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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.06 EquitaxUtilityAuditSvs e . CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT City Council Meeting Date: February 28, 1994 SUBJECT: Agreement With Equitax for Utility Auditing Service Report by: Public Works Director Lee Thompson EXHmITS ATTACHED: 1) /Resolution 2) /" Proposed Agreement RECOMMENDA TION: ~dopt resolution approving agreement \ FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Equitax will receive a commission of 50% of any refunds or credits on utility charges that occur as a result of the audit and 50% of any future savings for a period of two years following the audit. The commission will be shown as an expense in the General Building Contract Services account. DESCRIPTION: Staff was recently approached by five firms who are in the business of auditing utility bills to discover whether the user may be due a refund andlor future savings. In order to provide a basis for comparison, Staff asked each firm to complete a questionnaire which requested such information as percentage of commission, method of obtaining past utility bill information, typical length of time for completing the work, and detailed references from other public agencies. Four firms responded to the questionnaire, and three were invited for interviews. On the basis of the information provided in the questionnaires and interviews and on comments from references, Staff feels that Equitax would be the most appropriate contractor for the City of Dublin. The most common source of refunds andlor savings is the use of improper rate schedules by the utilities. During the audit process, the consultant would determine which rate schedules are appropriate for the City and then check the utility bills to see if those rates are being used. If not, the utilities would be advised that the billing rates need to be changed. The statutes of limitations are different for the various utilities; however, the rate changes would be retroactive as far back as possible. The audit would include gas and electric (including street lighting) and water and sewer. The commission for providing this service is 50% of any refund the City receives, plus 50% of future savings for a two-year period. "Future savings" are calculated based on actual units used; e.g., if a rate changes from lOC per kilowatt-hour to 9C as a result of the audit, and 1,000 kilowatt-hours are used during the first month following the audit, the savings would be 1C per kwh x 1,000 = $10.00. The commission paid to Equitax on this particular item would be $5.00 for that time period. During the ensuing years of the contract following the initial audit, the consultant will perform spot- checks on utility bills to make certain that the best rates are still being used or that any new accounts are set up at the correct rate. Staff checked with several references provided by Equitax, including three cities similar in size to Dublin, and feels that the audit is worth pursuing, particularly since there is no cost involved if no savings are realized. The City Staff time involved in the audit should be minimal, since Equitax will either obtain the billing information from the utilities directly or provide a person to copy information from the City's files. Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the resolution approving the agreement with Equitax and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement. a: (9394) lfebtuary lagstuaud e e RESOLUTION NO. M94 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF TIlE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING AGREEMENT WITII EQUITAX FOR UTILITY AUDITING SERVICE WHEREAS, the City of Dublin wishes to pursue an audit of utility charges for the purpose of determining whether refunds andlor cost savings are possible; and WHEREAS, City Staff has reviewed proposals and references from four firms who engage in the business of utility auditing; and WHEREAS, Equitax appears to be best qualified to provide the type of service desired by the City; NOW, TIlEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Dublin does hereby approve the agreement with Equitax for Utility Auditing Service. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor is authorized to execute the Agreement. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOYI'ED this 28th day of February, 1994. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Mayor ArrEST: City Clerk a:(9394) Idecemberlresouaud ~.~!J~ ~"l:.:r~. ~~ '. "-.<;J ~ ~c ->Ie ~. -.f 'I :. 1~.~ ~ ...~ :~~ .:~-./ I;. ," t.I .Jrl,,:\ .," '1< ,_. ~.. ~~ ~~. ~'~)~;d ~ ~.:~~: ~. .. ,/ ".'" .. '.. '.:b "1,,, .,". ,~. ..t; .r'" ....<Ii 11>.... '"'- "," a '"Re5C>l.u.~ I e e STANDARD CONSULTING SERVICES AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT is made at Dublin, California, as of February 28, 1994, by and between the CITY OF DUBUN, a Municipal Corporation ("City"), and EQUlTAX, ("Consultant"), who agree as follows: 1. TERM OF AGREEMENT. The term of the agreement shall be for two years, beginning on July 1, 1994, and ending on June 30, 1996. This agreement shall supersede all previous agreements that Consultant has or has had with City. City may terminate the services of Consultant by providing 30 days written notice. In the event of such termination, Consultant shall be compensated for such services up to the point of termination. Compensation for work in progress shall be prorated as to the percentage of progress completed at the date of termination. If Consultant terminates its services to the City, it must provide written notice at least 90 days in advance of such termination. Notices shall be provided as indicated in Section 14 below. 2. SERVICES. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, Consultant shall provide to City the services described in Exhibit A. Consultant shall provide said services at the time, place, and in the manner specified in Exhibit A. 3. PAYMENT. City shall pay Consultant for services rendered pursuant to this Agreement at the time and in the manner set forth in Exhibit B. The payments specified in Exhibit B shall be the only payments to be made to Consultant for services rendered pursuant to this Agreement. Consultant shall submit all billings for said services to City in the manner specified in Exhibit B; or, ifno manner be specified in Exhibit B, then according to the usual and customary procedures and practices which Consultant uses for billing clients similar to City. 4. FACIUTIES AND EOUlPMENT. Except as set forth in Exhibit C, Consultant shall, at its sole cost and expense, furnish all facilities and equipment which may be required for furnishing services pursuant to this Agreement. City shall furnish to Consultant only the facilities and equipment listed in Exhibit C according to the terms and conditions set forth in Exhibit C. 5. GENERAL PROVISIONS. The general provisions set forth in Exhibit D are part of this Agreement. In the event of any inconsistency between said general provisions and any other terms or conditions of this Agreement, the other term or condition shall control insofar as it is inconsistent with the general provisions. 6. EXHIBITS. All exhibits referred to herein are attached hereto and are by this reference incorporated herein. 7. OWNERSHIP OF WORK. All documents, data, studies, surveys, drawings, maps, and reports furnished to Consultant by City, as well as reports and supportive data prepared by Consultant under this Agreement shall be considered the property of the City of Dublin, and upon request at the completion of the services to be performed, they will be turned over to the City of Dublin. 8. SUBCONTRACTING. The Consultant shall perform the work contemplated with resources available within its own organization and no portion of the work pertinent to this contract shall be subcontracted without written authorization by the City, except that which is expressly identified in the Consultant's proposal. 9. CHANGES. City may from time to time require changes in the scope of the services by Consultant to be performed under this Agreement. Such changes, including any change in the amount of Consultant's compensation which are mutually agreed upon by City and Consultant, shall be effective as amendments to this Agreement only when in writing. Agreement with Equitax February 28, 1994 Page 1 ~'!"E'J~I'T ~ ~'!" ~~ii!. ,r 1{ f'j ~i;1H!; ~ui;ij ill is ~j; 'f'VQaA:'Se.o\ ~~ e e 10. RESPONSIBLE CHARGE. Consultant shall assign a project manager(s) to the project for the duration of the project. There shall be no change in the Project Manager or members of the project team without prior written approval by the City. 11. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION. This Agreement shall be administered by LEE S. THOMPSON ("Administrator"). All correspondence shall be directed to or through the Administrator or his designee. 12. NOTICES. Any written notice to Consultant shall be sent via Registered Mail to: Equitax 90 Great Oaks Blvd. Suite 204 San Jose CA 95119 Any written notice to City shall be sent to: Lee S. Thompson Director of Public Works/City Engineer P. O. Box 2340 Dublin. CA 94568 Executed as of the day first above stated: CITY OF DUBLIN. A Municipal Corporation By "City" Attest: City Clerk EQUITAX (Consultant) By President Approved as to form: City Attorney Agreement with Equitax February 28, 1994 Page 2 e e EXIDBIT A SCOPE OF SERVICES AND SCHEDULE Equitax shall serve as consultant and agent for the City of Dublin in connection with the following utility bills: Electricity Gas Water Sewer Equitax shall examine City's utility accounts for the purpose of determining overcharges which may now exist or have previously existed, and other related areas of savings. All records shall be obtained from the utility(ies) by Equitax, or shall be copied from City's files by Equitax. City may. at its discretion, elect to perform the services of copying 12 months of historical utility bills. City's files shall not be removed from City's offices. Equitax shall prepare documentation necessary to negotiate with appropriate utility company(ies) to have overcharges removed, initiate savings, and obtain refunds and/or credits from past overcharges. All changes with utilities shall be initiated only after written approval by the Contract Administrator. Exhibit A Page 1 of 1 February 28, 1994 e e EXIDBIT B PAYMENT SCHEDULE Consultant shall be compensated for work as follows: Recovered Charges: City shall pay Equitax fifty percent (50%) of all recovered overcharges provided to City by utility in the form of refund(s) or credit(s). Subject refunds or overcharges shall only be those identified by City as a result of Equitax audit services provided pursuant to this agreement. Payment shall be due within 30 days from the date the credit first appears on the City's billing or 30 days from receipt of refund. Future Billing Reductions: City agrees to pay Equitax fifty percent (50%) of the cumulative savings for a twenty-four (24) month period beginning the date the savings first appear on City's bill(s). "Future billing reductions" (i.e., savings) shall be charged on the basis of pre-audit unit cost less revised unit cost multiplied by actual utility consumption and adjusted as necessary for normal rate changes made by the utility. Payments for future billing reductions shall be made on a quarterly basis, in arrears. City shall provide utility billing statements to Equitax on affected accounts for the purpose of calculating commission owed to Equitax. At the conclusion of the initial audit, Equitax shall provide City with calculations substantiating the amount of any unit cost savings to be reflected on future utility bills; e.g., cents per kilowatt hour. City shall base its review of Equitax future billing invoices on these calculations. Any variance in unit cost savings during the term of this agreement shall be documented by Equitax and reviewed and approved by City prior to payment of commission to Equitax. The abovementioned commission percentages of Recovered Charges and Future Billing Reductions shall constitute the entire payment(s) to Equitax, and there will be no additional fees charged for processing or other purposes under this agreement. Exhibit B Page 1 of 1 February 28, 1994 e e EXHIBIT C City shall furnish physical facilities such as desks, filing cabinets, and conference space, as may be reasonably necessary for Contractor's use while consulting with City employees and reviewing records and the information in possession of City. The location, quantity, and time of furnishing said physical facilities shall be in the sole discretion of City. In no event shall City be obligated to furnish any facility which may involve incurring any direct expense, including, but not limiting the generality of this exclusion, long-distance telephone or other communication charges, and vehicles. Reproduction facilities shall be available for Consultant's use for the pumose of coPVin2 City's utility bills. Exhibit C Page 1 of 1 February 28, 1994 e . EXIDBIT D GENERAL PROVISIONS 1. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. At all times during the term of this Agreement, Consultant shall be an independent contractor and shall not be an employee of City. City shall have the right to control Consultant only insofar as the results of Consultant's engineering services rendered pursuant to this Agreement; however, City shall not have the right to control the means by which Consultant accomplishes services rendered pursuant to this Agreement. 2. LICENSES: PERMITS: ETC. Consultant represents and warrants to City that he has all licenses, permits, qualifications and approvals of whatsoever nature which are legally required for Consultant to practice his profession. Consultant represents and warrants to City that Consultant shall, at his sole cost and expense, keep in effect at all times during the term of this Agreement any licenses, permits, and approvals which are legally required for Consultant to practice his profession. 3. TIME. Consultant shall devote such time to the performance of services pursuant to this Agreement as may be reasonably necessary for satisfactory performance of Consultant's obligations pursuant to this Agreement. 4. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS. Consultant shall procure and maintain for the duration of the contract insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the work hereunder by the Consultant, his agents, representatives, employees or subcontractors. The cost of such insurance shall be included in the Consultant's bid. A. Minimum Scope of Insurance. Coverage shall be at least as broad as: (1) Insurance Services Office form number GL 0002 (Ed. 1/73) covering comprehensive General Liability and Insurance Services Office form number GL 0404 covering Broad Form Comprehensive General Liability; or Insurance Services Office Commercial General Liability coverage ("occurrence" form CG 0001). (2) Insurance Services Office form number CA 0001 (Ed. 1/78) covering Automobile Liability, code 1 "any auto" and endorsement CA 0025. (3) Worker's Compensation insurance as required by the Labor Code of the State of California and Employers Liability Insurance. B. Minimum Limits of Insurance. Consultant shall maintain limits no less than; (1) General Liability: $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage. If commercial General Liability Insurance or other form with a general aggregate limit is used, either the general aggregate limit shall apply separately to this project/location or the general aggregate limit shall be twice the required occurrence limit. (2) Automobile Liability: $500,000 combined single limit per accident for bodily injury and $100,000 for property damage. (3) Workers Compensation and Employers Liability: Workers Compensation limits as required by the Labor Code of the State of California and Employers Liability limits of $500,000 per accident. Exhibit D Page 1 of 3 February 28, 1994 tit ,- C. Deductibles and Self-Insured Retentions. Any deductibles or self-insured retentions must be declared to and approved by the City. D. Other Insurance Provisions. The policies are to contain, or be endorsed to contain, the following provisions: (1) General Liability and Automobile Liability Coverages. (a) The City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers are to be covered as insureds as respects: liability arising out of activities performed by or on behalf of the Consultant; products and completed operations of the Consultant, premises owned, occupied or used by the Consultant, or automobiles owned, leased, hired or borrowed by the Consultant. The coverage shall contain no special limitations on the scope of the protection afforded to the City, its officers, officials, employees or volunteers. (b) The Consultant's insurance coverage shall be primary insurance as respects the City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers. Any insurance or self-insurance maintained by the City, its officers, officials, employees or volunteers shall be excess of the Consultant's insurance and shall not contribute with it. (c) Any failure to comply with reporting provisions of the policies shall not affect coverage provided to the City, its officers, officials, employees or volunteers. (d) The Consultant's insurance shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made or suit is brought, except with respect to the limits of the insurer's liability. (2) Worker's Compensation and Employers Liability Coverage. The insurer shall agree to waive all rights of subrogation against the City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers for losses arising from work performed by the Consultant for the City. (3) AIl Coverages. Each insurance policy required by this clause shall be endorsed to state that coverage shall not be suspended, voided, cancelled by either party, except after thirty (30) days prior written notice by mail has been given to the City. Consultant shall provide City with 30 days' prior written notice of any reductions in the dollar limits of the policy. E. Acceptabilitv of Insurers. Insurance is to be placed with insurers with a Bests' rating of no less than A:VI. F. Verification of COVer82e. Consultant shall furnish City with certificates of insurance evidencing coverage required by this clause. The certificates for each insurance policy are to be signed by a person authorized by that insurer to bind coverage on its behalf. The certificates are to be received and approved by the City before work commences. The City reserves the right to require complete, certified copies of all required insurance policies, at any time. G. The Risk Manager of City may approve a variation of those insurance requirements upon a determination that the coverages. scope, limits and forms of such insurance are either not commercially available or that the City's interests are otherwise fully protected. Exhibit D Page 2 of 3 February 28, 1994 ~ e e 5. CONSULTANT NO AGENT. Except as City may specify in writing, Consultant shall have no authority, express or implied, to act on behalf of City in any capacity whatsoever as an agent. Consultant shall have no authority, express or implied, pursuant to this Agreement to bind City to any obligation whatsoever. 6. ASSIGNMENT PROHIBITED. No party to this Agreement may assign any right or obligation pursuant to this Agreement. Any attempted or purported assignment of any right or obligation pursuant to this Agreement shall be void and of no effect. 7. PERSONNEL. Consultant shall assign only competent personnel to perform services pursuant to this Agreement. In the event that City, in its sole discretion, at any time during the term of this Agreement, desires the removal of any such persons, Consultant shall, immediately upon receiving notice from City of such desire of City, cause the removal of such person or persons. 8. STANDARD OF PERFORMANCE. Consultant shall perform all services required pursuant to this Agreement in the manner and according to the standards observed by a competent practitioner of the profession in which Consultant is engaged in the geographical area in which Consultant practices his profession. All instruments of service of whatsoever nature which Consultant delivers to City pursuant to this Agreement shall conform to the standards of quality normally observed by a person practicing in Consultant's profession. 9. HOLD HARMLESS AND RESPONSIBILITY OF CONSULTANTS. Consultant shall indemnify, defend, and hold hannless the City, its officers, agents, and employees from and against any and all claims, demands, liability, costs, and expenses of wahtever nature, including court costs and counsel fees arising out of injury to or death of any person or persons or loss of or physical damage to any property resulting in any manner from the willful acts or negligence of Consultant, its subcontractors, agents, employees, licensees, or guests in the making or performance of this Agreement. Approval of the insurance contracts does not relieve the Consultant or subconsultants from liability under this paragraph. 10. GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS. To the extent that this Agreement may be funded by fiscal assistance from another governmental entity, Consultant shall comply with all applicable rules and regulations to which City is bound by the terms of such fiscal assistance program. 11. DOCUMENTS. All reports, data, maps, models, charts, designs, plans, studies, surveys, photographs, memoranda or other written documents or materials prepared by Consultant pursuant to this Agreement shall become the property of City upon completion of the work to be performed hereunder or upon termination of the Agreement. No such materials or properties produced in whole or in part under this Agreement shall be subject to private use, copyrights, or patent rights by Consultant in the United States or in any other country without the express written consent of City. City shall have unrestricted authority to publish, disclose (as may be limited by the provisions of the California Public Records Act), distribute, and otherwise use, copyright or patent, in whole or in part, any such reports, studies, data, statistics, forms or other materials or properties produced under this Agreement. 12. COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS. In performing the services to be provided pursuant to this agreement, Contractor shall comply with all applicable State and Federal Laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, laws and regulations relating to discrimination and laws requiring injury and illness prevention programs. a: (9394) Idecemberlagnuaud Exhibit D Page 3 of3 February 28, 1994