five goals promote wildfire resilience, support community progress to carbon neutrality and resilience, call for carbon free, zero waste, and resilient County facilities, a zero and low emission fleet, and direct County departments to maximize carbon sequestration and adaptation in land use conservation policies and actions. The County is now developing a Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan(CR-CAP) to articulate the actions needed to achieve these Climate Action and Resiliency goals. As part of the CR-CAP, a cost-benefit analysis is needed to outline the direct costs and benefits to the County and community of the potential actions outlined in the Plan, and a funding and financing strategy.
The proposed agreement with Consero Solutions will complete a cost-benefit analysis for the CR-CAP, while incorporating a lens for climate and environmental justice. Additionally, the consultant will develop funding streams recommendations to include in the CR-CAP that will be reviewed by the Board on 08/13/2024.
This item requests contingency funds because the cost of the work exceeds the amount budgeted. There are insufficient funds remaining from the PG&E funds originally allocated for the Climate Action and Resiliency Division to cover these costs. A reduced scope alternative could reduce the General Fund contingency request to $56,660, however, this option is not recommended because the reduced scope of work would not provide a complete cost-benefit analysis and would not adequately address equity in costs or benefits.
Discussion:
The County Board of Supervisors has provided leadership, vision, and resources across many departments and agencies to advance climate resilience efforts. This project seeks to support decision-making by the Board on further climate resilience actions through calculating and analyzing the costs and benefits of various staff identified measures and actions, along with recommended funding and financing strategies to sustain climate resilience efforts and actions.
Proposed Agreement:
The proposed agreement will facilitate the completion of a cost-benefit analysis for the CR-CAP, and outline financing and funding strategies for actions and measures in the cost-benefit analysis, while incorporating a lens for climate and environmental justice. In particular, the consultant will develop an analysis of: (1) the direct costs and benefits of the actions to reduce municipal GHG emission and waste, and to increase carbon sequestration on County lands; (2) funding and financing options for those actions; (3) the costs of implementing the community engagement strategy; (4) the costs to the public to implement the actions needed for community emissions to be reduced to a carbon neutral level; and (5) a meta-analysis of the impacts of decisions to fund or finance actions in the CR-CAP (including sequestration) would have on the public, either directly or by affecting spending on other County programs and services. The consultant will ensure that its evaluation of actions and measures proposed for the CR-CAP are periodically reviewed with County staff for policy guidance, throughout development of the cost-benefit analysis. Recommendations to the Board are anticipated by August 2024.
Request for Proposals and Selection:
Staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on January 18, 2024, for a Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan - Wildfire Resilience and Climate Change Planning and Coordination. The RFP closed on February 15, 2024. Proposers were scored based on their demonstrated ability to provide the services described in the RFP, including: their working knowledge of cost-benefit analysis; a strong conceptual approach to process management, program and organizational assessment, and funding and financing strategies; and a compelling plan for completion of the cost-benefit analysis with a lens for equity and environmental justice. They were also scored on their experience, qualifications, and expertise, the quality of their work, proposed cost of service relative to scope, a demonstrated history of providing similar services to comparable entities, and their willingness to accept the County’s contract terms. A copy of the RFP is included as Attachment 2.
The evaluation committee included three staff from the County Administrator’s Office’s Climate Action and Resiliency Division. Four proposals were received, of which three included all required elements. The proposal from Consero Solutions was the highest scoring overall, with substantial emphasis on equitable community engagement. As a firm, Consero focuses on public sector clients. Their project team includes Dudek and M.Cubed, firms with expertise in community engagement and cost-benefit analyses. The Consero team is well equipped for this project; team members demonstrated experience working at the intersection of resilience, cost-benefit analysis, equity, and land use in California and the Bay Area. Recent projects demonstrating this expertise include developing the cost-benefit analysis for the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, supporting Yolo County to complete their 2022-2025 Climate Early Action Grant Strategy, providing equitable outreach and engagement support for Yolo County’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, and supporting the City of Davis with their three-year grant strategy to secure funding for priority projects outlined in the 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Consero, M.Cubed, and Dudek demonstrated expertise and experience working with an equity-centered lens, Bay Area jurisdictions, and legislative officials for funding advocacy. A copy of the proposed agreement is included as Attachment 1, with a total cost not to exceed $218,721, with a term date of December 31, 2024.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Racial Equity and Social Justice
Goal: Goal 4: Engage community members and stakeholder groups to develop priorities and to advance racial equity.
Objective: Objective 2: Collaborate with community members and stakeholder groups to develop racial equity strategies for County emergency response, economic recovery and resiliency planning efforts.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 1: Strengthen operational effectiveness, fiscal reliability, and accountability
Objective: Objective 1: Align the Board of Supervisor’s strategic priorities, policy, and operational goals with funding and resources.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
However, the contract incorporates the Racial Equity Toolkit at the outset of the project to ensure that work is completed with an equity lens in support of developing an equity-focus CR-CAP.
Prior Board Actions:
December 11, 2023: Board of Supervisors Workshop on the Climate Resiliency Comprehensive Action Plan
November 7, 2023: Carbon Inventory and Potential Sequestration Study Report
September 26, 2023: County of Sonoma Municipal Zero Waste Audit and Characterization Study
August 29, 2023: Climate Resilience Workshop
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$95,000 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$123,721 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$218,721 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other - PG&E Settlement Funds |
$95,000 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
$123,721 |
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$218,721 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
CARD has $95,000 in the current fiscal year available for contract services and to put towards this agreement. An additional $123,721 is requested from General Fund Contingencies to supplement the additional cost for the work. Should this funding be approved, it will be incorporated into the next quarterly consolidated budget adjustment (CBA).
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
1. Professional Services Agreement with Consero Solutions
2. Request for Proposals for Cost-Benefit Analysis for Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan
3. Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.