HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem No. 11 - First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement Between the City of San Bernardino and Barboza & Associates for Investigation Services
Consent Calendar
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: June 17, 2020
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Teri Ledoux, City Manager
By:Rebekah Kramer, Assistant City Manager
Subject: First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with
Barboza & Associates
Recommendation
Adopt Resolution 2020-126 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino,
California, approving the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement
between the City of San Bernardino and Barboza & Associates for workplace
investigation services.
Background
On February 20, 2020, the City entered into a Professional Services Agreement with
Barboza & Associates (B&A) in the amount of $50,000 pursuant to Section 3.04.085(A)
of the Municipal Code. B&A is investigating allegations made by former employees
against Mayor John Valdivia for harassment and other misconduct. Since the
investigation began, additional complainants have come forward, requiring the City to
expand the original scope of work.
Discussion
Allegations of harassment and other misconduct against Mayor John Valdivia and the
City of San Bernardino were brought forward in January 2020. When allegations are
made, conducting a thorough investigation is critical. The California Fair Employment
all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring
in the workplace. Satisfying this obligation requires employers to investigate complaints
of discrimination or harassment. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity
-Discrimination, Retaliation, Workplace Harassment, and Sexual
Harassment also requires an investigation to be conducted.
Given that the allegations that have been made involve an elected official, this case was
assigned to Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore (LCW), one
specialized legal services pertaining to employment relations and personnel matters.
The determination was made to retain an outside independent investigator and five
potential investigators with experience handling these types of investigations were
contacted. Upon review of qualifications and availability of the responsive investigators,
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Carla Barboza of B&A was selected to conduct the investigation. She is based in
Southern California and brings with her thirty (30) years of experience handling
employment matters.
When B&A was retained, only two former employees had come forward with
allegations. It was estimated at the time, $50,000 would be sufficient to complete a
thorough and impartial investigation. During a press conference held on February 27,
2020, three additional individuals came forward with allegations against the Mayor. The
proposed amendment is required to ensure all complaints are investigated thoroughly
as required by the law and City policy.
Fiscal Impact
Approval of the first amendment to the agreement with Barboza & Associates in the
amount of $18,000 for a total contractual allowance not to exceed $68,000 will have no
impact to the General Fund as professional contractual services for investigations were
included in the adopted FY 2019/20 operating budget split between Administration
(account number 001-110-0001-5502) and the Liability Fund (account number 629-110-
0056-5502).
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino,
California, adopt Resolution 2020-95, approving the First Amendment to the
Professional Services Agreement between the City of San Bernardino and Barboza &
Associates for workplace investigation services.
Attachments
Attachment 1 Resolution 2020-- First Amendment
Attachment 2 Original Agreement dated February 20, 2020
Ward: All
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions: N/A
Page 2
RESOLUTION NO. 2020-126
RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA,
APPROVING THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE CIY OF SAN BERNARDINO AND BARBOZA AND
ASSOCIATES FOR WORKPLACE INVESTIGATION
SERVICES
WHEREAS, on February 20, 2020, the City entered into a Professional Services
Agreement with Barboza and Associates in the amount of $50,000; and
WHEREAS, Barboza & Associates is investigating allegations made against Mayor John
Valdivia of harassment and other misconduct; and
WHEREAS, when allegations are made, conducting a thorough investigation is critical
and the City must take all reasonable necessary steps to prevent discrimination and harassment
from occurring in the workplace; and
WHEREAS, when Barboza & Associates was retained, it was estimated that $50,000
would be sufficient to complete a thorough and impartial investigation; and
WHEREAS, three additional individuals have come forward with allegations against the
Mayor; and
WHEREAS, this amendment is required to ensure all complaints are investigated
thoroughly as required by law and City policy; and
WHEREAS, the Human Resources Department budget includes funds for investigative
services;
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SAN BERNARDINO AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this
reference.
SECTION 2. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to execute the First
Amendment to the agreement for workplace investigative services between Barboza &
Associates and the City of San Bernardino, a copy of which is attached hereto marked Exhibit A
and incorporated herein.
SECTION 3. The Director of Finance or designee is hereby authorized to amend the
Purchase Order to Barboza and Associates for a total amount not to exceed $68,000 for FY
2019/20.
Resolution No. 2020-126
SECTION 4. That the City Council finds this Resolution is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA
applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the
environment. Where it can be seen with certainty, as in this case, that there is no possibility that
the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not
subject to CEQA.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any provision of this Resolution or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications, and to this end the provisions of this Resolution are declared to be severable.
SECTION 6. Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective immediately.
APPROVED and ADOPTED by the City Council and signed by the Mayor and attested
by the Acting City Clerk this ___ day of __________ 2020.
John Valdivia, Mayor
City of San Bernardino
Attest:
Genoveva Rocha, CMC, Acting City Clerk
Approved as to form:
Sonia Carvalho, City Attorney
Resolution No. 2020-126
CERTIFICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO) ss
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO )
I, Genoveva Rocha, CMC, Acting City Clerk, hereby certify that the attached is a true
copy of Resolution No. 2020-___, adopted at a regular meeting held on the ___ day of _______
2020 by the following vote:
Council Members: AYES NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT
SANCHEZ _____ _____ _______ _______
IBARRA _____ _____ _______ _______
FIGUEROA _____ _____ _______ _______
SHORETT _____ _____ _______ _______
NICKEL _____ _____ _______ _______
RICHARD _____ _____ _______ _______
MULVIHILL _____ _____ _______ _______
WITNESS my hand and official seal of the City of San Bernardino this ___ day of
____________ 2020.
Genoveva Rocha, CMC, Acting City Clerk
EXHIBIT A
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
WITH BARBOZA & ASSOCIATES
This First First to the Professional Services Agreement
dated February 20, 2020 is made and entered into by and between the CITY OF SAN
BERNARDINO and Barboza & Associates Consultantas of the last date set forth
below.
1. Consultant is performing workplace investigation services under the Agreement.
Now, the CITY and Consultant wish to amend the Agreement to increase the purchase order by
$18,000.
2. Section 4(b) of the Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety to read as
follows:
In no event shall the total amount paid for services rendered by
Consultant under this First Amendment exceed the sum of
$68,000. This amount is to cover all related costs, and the City will
not pay any additional fees for printing expenses. Consultant may
submit invoices to City for approval. Said invoice shall be based
satisfaction. City shall pay
within (45) days from the date the City receives said invoice. The
invoice shall describe in detail the services performed and the
associated time for completion. Any additional services approved
and performed pursuant to this Agreement shall be designated as
authorized change order, where applicable, on all invoices.
3. Except as modified by this First Amendment, all provisions of the Agreement
shall remain in full force and effect for the term thereof.
4. This First Amendment may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be
deemed an original, but which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
\[SIGANTURES ON FOLLOWING PAGE\]
EXHIBIT A
SIGNATURE PAGE FOR FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
WITH BARBOZA & ASSOCIATES
Dated: _____, 2020 BARBOZA & ASSOCIATE
By: Carla D. Barboza
Its: President
Dated: _____, 2020 CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
By: Teri Ledoux
Its: City Manager