City of Pleasant Hill CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Meeting Date: TO THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS SUBJECT PROFESSIONAL CROSSING GUARD SERVICES WITH ALL CITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES (ACMS) SYNOPSIS During the school year, crossing guards are used at nine locations in Pleasant Hill. The crossing guards are present to help ensure the safety of children walking to and from school. The crossing guard services have been provided by a vendor. The latest contract expired at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 school year. Staff is requesting the Council adopt a resolution approving a oneyear contract with American Guard Services for the 2014-2015 school year. The necessary funds are available in the budget. DISCUSSION Background The Police Department historically has arranged for crossing guard services on streets located in close proximity to schools operated by the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD). Crossing guards have mostly been placed near elementary schools as children of this age are anticipated to most need the assistance of a crossing guard. Please see Exhibit B of the attached Agreement for Professional Services for the locations of the crossing guards. Generally, crossing guards are present near all the public elementary schools located in Pleasant Hill. The crossing guard designated for placement at Viking Dr. and Ruth Dr. is the only crossing guard not located immediately near an elementary school. The crossing guard at Viking Dr. and Ruth Dr. has been placed there due to the presence of three educational institutions with large student bodies in the immediate area: Valley View Middle School, College Park High School, and Diablo Valley College. Additionally, it is possible students attending the Valhalla Elementary School and Gregory Gardens Elementary School could use the service of this crossing guard. Crossing guards are provided as part of the Department s commitment to community safety. In 1995, Staff performed an analysis of the costs and problems encountered with operation of the crossing guard program by Police Department personnel. It was 1
determined that it would be cheaper, more practical, and more efficient to operate the program through a vendor rather than through the Police Department. For example, the vendor solely coordinates the recruitment, selection, required background checks, payroll and payment of employees, coordination of back up or substitute employees, and other details. Please see Exhibit A in the attached Agreement for Professional Services for the various tasks handled by the vendor. In 1995, a vendor was selected and services were provided through 2003. That vendor declined to renew the contract in 2003 and a new vendor, All City Management Services (ACMS), began providing the crossing guard service. ACMS subsequently entered into consecutive one-year contracts with the City from 2003 through the 2013-2014 school year. Another vendor, American Guard Services, established a presence in the East Bay by winning a contract with a neighboring jurisdiction in 2010. Staff solicited proposals to provide crossing guard service to the City from both ACMS and American Guard Services. ACMS and American Guard Services proposed a rate of $14.79 per hour and $14.22 per hour, respectively, for the 2014 to 2015 school year. The rate proposed by ACMS for 2014-15, $14.79, is an approximate 5.6% increase from the rate charged by ACMS in 2013-2014, $14.00. ACMS charged the City the following hourly rates during the past five years their firm held the contract: 2009-10 ($14.86) 2010-11 ($14.86) 2011-12 ($13.79) 2012-13 ($14.13) 2013-14 ($14.00) ACMS staff explained that ACMS is seeking to retain current clients but after years of rate decreases or maintaining rates the change in the state minimum wage in July 2014 has led them to increase their proposed rate for 2014-15. In contrast, the American Guard Services quote of $14. 22 hourly is an approximate 1.5% increase in the rate the City paid to ACMS for the last school year. The quote offered by American Guard Services is $.59 lower per hour than the quote offered by ACMS and the proposed agreement with American Guard Services has a cumulative lower projected cost of $3823.20 for the 2014-2015 school year than the ACMS proposal. 2
Staff inquired with the office of MDUSD Superintendent Dr. Nellie Meyer to determine if the MDUSD would be willing or able to assume financial responsibility for the crossing guard program or join in a cost sharing agreement. Due to budget constraints, Staff was informed that the MDUSD is unable to allocate funding to the crossing guard program this school year. Please see attached letter from Dr. Meyer labeled as Attachment C. The projected and actual costs of crossing guard services for the City over the last five years is documented below. The Finance Department and/or Department invoices are the source of this information. Fiscal Year Projected Cost Actual Cost 13-14 $ 90,720 $ 91,252 12-13 $ 91,562 $ 85,890 11-12 $ 89, 359 $87,141 10-11 $ 96,292 $95,757 09-10 $ 96,292 $94,964 The contracts and projected costs are based upon the anticipated number of days in the school year and accompanying hours required for crossing guard operations. Actual costs are indicative of the actual number of hours worked by the crossing guards and include school breaks. Analysis Although ACMS has been effective in providing service since the first annual contract was signed in 2003, the neighboring jurisdictions of Concord and Walnut Creek stated that American Guard Services had provided effective crossing guard services for those jurisdictions beginning in 2010. It should be noted that the City of Concord has ceased providing crossing guards and now allows school volunteer organizations such as the PTA to provide the service. The American Guard Services proposal is lower than the proposal provided by the competing vendor, ACMS. The American Guard Services proposed rate of $14.22 per hour includes costs associated with recruitment, background clearance, training, supervision, payroll, and management of the crossing guard program. American Guard Services will bill the City only for the actual hours of coverage. Coverage for the school year totals approximately 6480 hours or 36 hours daily excluding weekends, school holidays, and school breaks. Crossing guards are present two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon at nine locations for a total of four hours of coverage per location. Each intersection is covered by a single guard. Coverage hours coincide with the times school starts and ends daily. 3
If coverage occurs for all available hours, and the hours of coverage are approximately the same as the previous year, the maximum cost of the contract would be approximately $ 92,145.60 for the 2014 to 2015 fiscal and school years. Please see the attachment, Agreement for Professional Services, for further details. FISCAL IMPACT The total amount of this one-year contract is projected at $92,145.60. Staff contacted the Finance Department and learned funding for the contract is available in the Traffic Safety Fund (Fund 11). The total cost of the proposed contract will be paid from Fund 11; all Fund 11 monies are designated for crossing guard costs. PUBLIC CONTACT Public contact was made through posting of the City Council Agenda on the City s official notice bulletin board, posting of the agenda and staff report on the City s web page, and availability of the agenda and staff report in the City Clerk s office, at the County Central Library, and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department. ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. Use another vendor. Staff learned few vendors provide this service. ACMS and American Guard Services are the two viable vendors in this area. Staff is aware other jurisdictions have sought other vendors but some prospective vendors do not have a demonstrated record of effective service and are essentially new crossing guard service providers or vendors. Council could elect to have staff pursue an agreement with ACMS. 2. Choose not to provide Crossing Guard Services. If Council elected to discontinue providing crossing guard services, police staff would recommend the following immediate steps to mitigate the absence of crossing guards: First, staff would launch a focused and urgent public outreach campaign to students, parents and school staffs to train proper pedestrian safety skills near and around schools. The focus of this education would be in those areas where a crossing guard was previously located. Second, police staff would begin meeting with school administrators and traffic engineering consultants to determine how best to reduce hazards to students walking through intersections where a crossing guard was no longer present. Third, staff would attempt to increase patrols in those intersections where crossing guards had been located to help ensure safe passage for students. These increased patrols would be dependent on the time of day and the need to deploy officers to other areas of the City for higher priority calls for service. 4
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with American Guard Services in a form to be approved by the City Attorney. Prepared by: Reviewed by: Peter Enea Lieutenant John F. Moore Chief of Police Attachments: A - Resolution B - Agreement for Professional Services Exhibit A- Scope of Services Exhibit B Locations and Times C - Letter from Nellie Meyer, Superintendent, Mt. Diablo Unified School District 5