Professional
Ethical
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
Fair
Gail E. Waiters, Inspector General
CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS
Presented to Board Policy Committee 12/10/2009
1. Develop Board Policy, process and form that requires employees to disclose the
name of a business partner(s) for which they have investments that are within the
sphere of influence of the District.
2. Revise Board Policy 6.86, Conflict of Interest Code to explain more clearly Sections
(a) and (b), which state that “designated employees must disclose interest in real
property located in whole or part within the boundaries of the District or within two
miles of the boundaries of the District…”, which would include the cities of Oakland,
Berkeley, Alameda, Piedmont, and parts of Emeryville, San Leandro and Albany.
3. All individuals employed by the District must annually complete and sign an affidavit
(when newly hired, promoted or interim assignments or during the evaluation period)
that would alert the District of any potential conflicts of interest. At that time the
Conflict of Interest Policy or summary thereof should be handed to the employee.
4. Review Policy 3.20 Outside Employment to ensure that it clearly represents Board
intent. In addition, language should be included to disallow any outside
employment that may be perceived as a conflict of interest.
5. Expand the Conflict of Interest Policy 6.86 to be explicit about when and how
employees are to disclose and/or recuse themselves of a conflict of interest during
the course of duty, not merely when filing the FPPC Form 700.
6. Direct that Board Minutes reflect significant summary actions related to public fund
expenditures.
7. Revise the independent contractor contract process and develop an Administrative
Procedure pursuant to the draft policy proposed to the Audit and Finance
Committee by the IG in June 2009. Change the nomenclature to Professional
Services Contract.
8. Adopt Board Policies provisionally until an accompanying Administrative Procedure
is completed and approved by the Board.
9. Adopt Administrative Procedure for the role of each Board Committee that has in its
review, financial transactions.
Peralta Community College District
333 East 8th Street
Oakland, Ca 94606
Office of the Inspector General
(510) 466-7205
www.peralta.edu
JUNE 28, 2016
PAGE 2 OF 3
10. Require Purchasing Manual be consistent with Administrative Procedures and Board
Policy.
11. Require Purchasing Division to establish a standard operating procedure for
monitoring and archiving official procurement documents.
12. Develop Board Policy to ensure professional services contracts that exceed the
Chancellor’s threshold are let for competitive bid. The IG advises that the policy be
written to reflect Public Contract Code Section 10335-10381 governing
professional/consultant services for state agencies.
13. Revise Board Policy 6.84 Contract Authorization, Chancellor to require that
“Amendments shall be brought before the Board for ratification not later than the
first scheduled meeting that the Board is in session.”
14. Draft and pass a Board Policy governing Contract Administration. Require that each
quarter, management (preferably a District-wide contract administrator, with the
sole responsibility of reviewing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting of contract
dispositions) be required to agendize a report for the Board to review and discuss the
status of all contracts. That report shall have all information pertinent to the contract,
including change orders or amendments to funding, status of the completed
deliverables, whether the contract/project is on time and at budget, etc.
15. Require that all contract fees include the cost of reimbursables. The independent
contractor contract form already requires that the contractor be solely responsible
for his/her expenses incurred in connection with the performance of the contract,
but this is not being practiced.
16. Memorialize Resolution No. 99/00-5 Authorization to Sign, Chancellor into a Board
policy. Amend, if necessary. This Resolution and Board Policy 6.84 needs to be
reconciled. The IG recommends that Resolution No 99/00-5 be included in Board
Policy 6.84 as a stand alone section.
17. Require Purchasing and General Services staff to utilize the waiver of competitive
procedures process and provide periodic reports of its usage to the Board.
18. Develop performance evaluation process for contractors required to be completed
with each payment report, in conjunction with the close out process and prior to any
amendment to a contract.
19. Require all contractors to submit with their proposal a resume, client and project list
that can be used for references. This information should be available at all times in
the individual vendor’s data file.
Peralta Community College District
333 East 8TH Street
Oakland, CA 94606
Office of the Inspector General
(510) 466-7205
www.peralta.edu
JUNE 28, 2016
PAGE 3 OF 3
20. Ensure that invoices that are paid represent the contract awarded amount, such
that the payments are not commingled with subsequent contract awards. Close
out payment of one contract before paying on a subsequent contract with the
same vendor.
21. Require a monthly financial ledger of all procurement transactions categorized by
activity, including public works projects. This review should include the discussion of
whether a project is completed on time and within budget, if the client department
agrees the deliverables were satisfactorily met, or the reasons a project/phase has
been delayed and when it will get back on schedule. Provide a mechanism for the
client department to rate the satisfaction of a project.
22. Commission a complete review of the PROMT vendor history file.
23. Require all contract negotiations be finalized through the District contract
template(s).
24. Require utilization and recordation of the Waiver of Competitive Procedures Form
25. Re-introduce with revisions, Policy 3.16 Institutional Code of Ethics for Employees as a
Values Statement rather than a Code of Ethics.
a. A values statement is a statement of traits or qualities that are considered
worthwhile; they represent an organization’s highest priorities and deeply
held driving forces. They define how people want to behave with each
other in the organization. They are statements about how the organization
will value its stakeholders. Value statements describe actions which are
the living enactment of the fundamental values held by most individuals
within the organization.
b. A code of ethics requires that a person use impartial judgment in the
service of all its stakeholders; avoids conflicts of interest that could
undermine your objective judgment; does not show favoritism toward
family and friends in hiring; does not solicit or accept bribes from people
seeking to influence your official decisions; and does not allow you to
invest in ventures that may have the perception of a conflict of interest.
Ethical behavior is the bedrock of mutual trust, i.e. defining and
communicating ethical behavior - right and wrong, equity and justice;
respect and responsibility; character and leadership, coveting the public trust,
and moral decision-making.
Disclaimer: This list does not represent the complete list of issues the IG has identified related to procurement and
contract administration. This project is still under review.
Peralta Community College District
333 East 8TH Street
Oakland, CA 94606
Office of the Inspector General
(510) 466-7205
www.peralta.edu