Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION FOR REPLACING THE CURRENT CITY DEMOGRAPHER FIRM WITH NDC DEMOGRAPHERS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY PART OF THE CITY'S INFORMAL BID PROCESS ON THE DEMOGRAPHER CONTRACT (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
This item was listed on the September 10, 2019 Special Agenda for City Council. A decision was made to place the current demographer on-call, and engage NDC for additional maps.
At the request of Mayor Robles, this item is being placed on the September 17, 2019 Agenda for reconsideration.
In May, 2019, the City of Carson contracted with Compass Demographics for demographer services to assist the City with the potential change from an at-large to district-based system for election of City Council members.
At the City Council meeting on September 3, 2019, Councilman Jim Dear, Mayor Pro Tem Cedric Hicks, and Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes called a Special Meeting for September 10, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. to discuss replacing the demographer with a different firm.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
CONSIDER TAKING the following action:
1. DIRECT STAFF regarding the reselection of a demographer
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III. ALTERNATIVES
Take other action as considered appropriate and consistent with law.
IV. BACKGROUND
Pursuant to the professional services procurement requirements in Carson Municipal Code Section 2611(c) and based on their professional expertise in this area of election law, the City Attorney’s office solicited proposals for a demographer to assist the City with considering a change from an at-large to a district-based system for City Council election. The City received four proposals, two of which were from regional companies, and the other two from Northern California. Based on demonstrated competence, the professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of the required services, a fair and reasonable price, and proximity to City of Carson reasonably necessary to provide in-person services, Staff selected Compass Demographics, Inc. and executed a contact for a not-to-exceed contract sum of $23,500, which was within the City Manager’s signing authority.
On September 3, Councilman Jim Dear, Mayor Pro Tem Cedric Hicks, and Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes requested a special meeting to consider replacing the demographer. The City Council could direct staff to select the other demographer, NDC Demographers, which was part of the 2019 Informal Bid process and therefore eligible to be selected for a contract. NDC was also the demographer used by the City in 2018 to analyze the city’s demographics in response to the Shenkman threat of litigation.
NDC’s price during the Informal Bid process was $29,500 for the full scope of work. If the Council directs staff to proceed with negotiating a new contract with NDC, the contract may be for the full scope of work or some reduced portion of the scope, since voting demographics have been produced, the current demographer has produced draft maps, and seven map submissions from members of the public have been received. The City Council could choose to start the process over from the beginning, or have the new demographer assume some portion of the mapping process going forward. A contract in excess of $25,000 would need to be approved by the City Council.
The City was required to hold at least two public hearings prior to drawing any district maps in order to receive public input and discuss the composition of the voting districts. The City conducted public hearings on May 21, June 13 and June 18 to solicit input from the public prior to draft maps being produced.
Once draft maps were produced by the demographer and published on the City’s website, public hearings were held on August 6, 2019 and August 17, 2019. A final public hearing is scheduled for September 17, 2019, after which the Council may introduce and adopt the ordinance establishing district elections based on one or more draft maps.
Compass Demographics Contract
The City has the right to terminate the contract with Compass Demographics at any time. Pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Contract, the City shall provide thirty (30) days’ notice to the Consultant. Upon receipt of the notice of termination, the Consultant shall immediately cease all services except for services specifically approved by the Contract Officer, which is the City Manager. The Consultant shall be compensated for services rendered prior to the effective date of the notice of termination, and for any services authorized by the City Manager as described above. Compensation shall be based on the Schedule of Compensation in the City’s contract with Compass Demographics, or as otherwise approved by the City Manager. Upon termination, the Consultant shall deliver to the City all documents prepared by the Consultant in performance of the contract.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
Compass Demographics’ contract was a not-to-exceed $23,500, and many of the tasks in the contract have been completed - Compass Demographics’ produced the Participation Kit for public use in preparing their own maps; conducted three (instead of the required two) public hearings prior to the publishing of draft maps; received, analyzed, and standardized seven (7) maps submitted by the public; produced draft Council District maps for Council’s consideration; conducted two (2) public on those maps; and, produced revised draft maps for the September 17 public hearing. Only the final public hearing on September 17 remains, along with the adoption of the ordinance and follow up. It is estimated that about $4,000 to $5,000 in tasks remain to be completed.
NDC’s price during the Informal Bid process was $29,500 for the full scope of work, including all of the above tasks. All or some of this would be needed if the Council directed staff to negotiate a new contract.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Compass Demographics Contract (Pgs. 4-24)
2. NDC Demographics Proposal (Pgs. 25-42)
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Prepared by: City Manager's Office