BALTIMORE COUNTY COUNCIL

NOTES TO THE AGENDA

LEGISLATIVE SESSION 2017

Issued: February 9, 2017

Work Session: February 14, 2017

Legislative Day No. 4 : February 21, 2017

The accompanying notes are

compiled from unaudited

information provided by

the Administration and

other sources.

OFFICE OF THE COUNTY AUDITOR

BALTIMORE COUNTY COUNCIL

February 21, 2017

NOTES TO THE AGENDA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Councilmembers Marks, Bevins & Kach

Social Host – Unruly Social Gatherings – Pilot Program Area

Bill 2-17 amends the geographic pilot program area of the law that prohibits Aunruly social gatherings.@

Early in 2016, the County Council passed Bill 90‑15, which created the ASocial Host B Unruly Social Gatherings B Pilot Program@ law. This law places the legal obligation for loud and uncontrolled parties with excessive and underage drinking, and perhaps other offenses, not only on the person or persons responsible for the unruly social gathering, but also on the owner of the residence or other private property where the gathering is held. The law permits a responding police officer to issue a civil citation to the responsible person or persons, as well as the owner of the premises, even if the property owner was not physically present at the unruly social gathering.

Bill 90‑15 initially defined the pilot program area as an area of East Towson near Towson University, as well as an area of Arbutus near UMBC.

Also in 2016, the Council passed Bill 36‑16, which amended the pilot program area to include Historic East Towson.

Bill 2-17 further amends the pilot program area to include areas of Greater Towson, consisting of the area of West Towson; the Rodgers Forge community; the Loch Raven Village community; and the Knettishall community.

With the affirmative vote of five members of the County Council, Bill 2-17 will take effect on March 6, 2017.

Keith Dorsey Fiscal Note February 21, 2017

FM-1 (Contract) Council District(s) _All_

Office of Budget and Finance

Foreign Language Telephone Interpretation Services

The Administration is requesting approval of a contract with Language Line Services, Inc. to provide foreign language telephone interpretation services for Baltimore County agencies. The contract commences upon Council approval, continues through July 2, 2017, and will automatically renew for one additional 1-year period with the option to further extend the initial term or the renewal term an additional 90 days. The contract does not specify a maximum compensation for the initial approximate 4-month term or for the entire approximate 1-year and 7-month term of the contract. Compensation may not exceed the amount appropriated for these services during the entire contract term. Estimated compensation totals $43,700 for the initial approximate 4-month term and $208,000 for the entire approximate 1-year and 7-month term, including the renewal and extension periods. See Exhibit A.

Fiscal Summary

Funding Source	Initial Term		Total Compensation
County ⁽¹⁾	$ 43,700		$ 208,000
State	—		—
Federal	—		—
Other	—		—
Total	$ 43,700	⁽²⁾	$ 208,000	⁽³⁾
⁽¹⁾ General Fund Operating Budget. ⁽²⁾ Estimated compensation for the initial approximate 4-month term. The contract does not specify a maximum compensation for the initial term. Compensation may not exceed the amount appropriated for these services. ⁽³⁾ Estimated compensation for the entire 1-year and 7-month term, including the renewal and extension periods. The contract does not specify a maximum compensation for the entire contract term. Compensation may not exceed the amount appropriated for these services.

FM-1 (Contract) (cont’d) February 21, 2017

Analysis

The contractor will provide foreign language telephone interpretation services to County agencies that serve individuals speaking foreign languages. Services will be provided 24-hours-per-day, 7-days-per-week. These County agencies include the 9-1-1 Communications Center, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Police and Fire Departments, which communicate on a daily basis with clients whose primary language is not English. When an agency’s call-taker determines that an interpreter is required, a three-way call is established with the contractor who provides an appropriate interpreter. The Office advised that calls are generally connected to an interpreter in less than 1 minute, and 9-1-1 calls receive priority. The Office also advised that for the last 6 months, County agencies have been handling approximately 1,350 calls per month that require foreign language telephone interpretation services.

The contract commences upon Council approval, continues through July 2, 2017, and will automatically renew for one additional 1-year period with the option to further extend the initial term or the renewal term an additional 90 days on the same terms and conditions, unless the County provides notice of non-renewal. The contract does not specify a maximum compensation for the initial approximate 4-month term or for the entire approximate 1-year and 7-month term of the contract. Compensation may not exceed the amount appropriated for these services during the entire contract term. Estimated compensation totals $43,700 for the initial approximate 4-month term and $208,000 for the entire approximate 1-year and 7-month term, including the renewal and extension periods. The County may terminate the agreement by providing 30 days prior written notice.

Contract pricing for the over-the-phone interpretation services is $0.61 per minute for Spanish and $0.65 per minute for all other languages.

This contract was awarded as a piggyback of an existing competitively-bid State of Arizona contract awarded on July 3, 2013. The Office advised that the State of Arizona selected the contractor based on best value.

On June 6, 2011, the Council approved a 5-year and 8-month contract with Language Line Services, Inc. at an estimated cost of $1,054,884 with rates of $1.10 per minute for all calls in Spanish and other languages and $0.90 per minute for non-technical (e.g., not legal or medical) calls in Spanish. This contract was awarded as a piggyback of an existing competitively-bid

FM-1 (Contract) (cont’d) February 21, 2017

Fairfax County, Virginia contract that expires on February 28, 2017. The Office advised that as of February 3, 2017, expenditures and encumbrances under this contract totaled $747,652. The Office also advised that Language Line Services, Inc. has been providing foreign language interpretation services to the County since 1999; prior to 1999, AT&T Language Line Services (the same company under different ownership) provided the services.

County Charter, Section 715, requires that “any contract must be approved by the County Council before it is executed if the contract is…for services for a term in excess of two years or involving the expenditure of more than $25,000 per year….”

Steve Walsh Fiscal Note February 21, 2017

FM-2 (3 Contracts) Council District(s) All _

Department of Public Works

On-Call Surveying Services

The Administration is requesting approval of three contracts, with Frederick Ward Associates, Inc., Brian Dietz, Inc. d/b/a Dietz Surveying, and Daft-McCune-Walker, Inc., to provide on-call land surveying services. The contracts commenced January 3, 2017, continue until February 28, 2017, and may not exceed $25,000 unless approved by the Council. If approved, the contracts will continue through January 2, 2018 and will automatically renew for four additional 1-year periods with the option to further extend the initial term or any renewal term an additional 90 days. The contracts do not specify a maximum compensation for the initial 1-year term. Compensation for all three contractors combined may not exceed $1,563,417 for the entire 5-year and 3-month term, including the renewal and extension periods. See Exhibit A.

Fiscal Summary

Funding Source	Combined Maximum Compensation		Notes
County ⁽¹⁾	$ 1,563,417		⁽¹⁾Capital Projects Fund. ⁽²⁾Maximum compensation for the three contractors combined for the entire 5-year and 3-month term, including the renewal and extension periods. The contracts do not specify a maximum compensation for the initial 1-year term.
State	—
Federal	—
Other	—
Total	$ 1,563,417	⁽²⁾

Analysis

The contractors will provide on-call land surveying services that include topographic surveys, boundary surveys, construction stakeout, Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys, and 3D digital scanning. The contractors will furnish all labor, materials, tools, equipment, supervision,

FM-2 (3 Contracts) (cont’d) February 21, 2017

maintenance of traffic, incidentals, and all related items necessary to complete the surveying services at various sites within the boundaries of Baltimore County. The contracts stipulate no guarantee of any minimum amount of work.

The unit prices charged by each contractor are as follows:

	Frederick Ward Associates, Inc.	Dietz Surveying	Daft-McCune-Walker, Inc.

Hourly Labor Rates (based on skill level and regular or overtime hours)	$12 – $106	$12 – $70	$18 – $78.50

Researcher (title, deed)	$25/hour	$40/hour	$25/hour

Materials Mark-up	10%	0%	51%

The contracts commenced January 3, 2017, continue until February 28, 2017, and may not exceed $25,000 unless approved by the Council. If approved, the contracts will continue through January 2, 2018 and will automatically renew for four additional 1-year periods with the option to further extend the initial term or any renewal term an additional 90 days. The contracts do not specify a maximum compensation for the initial 1-year term. Compensation for all three contractors combined may not exceed $1,563,417 for the entire 5-year and 3-month term, including the renewal and extension periods.

Prior to the commencement of each renewal period, the County may entertain a request for an escalation in unit prices in accordance with the Consumer Price Index – All Urban Consumers – United States Average – All Items (CPI-U), as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics at the time of the request, or up to a maximum 5% increase on the current pricing, whichever is lower. The County may terminate the agreements by providing 30 days prior written notice.

Funding for these contracts will not be encumbered at this time. Rather, contract costs will be charged as project tasks are assigned. The Department advised that the contractors are not expected to provide services prior to Council approval.

FM-2 (3 Contracts) (cont’d) February 21, 2017

The contracts were awarded through a competitive procurement process based on low bid from 20 bids received.

On January 3, 2012, the Council approved three 5-year contracts not to exceed $1,800,580 for similar services with Frederick Ward Associates, Inc., KCI Technologies, Inc., and Development Facilitators, Inc. As of February 1, 2017, the County’s financial system indicated that $231,789 had been expended/encumbered under the three contracts as follows: $92,366 (Frederick Ward Associates, Inc.), $133,944 (KCI Technologies, Inc.), and $5,479 (Development Facilitators, Inc.).

Council Fiscal Note February 21, 2017

MB-3 (Res. 16-17) Council District(s) _All_

Councilmembers Quirk, Almond, Jones, Marks, Bevins & Crandell

Baltimore County Charter Review Commission

Resolution 16-17 establishes the Baltimore County Charter Review Commission.

On March 2, 2015, the County Council approved Bill 12-15, amending the Charter of Baltimore County to create a decennial Charter Review Commission, and during the November 2016 general election the Baltimore County voters ratified the Act.

The Commission is required to review the Charter and undertake a comprehensive study of its contents, and make findings and recommendations as to the necessity for deleting, adding, or amending its provisions in order to improve the efficiency and operations of County government. It must also hold at least one public hearing prior to adopting its findings and recommendations.

The Commission is required to submit its findings and recommendations in a written report to the County Council and County Executive by October 15, 2017, including drafts of any recommended revisions to the Charter.

BALTIMORE COUNTY COUNCIL

NOTES TO THE AGENDA

APPENDIX A

Tags: Agenda, Baltimore County, Baltimore County Council, Council Meeting, county council, district 3, Legislation, Lobbyist, Lobbyists, Maryland, Pending Legislation, Public Meeting, wade kach

Wade Kach