City Commission Regular Meeting Brief for September 17, 2024

City Commission Ratifies Resolution 24-19 for Increase to Monthly Water, Wastewater, and Water and Wastewater Miscellaneous Charges
The City Commission officially ratified a resolution authorizing and approving an increase to the monthly Water and Wastewater Utility rates identified in Schedule A and Schedule B by 5%, and related charges in Schedule D for Fiscal Year 2025. Although this resolution was originally approved during the August 27, 2024 City Commission Regular Meeting, residents were notified the resolution would be on the agenda for the September 17, 2024 Regular Meeting.The fiscal impact of this rate adjustment is estimated to be an increase in rate revenue of approximately $700,957 for Fiscal Year 2025. The impact on the average utility customer, consuming 7,000 gallons of water per month, is $2.72. The percentage increase in Schedule A and Schedule B reflects the increase in the U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for All Urban Consumers—CPI (U) U.S. City Average between June 2023 and June 2024. The 12-month CPI increase between June 2023 and June 2024 was 5%, and so a commensurate adjustment to the rates in Schedule A and Schedule B is reflected in the Resolution. The Resolution also includes increased charges for backflow preventer and water meter testing in Schedule D to recover the cost of providing services.

City Commission Approves Two Resolutions for Water and Sewer Agreement to Facilitate New Residential Connections
The City Commission approved Resolutions 24-34 and 24-35, which authorize agreements for the execution of water and sewer services with Jamal Lopez, Jarel Lopez, Michelle Lopez and Ana Pena for the 2.5 Equivalent Residential Connections (ERCs) for a new home located at 3703 NW 100 Avenue within the Royal Palm Ranches community of Cooper City. The named homeowners are constructing a new home on the property and have deposited a total amount of $4,057.05 for water distribution and sewage collection services.

City Commission Approves Change Order on Professional Services Agreement
The City Commission approved an amendment via change order to the professional services agreement with Witt O’Briens LLC to manage and navigate the complex federal assistance programs for the remainder of the fiscal year. Witt O’Briens LLC has been providing invaluable support to the City in managing federal assistance programs, including those from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Their expertise and experience have been instrumental in navigating complex federal regulations, maximizing funding opportunities, and streamlining the federal grants management lifecycle. The ARPA consultant position is vacant as of August 16, 2024. For Witt O’Brien to complete the assessment of the eligibility of ARPA projects, a change order will be required in the amount of $30,000 to allow them to provide professional services until the end of the current Fiscal Year.

City Commission Approves Upgrade for Critical Network Servers
The City Commission authorized the City’s contractor VC3 to upgrade four critical network servers for a total cost of $33,079. The Information Technology (IT) Division of the City’s Finance Department is accountable for operating, maintaining, and enhancing the City’s Network Infrastructure. On March 12, 2024, the City Commission approved the contract for IT Managed Services to VC3. A comprehensive network assessment conducted with VC3 revealed the urgent need for a network upgrade on all servers. Although the upgrade falls outside the current contract, City staff strongly recommended this upgrade to allow for the City’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) to complete the network upgrade. Failure to upgrade four servers within the next few weeks could result in network disruptions and vulnerabilities in certain areas, including mass emailing. The existing operating systems on the servers have reached the End of Service Life (EOSL), making them devoid of patches and Microsoft support, rendering the system vulnerable to potential downtime.

City Commission Approves Two New Camera Sites
The City Commission approved two new camera sites to allow for the purchase and installation of new camera equipment at the intersections of Palm Avenue and Stirling Road and Stirling Road and Embassy Drive. The City has invested in a strategic grid of cameras and license-plate readers; all of which are integrated and monitored via the BSO Cooper City Real-Time Crime Center. As funding has been available, the law enforcement department has worked to recommend new sites to ensure a proactive continuation of the strategic plan for public safety. These locations have been selected based on past traffic / pedestrian trends, city geography, and currently maintained city power sources, which helps to reduce installation cost(s). Further, the sites would be located near the newly installed LED monument sites as a preventative measure against accidental or intentional damage. The public safety team worked with Vetted Security Solutions (VSS) to conduct site surveys at each of the proposed locations to obtain accurate quotes based on the field walkthrough(s). VSS was the city’s prior approved vendor that assisted in the realization of the four-phased technology plan, to include the construction of the RTCC. The total cost for the proposed sites is $38,831.98 (see attached itemized quote). Additionally, permitting costs associated with the installations tally to $679.01, per site. Hence, the project total request being $40,190. Currently, there remains $68,933.86 in the police contingency budget. With the fiscal year closing this month, there are no significant anticipated costs for a contingency need, and it would seem prudent to utilize these funds to further the city’s strategic plan of new public safety improvements. Lastly, there is a recurring cost associated with the camera expansion project that would be captured in the city’s FY25/26 law enforcement budget: (2) SIM cards at the current government rate of $36.05 per month, i.e., $432.60 per site annually.

City Commission Approves First Amendment to Agreement for Insurance Brokerage Services
The City Commission approved a first amendement to the City’s agreement with RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc. (including its division Gehring Group) d/b/a Risk Strategies Company, for insurance brokerage services. Since August 20, 2020, City staff and Gehring Group have worked together for insurance renewals and awards for medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance coverage, Affordable Care Act reporting, annual federal regulation compliance, and forecasting for the fiscal years since then. City staff has been very satisfied with the services provided by Gehring Group. It wishes to continue working with Gehring Group through the first amendment to the original agreement dated April 11, 2024. In contrast, the original agreement was a “piggyback” contract utilizing the agreement between RSC Insurance Brokerage, Inc. (Including its division Gehring Group), D/B/A Risk Strategies Company, and the City of Parkland. This renewal would be for the term beginning October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. The agreement with Gehring Group has only an indirect fiscal impact on the City’s budget, as commissions for their services are rendered through the secured premiums from each medical insurance group. Extending the City’s agreement with Gehring Group through September 30, 2025, will allow for a smooth renewal for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.

City Commission Approves Piggyback Agreement for Purchase of Procurement Software
The City Commission approved a piggyback agreement for the purchase of procurement software from OpenGov to be used by Finance Department. The City has had an issue with its purchasing Department for several years due to several factors including the small size of the department (2), staff turnover, inability to fill positions, and no centralized purchasing workflow. The current process is manual and inefficient. The City is in need of a more efficient, compliant, standardized and automated way to manage the City's growth while making sure the process is transparent and equitable to all local vendors. OpenGov is the leader in modern cloud software for cities, counties, state agencies, and special districts. OpenGov has over 550 government customers nationwide. Over 100 customers are in Florida and City staff met with several that provided exceptional references of OpenGov's product and customer service, including: City of Pembroke Pines, City of Hollywood, City of Orlando, Town of Davie, City of Hialeah, City of Tampa. The Procurement Software From OpenGov will help the City procure goods and services more efficiently with two main savings: time and money, allowing for greater overall strategic impact and Page 2 of 3 reducing the friction between purchasing stages, improving employee satisfaction, attracting stronger vendors, and enhancing spending transparency for citizens. The cost of the OpenGov e-Procurement over the next three years is as follows: $40,301 ($20,211 for software and $20,090 for professional services) for October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025, $21,222 for October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, and $22,283 from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

City Commission Approves Contract for Records Scanning, Indexing, and Disposition Services
The City Commission approved a contract with Advanced Data Solutions, Inc. for records scanning, indexing, and disposition services. The Community Development Department is transitioning to an all-digital ERP system and found a great need to digitize the roughly 20 years of paper-based permits and land development documentation that have been physically stored in the Community Development Department and transfer them into digital data that will be stored in the City’s ERP system. As records requests come into the City for a building permit or land development petition, staff must manually search through our filing cabinet system for physical files. Then, that file is scanned to share with the public through a digital method such as email or one-drive links. If the petitioner does not request a digital copy, staff will reproduce the requested document and make a physical photocopy of a permit package or wide format plan, at times, both to complete the records request. With the transition to the all-digital platform and electronic permitting system, staff found that transferring all the physical files to a digital dataset, which can be stored in the ERP system, would benefit staff and residents. Once the digital scanning of all the records has been completed, residents who need to look up a permit document for their home, such as a copy of their survey or the latest blueprints for their home, will be readily available to them through the resident access portal of the City’s ERP system. The Purchasing Division issued an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for Records Scanning, Indexing, and Disposition Services, ITB 2024-2-CD. This formal competitive solicitation process complied with the City of Cooper City procurement requirements. Details of the competitive solicitation process were as follows: The ITB was uploaded and shared on March 15, 2024, to one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six (1,776) prospective bidders via DemandStar. The ITB was also advertised in the legal notices section of the Sun-Sentinel. The statistics showed that twenty-seven (27) vendors downloaded the bid documents of the ITB. On April 19, 2024, at 3:00 P.M. EST, the Purchasing Division closed and unsealed five (5) responses. The Purchasing Division reviewed the responses to ensure they met the ITB requirements. The Purchasing Division relayed the submittals to the Community Development staff for additional review. Advanced Data Solutions, Inc.'s response met all ITB requirements and was the lowest, responsive, and responsible bidder. Reference checks were conducted on Advanced Data Solutions, Inc. by the Purchasing Division and revealed positive ratings. The proposed contract is for $98,547.50 with a completion time of 120 days. The vendor shall provide records management services that include, but are not limited to the pick-up of records from the City, scanning, indexing, imaging, and media conversion of City records, and compliant destruction of records. This project was included in the Cooper City American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 Budget previously approved by the City Commission. A budget transfer of $8,547.50 was also approved with this contract to fully fund the project cost of $98,547.50. These funds are available in the Professional Services – ARPA line item as we moved the ARPA ineligible funds of $100,000 from the STARS Grant Project here.

City Commission Approves Contract for Consulting Landscape Architect/Aborist Services
The City Commission approved a contract with Chen Moore and Associates (CMA) in the amount not to exceed $5,000 for consulting landscape architect/arborist services. The City Arborist position was vacated in 2022, and the City reclassified the position, eliminating the direct duties of the City Arborist in the Public Works Department. The fallout in the Community Development Department with eliminating that role was that the former City Arborist fulfilled the role of what a typical landscape architect provides for a City, and that is to perform landscape plan reviews for new development projects, landscape site inspections, DRC reviews, tree mitigation analysis for new development projects as well as additional landscape projects throughout the City. The Community Development Department has been working with Chen Moore and Associates for consulting Arborist/Landscape architect services since August of 2023 under purchase order PO#2023-8398 for $18,999.00. Staff was working under the City manager's authority to provide landscape architect services to the City via a consultant. Still, as we finalize the fiscal year, the services provided by Chen Moore and Associates for Landscape architect and Arborist services will surpass the City Manager's purchasing authority. Therefore, staff requested additional funding to close out the months of June, July, August, and September 2024. During the City Commission’s discussion on this item, City staff was directed to seek landscape architect services with better pricing, while also working to help a current City staff member attain certification to be the City arborist.

City Commission Reconsiders and Amends Policy Regarding Paid Holidays
The City Commission reconsidered and amended Resolution 24-27, specifically Policy 02-008 (Paid Holidays) to add Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve to the list of City paid holidays. During the August 27, 2024 City Commission Regular Meeting, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve had been removed from the City’s list of observed/paid holidays in passing Resolution 24-27.

City Commission Tables Ordinance 24-22, on First Reading, Regarding Retirement Health Insurance Benefit for Certain Former Members of the City Commission
Discussion on this proposed ordinance focused on the retirement health insurance benefit received by certain former members of the City Commission. On June 29, 1999, the Cooper City Commission adopted Resolution 99-6-3, which approved a Manual of Personnel Policies and established a set of policies which provided, under Section 14-06, for “Retirement Health Insurance” for certain department heads and elected officials, and any eligible spouses of elected officials who met certain criteria. Key criteria for elected officials to receive this benefit is having been elected to three consecutive terms on the City Commission and being at least 50 years of age. If enumerated criteria were met, individuals shall receive: (1) fully pair health insurance coverage and associated benefits; and (2) the Medicare supplement offered by the City as the City’s Code. While the Retirement Health Insurance benefit had been adopted in the 1999 Manual of Personnel Policies, the City Commission adopted Ordinance 2002-08-07 on August 28, 2002. Ordinance 2002-08-07 proposed an amendment to the City Charter, specifically Section 3.06, to provide that any benefit plans established for the City Commission be adopted by ordinance. On November 5, 2002, the Charter amendment referendum was approved by the City’s electorate. Over the course of the next decade, between 2002 and 2012, the City’s Manual of Personnel Polices would be revised via resolutions on multiple occasions. On April 10, 2012, the City Commission adopted Resolution 12-4-1, approving a further revised Personnel Policies for the City, where the provision providing for “Retirement Health Insurance” to eligible department heads and elected officials would not apply to anyone first elected or hired after January 1, 2012. Members of the City Commission find the adoption of subsequent Personnel Policies for the City, which included benefits for certain eligible former elected officials, to be in conflict with the City Charter due to the benefits not being passed by ordinance. Therefore, proposed Ordinance 24-22 was brought forward on September 17, 2024 to ratify and confirm the “Retirement Health Insurance” benefit for former, current and future members of the Commission who meet the enumerated criteria. This ordinance was tabled following a discussion on the future costs that would be incurred by Cooper City taxpayers. The ordinance was specifically tabled following a proposal that any person elected after January 1, 2012, who meets the criteria of being at least 50 years of age and elected to three consecutive terms on the City Commission, can receive a retirement insurance benefit provided that the individual pay a percentage of the premium consistent with the level paid by employees. The City Commission directed staff to provide a financial impact analysis for the City Commission Regular Meeting scheduled for September 24, 2024. This proposal would not impact certain former elected officials who are receiving the retirement insurance benefit.

City Commission Approves Ordinance 24-21, on Second Reading, Regarding Compensation and Benefits for Elected Officials
The City Commission approved an ordinance, on second reading, that ratifies and confirms the compensation and benefit plans for the City’s elected officials. With this approval, elected officials’ compensation shall be equivalent to the midpoint of the lowest employee pay grade and elected officials shall be entitled to the same insurance, pension and other benefits offered to the lowest paid full-time City employee.

More Information
For more information related to items on the September 17, 2024 agenda, please visit: https://meetings.municode.com/adaHtmlDocument/index?cc=COOPERCITY&me=2cb1415784af4675a138d7ab9aca2b10&ip=true.

The next City Commission Regular Meeting will be held at City Hall, located at 9090 SW 50 Place, Cooper City, FL 33328, on September 24, 2024 at 6:30 PM.