HomeMy WebLinkAbout23-135 - Berk Consulting, Inc - Long-Range Financial Sustainability Plan and Utility Rate StudyCity of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila WA 98188
Contract Number: 23-135
Council Approval 7/17/23
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is entered into between the City of Tukwila, Washington, hereinafter
referred to as "the City", and Berk Consulting, Inc, hereinafter referred to as "the Consultant", in
consideration of the mutual benefits, terms, and conditions hereinafter specified.
1. Project Designation. The Consultant is retained by the City to perform services in connection
with the project titled Long -Range Financial Sustainability Plan and Utility Rate Study.
2. Scope of Services. The Consultant agrees to perform the services, identified in Exhibit "A"
attached hereto, including the provision of all labor, materials, equipment and supplies.
3. Duration of Agreement; Time for Performance. This Agreement shall be in full force and
effect for a period commencing upon execution and ending June 30, 2024, unless sooner
terminated under the provisions hereinafter specified. Work under this Agreement shall
commence upon written notice by the City to the Consultant to proceed. The Consultant shall
perform all services and provide all work product required pursuant to this Agreement no later
than April 30, 2024 unless an extension of such time is granted in writing by the City.
4. Payment. The Consultant shall be paid by the City for completed work and for services
rendered under this Agreement as follows:
A. Payment for the work provided by the Consultant shall be made as provided on Exhibit
"B" attached hereto, provided that the total amount of payment to the Consultant shall not
exceed $225,000 without express written modification of the Agreement signed by the
City.
B. The Consultant may submit vouchers to the City once per month during the progress of
the work for partial payment for that portion of the project completed to date. Such
vouchers will be checked by the City and, upon approval thereof, payment shall be made
to the Consultant in the amount approved.
C. Final payment of any balance due the Consultant of the total contract price earned will be
made promptly upon its ascertainment and verification by the City after the completion of
the work under this Agreement and its acceptance by the City.
D. Payment as provided in this section shall be full compensation for work performed,
services rendered, and for all materials, supplies, equipment and incidentals necessary to
complete the work.
E. The Consultant's records and accounts pertaining to this Agreement are to be kept
available for inspection by representatives of the City and the state of Washington for a
period of three (3) years after final payments. Copies shall be made available upon
request.
5. Ownership and Use of Documents. All documents, drawings, specifications and other
materials produced by the Consultant in connection with the services rendered under this
Agreement shall be the property of the City whether the project for which they are made is
executed or not. The Consultant shall be permitted to retain copies, including reproducible
copies, of drawings and specifications for information, reference and use in connection with
the Consultant's endeavors. The Consultant shall not be responsible for any use of the said
documents, drawings, specifications or other materials by the City on any project other than
the project specified in this Agreement.
6. Compliance with Laws. The Consultant shall, in performing the services contemplated by
this Agreement, faithfully observe and comply with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances
and regulations, applicable to the services rendered under this Agreement.
7 Indemnification. The Consultant shall defend, indemnify and hold the City, its officers,
officials, employees and volunteers harmless from any and all claims, injuries, damages,
losses or suits including attorney fees, arising out of or resulting from the acts, errors or
omissions of the Consultant in performance of this Agreement, except for injuries and damages
caused by the sole negligence of the City.
Should a court of competent jurisdiction determine that this Agreement is subject to RCW
4.24.115, then, in the event of liability for damages arising out of bodily injury to persons or
damages to property caused by or resulting from the concurrent negligence of the Consultant
and the City, its officers, officials, employees, and volunteers, the Consultant's liability
hereunder shall be only to the extent of the Consultant's negligence. It is further specifically
and expressly understood that the indemnification provided herein constitutes the Consultant's
waiver of immunity under Industrial Insurance, Title 51 RCW, solely for the purposes of this
indemnification. This waiver has been mutually negotiated by the parties. The provisions of
this section shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
8. Insurance. The Consultant shall procure and maintain for the duration of the Agreement,
insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damage to property which may arise from
or in connection with the performance of the work hereunder by the Consultant, its agents,
representatives, or employees. Consultant's maintenance of insurance as required by the
agreement shall not be construed to limit the liability of the Consultant to the coverage provided
by such insurance, or otherwise limit the City's recourse to any remedy available at law or in
equity.
A. Minimum Amounts and Scope of Insurance. Consultant shall obtain insurance of the
types and with the limits described below:
1. Automobile Liability insurance with a minimum combined single limit for bodily injury
and property damage of $1,000,000 per accident. Automobile Liability insurance
shall cover all owned, non-owned, hired and leased vehicles. Coverage shall be
written on Insurance Services Office (ISO) form CA 00 01 or a substitute form
providing equivalent liability coverage. If necessary, the policy shall be endorsed to
provide contractual liability coverage.
2. Commercial General Liability insurance with limits no less than $2,000,000 each
occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate. Commercial General Liability
insurance shall be at least as broad as ISO occurrence form CG 00 01 and shall
cover liability arising from premises, operations, stop-gap independent contractors
and personal injury and advertising injury. The City shall be named as an
additional insured under the Consultant's Commercial General Liability insurance
policy with respect to the work performed for the City using an additional insured
endorsement at least as broad as ISO endorsement form CG 20 26.
3. Workers' Compensation coverage as required by the Industrial Insurance laws of
the State of Washington.
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4. Professional Liability with limits no less than $2,000,000 per claim and $2,000,000
policy aggregate limit. Professional Liability insurance shall be appropriate to the
Consultant's profession.
B. Public Entity Full Availability of Contractor Limits. If the Contractor maintains higher
insurance limits than the minimums shown above, the Public Entity shall be insured for the
full available limits of Commercial General and Excess or Umbrella liability maintained by
the Contractor, irrespective of whether such limits maintained by the Contractor are greater
than those required by this Contract or whether any certificate of insurance furnished to
the Public Entity evidences limits of liability lower than those maintained by the Contractor.
C. Other Insurance Provision. The Consultant's Automobile Liability and Commercial
General Liability insurance policies are to contain, or be endorsed to contain that they shall
be primary insurance with respect to the City. Any Insurance, self-insurance, or insurance
pool coverage maintained by the City shall be excess of the Consultant's insurance and
shall not be contributed or combined with it.
D. Acceptability of Insurers. Insurance is to be placed with insurers with a current A.M.
Best rating of not less than A:VII.
E. Verification of Coverage. Consultant shall furnish the City with original certificates and a
copy of the amendatory endorsements, including but not necessarily limited to the
additional insured endorsement, evidencing the insurance requirements of the Contractor
before commencement of the work. Upon request by the City, the Consultant shall furnish
certified copies of all required insurance policies, including endorsements, required in this
Agreement and evidence of all subcontractors' coverage.
F. Notice of Cancellation. The Consultant shall provide the City with written notice of any
policy cancellation, within two business days of their receipt of such notice.
G. Failure to Maintain Insurance. Failure on the part of the Consultant to maintain the
insurance as required shall constitute a material breach of contract, upon which the City
may, after giving five business days notice to the Consultant to correct the breach,
immediately terminate the contract or, at its discretion, procure or renew such insurance
and pay any and all premiums in connection therewith, with any sums so expended to be
repaid to the City on demand, or at the sole discretion of the City, offset against funds due
the Consultant from the City.
9. Independent Contractor. The Consultant and the City agree that the Consultant is an
independent contractor with respect to the services provided pursuant to this Agreement.
Nothing in this Agreement shall be considered to create the relationship of employer and
employee between the parties hereto. Neither the Consultant nor any employee of the
Consultant shall be entitled to any benefits accorded City employees by virtue of the services
provided under this Agreement. The City shall not be responsible for withholding or otherwise
deducting federal income tax or social security or for contributing to the state industrial
insurance program, otherwise assuming the duties of an employer with respect to the
Consultant, or any employee of the Consultant.
10. Covenant Against Contingent Fees. The Consultant warrants that he has not employed or
retained any company or person, other than a bonafide employee working solely for the
Consultant, to solicit or secure this contract, and that he has not paid or agreed to pay any
company or person, other than a bonafide employee working solely for the Consultant, any
fee, commission, percentage, brokerage fee, gifts, or any other consideration contingent upon
or resulting from the award or making of this contract. For breach or violation of this warrant,
the City shall have the right to annul this contract without liability, or in its discretion to deduct
from the contract price or consideration, or otherwise recover, the full amount of such fee,
commission, percentage, brokerage fee, gift, or contingent fee.
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11. Discrimination Prohibited. Contractor, with regard to the work performed by it under this
Agreement, will not discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, creed, color, national origin,
age, veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, political affiliation,
the presence of any disability, or any other protected class status under state or federal law,
in the selection and retention of employees or procurement of materials or supplies.
12. Assignment. The Consultant shall not sublet or assign any of the services covered by this
Agreement without the express written consent of the City.
13. Non -Waiver. Waiver by the City of any provision of this Agreement or any time limitation
provided for in this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any other provision.
14. Termination.
A. The City reserves the right to terminate this Agreement at any time by giving ten (10) days
written notice to the Consultant.
B. In the event of the death of a member, partner or officer of the Consultant, or any of its
supervisory personnel assigned to the project, the surviving members of the Consultant
hereby agree to complete the work under the terms of this Agreement, if requested to do
so by the City. This section shall not be a bar to renegotiations of this Agreement between
surviving members of the Consultant and the City, if the City so chooses.
15. Applicable Law; Venue; Attorney's Fees. This Agreement shall be subject to, and the
Consultant shall at all times comply with, all applicable federal, state and local laws,
regulations, and rules, including the provisions of the City of Tukwila Municipal Code and
ordinances of the City of Tukwila. In the event any suit, arbitration, or other proceeding is
instituted to enforce any term of this Agreement, the parties specifically understand and agree
that venue shall be properly laid in King County, Washington. The prevailing party in any such
action shall be entitled to its attorney's fees and costs of suit. Venue for any action arising
from or related to this Agreement shall be exclusively in King County Superior Court.
16. Severability and Survival. If any term, condition or provision of this Agreement is declared
void or unenforceable or limited in its application or effect, such event shall not affect any other
provisions hereof and all other provisions shall remain fully enforceable. The provisions of this
Agreement, which by their sense and context are reasonably intended to survive the
completion, expiration or cancellation of this Agreement, shall survive termination of this
Agreement.
17. Notices. Notices to the City of Tukwila shall be sent to the following address:
City Clerk
City of Tukwila
6200 Southcenter Boulevard
Tukwila, WA 98188
Notices to Consultant shall be sent to the following address:
BERK Consulting
2200 Sixth Ave. Suite 1000
Seattle WA, 98121
18. Entire Agreement; Modification. This Agreement, together with attachments or addenda,
represents the entire and integrated Agreement between the City and the Consultant and
supersedes all prior negotiations, representations, or agreements written or oral. No
amendment or modification of this Agreement shall be of any force or effect unless it is in
writing and signed by the parties.
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DATED this 24th day of July , 20 23
CITY OF TUKWILA CONSULTANT:
DocuSigned by:
1 FRN EEa9.732 An7
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
7/24/2023 1 3:45 PM PDT ter`
By: ,l
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED:
DocuSigned by:
L
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8.867s48 3CR594F7
Christy O'Flaherty, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DocuSigned by:
L.
SE499CA4165E452...
Office of the City Attorney
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Printed Name: Brian Murphy
Title: Principal in Charge
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EXHIBIT A — SCOPE OF SERVICES
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Project kickoff. The consulting team will facilitate a project kick-off meeting with the City's Project
Manager and/or project team. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss:
Designation of roles and points of contact on the client and consultant teams.
Desired project outcomes.
Key policy and technical issues to address
A project schedule and deliverables.
Identification of key staff with whom to collaborate.
We will also use the kick-off meeting to discuss some baseline questions, including:
Does the City want to benchmark against comparison cities? If so, what are the criteria for
selection?
Are there any revenue or efficiency options the City already knows it wants to explore in the
financial sustainability plan?
What conversations have already occurred with various stakeholder groups?
Ongoing project management. Through the remainder of the project, the consulting team's core
staff will check in regularly and work collaboratively with the City's Project Manager to ensure the
process is moving forward efficiently and to address any questions or concerns.
City Council briefings and presentations. The consulting team will coordinate presentations of
findings and recommendations to the City Council. Members of the BERK team will present the
drat financial sustainability plan while members of the FCS GROUP team will present and discuss
the rate study results at up to three on-site City Council meetings. One of these three meetings is
likely to be a Rate Studies 101 workshop and at least one other meeting will be a public Council
meeting that will include sample bill impacts and comparable rates in neighboring communities,
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Review other plan documents and context. We will review the City's budget, capital
improvement plan, and financial policies to gain an understanding of key budget drivers,
constraints, and strategies that have recently been implemented. We will review other recently
completed plans and planning efforts underway, such as the comprehensive facilities study and
business plan for the City's golf course.
Review City programs and services. Members of the BERK team will meet with City staff in
each department to learn about the City's programs and services, including legal requirements,
staffing needs, costs, offsetting revenues, community expectations, and usage. We will project
future usage of programs and services based on population and employment projections provided
by City staff and determine how those changes will impact staffing needs and costs.
Benchmark to peer cities. In collaboration with the City's project team, we will select up to five
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comparison cities against which to measure Tukwila's revenueo, both in terms of magnitude and
mix, and costs to provide services. Benchmarking is a helpful way to understand which revenue
or expenditure strategies the City may be underutilizing. Benchmarking also oaoturee, at a high
level, how other cities manage the financial structural constraints they share with Tukwila and the
tradeoffs they make, These findings can be useful in the analytic process, and for subsequent
decision making by Council and the community.
Facilitate a staff workgroup. We will facilitate multiple meetings with a staff workgroup to have
an open, collaborative discussion about our findings and identified financial strategy options. We
will discuss topics such as opportunities for efficiencies or alternative ways to deliver service as
well as revenue options. FCS GROUP team members will facilitate workgroup review of findings
associated with the Utility Rate Study.
Facilitate the Advisory Committee. We will facilitate up to six meetings of an Advisory
Committee representing City staff, the Tukwila business community, and residents, The Advisory
Committee will review information about the City's current financial condition and provide feedback
on different revenue and expenditure options and weigh in on identified tradeoffs and alternatives,
The consulting team will work together with the City's project team to develop the meeting plan
and materials for each meeting. We anticipate committee members will have different levels of
familiarity with the City's budget and financial issues, SO we will work during and between meetings
to ensure all members are able to participate effectively. The meeting arc will have four overall
steps:
1. Establish the foundation: Review the project purpose and the charge of the Advisory
Committee. Review the City's budget, identify significant revenues and expenditures, and
distinguish where the City has obligations and the discretion to make choices. Determine
evaluative criteria for screening revenue and cost options.
2. Understand the context and options. Review benchmarking information to see how Tukwila
compares to peer cities. Discuss various revenue and expenditure strategies, identifying the
pros and cons of each,
3. Iterate and discuss. Continue discussing options and exploring how they fit together into draft
recommendations, Consider the timeframe of each option.
4. Finalize recommendations. Prepare final recommendations to incorporate into the financial
sustainability plan.
Develop strategies. Using input from City staff and the Advisory Conlnnittee, we will develop
strategies to address the City's financial challenges. We will consider ways the City can plan for
unexpected evente, such as creating designated reserve funds and updating reserve policies.
These strategies will be both short- and long-term. We will prioritize these strategies and include
implementation steps such as who is responsible and who should be consulted. Using the City's
current financial forecast, we will build an interactive, dynamic model to test the fiscal impact of
different strategies.
Final report. Once preferred strategies are established, we will prepare a final plan in the form of
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partners, and community members. The document will be as concise as poeeib|e, using
wayfinding and document structure to place emphasis on the most important material, with
supporting details housed in attachments. This will allow the report to effectively communicate the
strategies in the plan to all audiences.
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This task will result in updated rates for the City of Tukwila's water, sewer, and surface water
utilities. An alternative surface water rate structure is included in the work plan, as well as a cost-
of-service
Data request. FCS GROUP will submit a request for needed data and arrange for a meeting with
City staff to establish a clear project understanding and set a course for completing the work. A
follow-up data request may be needed to ask clarifying questions or fill-in data gaps.
Policy framework. In this task, FCS GROUP will compile brief issue summaries on key policy
questions to be addressed in or incorporated into the study. Each issue summary will define the
key question, evaluate options, and recommend a course of action for discussion, During this task,
we will write up to two issue summaries. Issues often focus (but not always) on fiscal policies and
rate structure options. We will have a virtual meeting with City staff to discuss and resolve policy
issues and direction,
Revenue requirements analyses. After the City has provided the information requested in the
data request list, FCS GROUP will analyze the revenue requirements for each service. The
revenue requirement is defined as the total amount of rate revenue needed to meet an enterprise's
financial obligations, including capital, operating, and policy -driven commitments. The results of
the revenue requirement analyses will be the recommended percentage adjustments needed to
meet the obligations of each service. The analysis will include up to a 30'year forecast. We will
meet twice with City staff to review revenue requirement findings (one in-person meeting and one
virtual meeting). Subtasks will involve developing a Capital Financing Plan, Operating Forecast,
and Revenue Needs Assessment,
Capital Financing Plan. Based on the Utility Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) provided by
the City, annual rehabilitation and replacement needs, and the desired capital funding strategy
(likely to include a balance of cash and debt funding), FCS GROUP will pject capital funding
neede, borrowing requirennente, and associated cash flows and cash balances for the study
period.
Operating Forecast. FCS GROUP will forecast ongoing operating, nnaintenanoe,
adminietnative, debt eervioe, and other cash obligations of the three services for the study
period. We will incorporate economic factors for customer growth and cost escalation,as well
as additional O&M expenses, if any, resulting from the capital improvement programs or other
known changes in operational requirements.
Revenue Needs Assessment. The Revenue Needs Assessment ultimately identifies the total
rate revenue to be collected from customers of the City, serving as the platform for generating
rates that recover total utility costs for each service. We will compare projected cash
requirements against projected revenue under existing rate |eve|e, including projected sewer
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treatment and wholesale water purchase ratee, to determine annual City rate adjustments
needed to satisfy the pjeotedoaehob|igationeofeaoheervioe.VVevviUteettheeuffioienoyof
each utility's resources in the context of the City's fiscal policy objectives, debt covenants (i.e.,
coverage), and other applicable requirements.
Surface water rate design. The City of Tukwila currently charges rates for surface water
management based on development density tiers (percent impervious coverage) and parcel size.
Single-family residences are charged uniformly by parcel. While this is a defensible rate structure,
it does have a material drawback as the structure perpetuates inequities among customers at the
extreme ends of each rate tierAlternative billing approaches are limited by King County billing
processes unless the City is willing to bill directly for surface water charges. If desired, we would
evaluate opportunities for a fee structure that is based on aotua|, measured impervious surface
area, using the equivalent service unit (ESU) approach.
The ESU approach often includes a uniform rate for single-family residential customers based on
an estimated average amount of impervious surface area per developed residential parcel.
However, if the data is available, additional equity can be gained by grouping single-family parcels
into tiers, such as Small, Medium, and |arge, based on impervious square footage. The charge
basis for all other customer types is generally actual measured impervious surface area,
expressed as a number of ESUs. The rate itself is most commonly calculated as a dollar amount
per ESU. We have budgeted to meet on-site with City staff to review surface water rate structure
findings. Subtasks involve compiling customer information, performing a rate calculation, and
assessing rate credit options.
Compile customer information. We will comile information furnished and initially comUed
by the City and / or the County into the format needed to calculate updated rates. If sufficient
current impervious data for single-family residential parcels is unavailable for an impervious
square footage (e.g., tiers) type of analysis, the City will need to review and update this
information and provide that to FCS GROUP.
Calculate rate. Applying the revenue requirement results and the customer information, we
will calculate up to two ESU rate alternatives for single-family parcels (i.e., uniform single-
family and tiered single-family).
Rate credits. If rate credits are desired by the City, we will analyze the utility's costs and
allocate to "base" and "use" to help determine the maximum credit amount and evaluate
options for implementation.
Water and sewer cost -of -service analyses. The cost -of -service analysis is the evaluation,
based on available engineering and customer information, of how the City should recover costs
from customer classes. If the revenue requirement analysis determines the size of the pie, the
cost -of -service analysis determines how it will be sliced up among customers. The results of the
cost -of -service analysis will be updated rates that equitably charge utility customers based on the
unique demands of their class. We have planned to meet in-person with City staff to review cost-
of-eervioe and rate findings. Cost -of -service analyses and resulting rates will be revised in
consideration of City feedback. Subtasks include analyzing customer statistics, rate model update,
performance of allocations, and generating updated rates.
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Analyze customer statistics. To ensure the quality and reliability of the cost -of -service
analyses, FCS GROUP will examine the customer statistics providedforthevvaterandeevver
utilities.
Rate model update. FCS GROUP will develop Excel -based cost -of -service rate modules. The
modules will be constructed with user-friendliness in mind and will accommodate user entry of
key data and assumptions. The modules will be flexible and stable enough to analyze multiple
scenarios and refinements. While similar in format and "look, "the modules will differ between
the water and sewer services. Allocations of plant and expense may be made by service. Water
will include customer, base demand, extra/peak demand, and fire protection, while sewer will
consider customer, flow, and infiltration and inflow,
Perform allocations. Drawing upon City staff's knowledge and input, as well as work
performed in previous studies, we will allocate plant and expense items to relevant functional
cost categories for each service,
Generate updated rates. Each model will allow simultaneous analysis of up to three rate
structures: a simple across-the-board adjustment to current rates and two alternative cost -of -
service based rate structures. Alternatives will be chosen based on the input of City staff and
oet'of-eervioebaeedrateetruoturee.A|ternativeevvi||beohoeenbaeedontheinputofCityetaffand
direction from City Council (if applicable) but could include additional rate categories for
affordable housing (including ADUs and middle housing).
Draft and final report. FCS GROUP will document findings in a comprehensive study reportand
provide a copy of the spreadsheet analyses for future use by City staff.
Draft Report. After completing the analytical tasks, FCS GROUP will provide a draft reportfor
City review, The report will summarize the methodology and analysis undertaken in completing
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include proposed rate schedules and implementation steps.
Final Report. Upon receipt of comments from the City, FCS GROUP will incorporate the
comments, as appropriate, into a Final Report to be submitted to the City in both Word and
PDF formats.
Spreadsheet Model. FCS GROUP will deliver a final copy of the Excel -based spreadsheet
models for City use, The models will provide for 1) evaluation of revenue and cost changes on
rates, 2) analysis of fiscal policy implementation options, 3) analysis of changes in economic
and financial indicators, 4) rate smoothing, and 5) variances to any and all other key rate study
inputs including the capital plan, the operating budget, customer information.
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