REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 22, 2021
FROM
VALERIE CLAY, Interim Director, Purchasing Department
SUBJECT
Title
Temporary Increase to CAL-Card Limits for Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 Purchases
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Receive report of actions taken by the Director of Purchasing to temporarily increase CAL-Card limits and make purchases in response to COVID-19 for the period of December 22, 2020 through April 21, 2021.
(Presenter: Valerie Clay, Interim Director, 387-2074)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Any use of funds through CAL-Card purchases is accounted for in user department budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The County participates in a CAL-Card program where the typical credit card limit for a County employee is $3,000/single purchase limit (SPL) and $30,000/month. The Board of Supervisors (Board) authorized the Purchasing Agent to temporarily increase CAL-Card limits beginning on March 10, 2020 (Item No. 76) and again on November 17, 2020 (Item No. 99), and on a monthly basis with the latest authorization on May 18, 2021 (Item No. 101), giving authority through June 30, 2021. These authorizations allow for the procurement of goods and equipment necessary to support the emergency response to COVID-19 without following competitive process requirements or additional administrative approvals required by County Policy or the Procurement Card Manual maintained by the Purchasing Agent. The Purchasing Agent is required to report these purchase limit increases, quarterly, to the Board. The Purchasing Agent previously reported to the Board on June 2, 2020 (Item No. 31), September 15, 2020 (Item No. 55), December 15, 2020 (Item No. 60) and March 23, 2021 (Item No. 55).
On November 12, 2020, two CAL-Cards assigned to the Office of Emergency Services (OES) were increased temporarily to $25,000/SPL and $125,000/month [incorrectly reported as $150,000/month on March 23, 2021 (Item No. 55)] in support of emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 21, 2020, an additional CAL-Card assigned to the OES was increased temporarily to $25,000/SPL and $125,000/month due to increased cleaning measures and supplies for each Specimen Point of Collection (SPOC) site. On February 11, 2021, that additional CAL-Card assigned to the Office of Emergency Services (OES) was increased temporarily to $25,000/SPL and $600,000/month in support of up to 48 stationary and mobile testing and vaccination sites. Thirty-nine (39) actual sites have been supported with an average spend of approximately $330,000 per month. These CAL-Cards have been used to pay for cleaning services at the SPOC stationary and mobile sites, to purchase COVID-19 testing and vaccination supplies, and for other emergency response activities. OES has spent a total of $1,392,542 on these three CAL-Cards from December 22, 2020 through April 21, 2021.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Kristina Robb, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5436) on June 2, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Kelly Welty, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4376) on June 1, 2021.