REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 10, 2023
FROM
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Payment Authorization to Merchants Building Maintenance, LLC for Enhanced COVID-19 Cleaning
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Authorize retroactive payment in the amount not to exceed $101,464, for a total amount of $298,712, to Merchants Building Maintenance, LLC for Enhanced COVID-19 Cleaning for the period of January 1, 2021 through April 30, 2021.
(Presenter: Georgina Yoshioka, Director, 388-0801)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The amount of $101,464 for Enhanced COVID-19 Cleaning is funded by 1991 Realignment. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2022-23 budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The retroactive authorization to pay invoices for enhanced COVID-19 cleaning from January 1, 2021 through April 30, 2021 provided by Merchants Building Maintenance, LLC (MBM) is required in order for DBH to make payment for the $101,464 in costs, which would exceed the $200,000 that has already been paid to MBM through the County Purchasing Department’s (Purchasing) authorization for the services provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DBH requires custodial services at all locations to maintain the health and safety of its clients and staff, to ensure compliance with Health and Safety regulations, and support the County goal of providing for the safety and health of County residents. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, additional cleaning and disinfection services were required to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, as well as being the most cost effective, MBM provided enhanced COVID-19 cleaning at DBH facilities twice weekly as DBH was experiencing multiple positive results each week. The schedule was coordinated with MBM through the San Bernardino County Real Estate Services Department (RESD) as the facilities involved were not county-owned.
On November 18, 2021, a reconciliation of outstanding invoices to payments made was done by DBH Fiscal and DBH FPM; the determination was made that Purchasing’s emergency services payment threshold had not been exceeded for COVID-19 cleaning. On January 10, 2022, RESD submitted more invoices to DBH, due to continued approved services provided. Another reconciliation was completed, and it was determined that invoices were missing. In May 2022, DBH verified and confirmed the outstanding balance and determined the payment threshold had been exceeded and that approval by the Board would be required to authorize the payment for the outstanding balance. From May through December 2022, DBH collaborated with RESD and Purchasing on the background information needed for the BAI, explored all other possible options for payment, and obtained and verified the outstanding balance for the final time. DBH understands this item is late in being presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) and that it is not the appropriate way to do business; however, DBH will ensure that any future invoices are paid in a timely manner.
This item is being presented at this time as this is the first Board date available following the submission of invoices to DBH by RESD, and extensive reviews by DBH Facilities and Project Management (FPM), DBH Fiscal, DBH Administration, RESD and County Counsel.
Approval of the payment authorization by the Board at this time will allow DBH to make payment to MBM and will have no impact on DBH’s program related services.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by (Natalie Kessee, Contracts Manager, 388-0869) on December 8, 2022; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 8, 2022; Real Estate Services (Lyle Ballard, Real Property Manager, 387-5000) on December 20, 2022; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on December 12, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) December 20, 2022.