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2013-28272 Reso RESOLUTION NO. 2013-28272 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND CITYWIDE PROJECTS COMMITTEE TO. ESTABLISH WORKING GROUPS TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT PROCEDURES AND MONITORING GUIDELINES TO ADDRESS THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CROWE HORWATH PERFORMANCE AND OPERATIONAL AUDIT. WHEREAS, at its regular meeting on May 9, 2012, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2012-27905, waiving, by 5/7ths vote, the competitive bidding requirement and authorizing the City Manager to negotiate a professional services agreement with a qualified firm for services related to auditing the processes of certain regulatory departments or divisions in the City (the Agreement); and WHEREAS, the City Commission designated Commissioner Deede Weithorn to work with the City Administration to develop a scope of work for the aforestated Agreement; and WHEREAS, at its regular meeting on May 17, 2012, the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWPC) approved the proposed scope of services for the Agreement; and WHEREAS, the FCWPC held a special meeting on May 13, 2013 to discuss the results of the Agreement, and make recommendations to the Mayor and City Commission. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission accept the recommendation of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee to establish working groups to identify and implement procedures and monitoring guidelines to address the recommendations of the Crowe Horvath Performance and Operational Audit. PASSED and ADOPTED this l,��y daffy of , 2013. ATTEST: CITY CLERK '{ iNCORP OR T 1.Q.Vt and L. Tobin C:\Users\Finawalp\Documents\Crowe Horwath fatipnal erfq ,� -Mayor • ......... .)�H 20 APPROVED AS TO FORM &LANGUAGE &FOR EXECUTION C ney Date COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY Condensed Title: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND CITYWIDE PROJECTS COMMITTEE TO ESTABLISH WORKING GROUPS TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT PROCEDURES AND MONITORING GUIDELINES TO ADDRESS THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CROWE HORWATH PERFORMANCE AND OPERATIONAL AUDIT Key Intended Outcome Supported: N/A Supporting Data (Surveys, Environmental Scan, etc.): N/A Item Summary/Recommendation The Finance and Citywide Projects Committee at its special meeting of May 13, 2013, recommended that two working groups be established to implement the recommendations of the Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit. The first is an internal working group whose purpose is to identify and implement procedures and monitoring guidelines to address the recommendations of the Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit. This group will be comprised of the Department Directors and staff who have knowledge of the process(s) to be improved and will be facilitated by Patricia Walker, Chief Financial officer and Rafael Granado, City Clerk. The second working group will include members of the community as well as City staff to identify and implement procedures to address the improvement of procedures surrounding Noise Violations and will be facilitated by Joe Jimenez, Assistant City Manager. Advisory Board Recommendation: Finance and Citywide Projects Committee May 13, 2013 Financial Information: Source of Amount Account Funds: 1 2 OBPI Total Financial Impact Summary: City Clerk's Office Legislative Tracking: FFinance Department Sign-Offs: Department Director Assistant t nager City apager PDW JLM TAAGENDA\2013\Ju1y 17WMENDMENT 1 -Reso 2012-27928 Summary.docx AGENDA ITEM— C7 'Q� ®14T€ 7 MIAMIBEACH — —t -�- � OD MIAMI BEACH City®f Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive,Miami Beach,Florida 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Me bers of the ity Commission FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager DATE: July 17, 2013 SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR D CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH ACCEPTING THE RECOM ENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND CITYWIDE PROJECTS COMMITTEE TO ESTABLISH WORKING GROUPS TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT PROCEDURES AND MONITORING GUIDELINES TO ADDRESS THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CROWE HORWATH PERFORMANCE AND OPERATIONAL AUDIT. ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION Adopt the Resolution. ANALYSIS The Finance and Citywide Projects Committee at its special meeting of May 13,2013,recommended that two working groups be established to implement the recommendations of the Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit. The first is an internal working group whose purpose is to identify and implement procedures and monitoring guidelines to address the recommendations of the Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit. This group will be comprised of the Department Directors and staff who have knowledge of the process(s)to be improved and will be facilitated by Patricia Walker, Chief Financial officer and Rafael Granado, City Clerk. The second working group will include members of the community as well as City staff to identify and implement procedures to address the improvement of procedures surrounding Noise Violations and will be facilitated by Joe Jimenez, Assistant City Manager. The proposed members of each group are listed in Attachment A. The Committee is requesting that the Mayor and City Commission accept their recommendation. BACKGROUND On May 13, 2013, Chief Financial Officer Patricia Walker presented the Crowe Horwath Performance an Operational Audit to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee for discussion.A summary of the actions discussed at the meeting follows. Commission Memorandum—Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 2 of 8 Chairperson Deede Weithorn began the discussion by stating they would go through each Management's Response listed in the report and discuss any comments or questions the staff or public might have regarding these items. There was a memo provided by Dr. Sunshine stating they did not know the issue with Code was noise related. Chairperson Weithorn stated that was not the basis and it will be discussed at the appropriate point in the report. Miami Beach resident Henry Stolar asked for clarification on when public comment would be allowed. Chairperson Weithorn also stated there was a gap analysis done that takes into consideration any gaps or areas of risk in internal controls that can occur in a process. Chief Financial Officer Patricia Walker suggested facilitating a team of employees from different departments to construct a plan of action for each recommendation in the report. Chairperson Weithorn started with CC-01 Complaint Intake which states, "Complaints should be received through regulated centralized channels in order to better address each complaint." The City should enforce a policy that requires employees, who receive phone call and email complaints, to direct the complainant to the centralized hotline or to WebQA. Division Commander Heman Cardeno stated management agrees that receiving Code complaints via regulated centralized channels is a better system to control, manage, and properly assign the inbound calls for service. However, management does not believe that the best practice would be to require employees who receive phone call and electronic mail(e-mail)complaints to direct the complainant to the centralized hotline or WebQA as this would negatively impact customer service levels. The City prides itself in its customer accessibility to government services and makes available different methods by which to register a complaint. Rather than require complainants to call yet another number that may not even be attended, a viable alternative may be to have the City employee receive the complaint from the constituent and in turn have that City employee enter the complaint in a centralized system that elicits basic information. Acting Planning Director Richard Lorber stated once implemented,Accela Automation will have the ability to serve as a central repository for complaints, and the public will continue to have the ability to make complaints via WebQA or another system compatible with Accela. Chairperson Weithorn stated we have to have accountability to go along with these implementations. Building Deputy Director Stephen Scott suggest that we make sure we keep the citizens and customers in mind in having accessibility. Fire Marshall Sonia Machen volunteered to be a part of the group. Commissioner Michael Gongora moved on to CC-02 Tracking Complaints where the City should consider implementing a system that would allow complaints to be automatically uploaded from WebQA. Additionally,the City should implement a reconciliation process to reconcile the complaints entered into Permits Plus/Accela back to the physical forms, hotline logs and emails. Management concurs that best practices dictate that complaints should be received by an independent individual, adequately documented and tracked in a system,assigned for follow-up and appropriately resolved. That description, in itself, is that of a dispatcher with a system database similar to computer aided dispatch (CAD)that tracks every call for service, however,there are significant cost considerations to such a plan. A reconciliation process to reconcile the complaints entered into Permits Plus back to the physical forms, hotline logs and a-mails has already been implemented and electronic files which include photos, e-mails, and other documents relating to the case are being uploaded and attached to the main case. This process will likewise be available in Accela. Commissioner Jorge Exposito added that there needs to be criteria established where permits are opened and closed in a timely manner. Building Deputy Director Scott responded that they are aware there were complications in the process, but they have determined they do have employees in place to respond to putting the new framework together. He also stated they discovered some complications sending out notices that were not going out in enough time for the customer to respond. City Clerk now sends them out a minimum of 30 days in advance. Division Commander Cardeno discussed CI-01 Job responsibilities that state the city should Commission Memorandum—Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 3 of 8 implement a policy that requires Code Compliance Supervisors to perform periodic, but at a minimum monthly, productivity reviews.The supervisors should review the Officer Daily logs to verify the officers spent the required time patrolling for sanitation, the time spent in each location of each zone,the complaints that are recorded for each zone and the violations written in each zone by their officers. These reviews should be documented and filed so that they are readily available for review by auditors or other interested parties. Management agrees that Code Compliance Supervisors do not have a standard process in place for periodic reviews of subordinate productivity. While some of these processes are found in written directives and emphasized at weekly supervisor staff meetings, the Division will continue to standardize procedures and directives in Standard Operating Procedures format so that the foundation of the duties of a supervisor are found in one general policy. Supervisors are also required to verify their officers'time spent in each location of each zone, sanitation enforcement,and review of the caseload assigned to their squad members. Random AVL (GPS) reviews of subordinates' daily travels in their City vehicles are compared to assigned cases and monitored for time spent on calls and patrol locations. Documentation is on file and evidenced by Code officers that have received discipline based on their supervisor's reviews/random audits. Finally, productivity reviews for each squad are conducted at supervisor staff meetings. While not all supervisor review practices are mandated by policy, management believes that allowing for some discretion within a broader sense of parameters for supervisors to determine when and how they oversee subordinates contributes to the overall development of management styles and individual growth; however, a Standard Operating Procedure should serve to provide some guidelines for subordinate workload assessments. Documentation is on file and available for review. Chairperson Weithorn asked if Sanitation was singled out and Crowe Horwarth Engagement Manager Mark Maraccini stated it was more the documentation and policy that supported the monitoring of this item. Chairperson Weithorn moved on to item CD-01 Non-Compliance Identification that states the city should provide a tool such as a checklist for officers to utilize to review for potential code non- compliance while conducting an inspection. The city can provide a form for officers to complete at every inspection that identifies the compliance areas to observe, e.g. noise, sanitation, zoning violations, graffiti,and handbills on cars, peddling,and property maintenance. This form should also require the officer to initial that such issue has been reviewed and resident or business is in compliance. Management agrees that a tool such as a checklist for officers to utilize to review for code violations while they're on site conducting inspections would be beneficial. Those lists(for the more common violations) are in the process of being created and will be made available for integration in Accela by July 2013. Chairperson Weithorn stated the code officers need the technical approach at their finger tips when visiting properties instead of their personal devices or using paper. Commissioner Exposito added there needs to be an IT component added to the tools the officers are equipped with. Item CD-02 Supporting Documentation recommends that the City implement a procedure or control within the new case management system that they are seeking to utilize that allows pictures to be attached to a case onsite.The new system should have the capabilityto upload files remotely which ties into item CD-01. Management agrees that the City should implement a procedure or control within the new case management system (Accela)that allows pictures to be attached to a case onsite and have files uploaded remotely. This capability has been configured in Accela Automation. Chairperson Weithorn moved on to item. CD-03 Courtesy Notices and Violations the City should develop a policy for noncompliance that strictly defines when a courtesy notice can be given. The City should require the officers to document the reason and rationale when they issue courtesy notices and the supervisors to review them daily. Management agrees with the recommendation that general guidelines for when warnings may be given are appropriate and that supervisory review of the rationales would be ideal. Some of our City ordinances already have controlling language with respect to when a courtesy notice or oral warning can be issued by a Code Compliance Officer Commission Memorandum—Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 4 of 8 versus a Notice of Violation. Management will increase the level of training and monitoring relating to the proper exercise of discretion. That training will include providing strong examples of when written warnings may be appropriate.Any exercise of this discretion must be reported to supervisors on the same day utilized for the purpose of determining whether a warning was appropriate. Ultimately, some discretion and judgment must be left to the Code Compliance Officer. Division Commander Cardeno then discussed item CD-04 that recommends that the City implement a procedure or automated control within the new case management system that they are seeking to utilize that allows the case files to be created from the complaint files.The new system should have the capability to automatically link the two. The City should also implement a procedure to review and document a daily reconciliation of the XC and the corresponding CE to confirm the information has been inputted accurately. Management agrees with the recommendation that the City should develop a procedure or automated control within the new case management system (Accela)that allows the case files to be created from the complaint files and have the capability to automatically link the two. This capability has been configured in Accela. Additionally, the ability to "audit" the linked files to determine accurate reporting and uploading of information will be included and monitored via reports. Chief Financial Officer Patricia Walker stated they plan to go live with Accela two weeks after Memorial Day Weekend when it's less workflow challenge. Building Director Stephen Scott added the entire City currently is testing with Accela. Commissioner Gongora then discussed item CD-05 that states the City should develop a procedure that requires code officers to collect and review comply-by dates weekly and a policy that mandates a secondary review by supervisors. Management agrees with the recommendation that the City should develop a procedure that requires Code Officers to collect and review comply-by dates weekly and a policy that mandates a secondary review by supervisors. The new case management system, Accela,will automate the process for re-inspections for compliance for each officer daily by zone. These re-inspections are triggered by the time for compliance entry of the original case file— much like an automated electronic tickler. Chairperson Weithorn stated the next item CV-01 Noise Violations needs a separate group with inclusion of the public due to the legal aspect it pertains to. Many of the noise complaints involve construction and not just music issues. City Attorney Jose Smith added there's also a county issue on the noise ordinance that prevents taking certain actions. CV-01 Noise Violations states that the city should consider revising the ordinance to more objectively determine when a noise violation has occurred. Specifically, the City should consider revising their noise violation policy to include a decibel threshold that when exceeded would trigger a violation. These measurements should be completed through the use of a mobile noise testing device. Management is open to looking at other more objective criteria to determine when a noise violation has occurred. The Noise ordinance, as adopted, has been upheld as constitutional in the 11th Judicial Circuit sitting in an appellate capacity. Other methods(such as noise/decibel meters)have proven to be difficult or impossible to sustain in other jurisdictions. Code Compliance Officers are required to exercise their judgment in evaluating the validity of a noise violation. Miami Beach Resident Morris Sunshine suggests a look at the noise ordinance that allows for subjective character and proposes the consideration of turning the clause into a 24/7 clause instead of becoming applicable at 11 pm. Crowe Horwarth Engagement Manager Mark Maraccini discussed the next item FP-01 Construction Permits where the City should implement procedures to help ensure that permits are obtained for construction projects within the City. Specifically,the City should consider implementing a City-wide policy and procedure that informs City personnel the proper protocol to report potential violations (e.g. construction projects that do not have a clearly visible permit). In addition, the City should consider utilizing current inspectors that are already assigned to perform duties throughout the City to look for potential violations. In other words, officers already in the field could be doing this as part Commission Memorandum—Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 5 of 8 of their normal procedures. Management feels this is a plausible recommendation. We currently have Web Q&A and a mobile app"Report it"where City employees and others can report suspected unpermitted activities. Currently, the Fire Prevention Division as well as the Building Department- Violations Division and Code Enforcement Division already cite business owners and residents for work taking place without a permit. This process is complaint driven generated by residents, business competitors, guests,tourists,and employees. In addition,when the fire inspectors conduct their annual fire inspections, they do cite violators when they notice work taking place without a permit. Currently,there is an informal procedure where each inspection discipline advises the other if there is unpermitted work noticed during a scheduled inspection, for example, when the fire inspector does the inspection and he/she notices that something could be a code violation, it is reported to the proper discipline. This mayor may not be a code violation after the certified inspector checks it out. Management will review the current informal process and work toward implementing a formal procedure for reporting unpermitted activities. Chairperson Weithorn noted that she observed multiple infractions and that it would be efficient if cross communication occurred between Code and Fire in noting each other's violations to be more efficient. Commissioner Gongora moved on to FP-02 Workflow Requirements recommending that the City establish a policy that necessitates that all workflows require approval by the Building Department to ensure that plans are routed to the appropriate departments/divisions for review. We recommend that the City also require that all plans be reviewed by someone other than the person who performs the original review. Management feels this is a plausible recommendation. Currently, the Permits Plus system has workflows automated to include reviews by the appropriate departments/divisions based on the type of permit application submitted. All the appropriate departments/divisions must review the plans before the workflow is completed. The workflow in Accela Automation will be the same type of workflow that we currently have now in PerrmitPlus. In order to implement this recommendation as stated, we would have to hire three additional fire plans examiners to provide sufficient personnel to allow a secondary review by someone other than the initial reviewer. This process may create a delay in turnaround time. Building Deputy Director Scott suggested spot quality control. Fire Marshall Machen discussed FI-01 recommending hat the City consider revising its current 9 Y 9 procedures to increase its population of inspectors (i.e. increase the total pool of inspectors that qualify for inspections). In addition, changes to inspection assignments should be documented and approved by someone other than the person initiating the change. Management agrees with the recommendation to increase its population of inspectors. Currently,the firefighters who are certified as inspectors sign up for the lead inspector slot. Any firefighter can sign up for the second inspector slot even if not certified as an inspector. The Fire Administration is proposing a different method of performing the inspections that will increase the number of firefighters participating in the program. The Captain of Fire Prevention Division and the Chiefs are the only people authorized in the Telestaff software to make assignments for night inspections and can modify the assignments after a cancellation. Although the Captain may cancel an assignment he cannot delete or remove an assignment and all changes will be recorded in Telestaff in an audit trail. Other staff in Fire Prevention cannot make any changes to the assignments as indicated.above. Commissioner Gongora asked if these tasks can just be assigned to junior level employees in which Fire Marshall Machen responded they are discussing ways to improve this issue. Commissioner Gongora discussed FI-02 Inspection Documentation that recommends that the City enforce the requirement that inspectors perform inspections in teams.This should be documented by requiring that each inspector sign off on the inspection form next to each location inspected. We further recommend that the Fire Marshal document review of completed inspection forms and inspection summary results. Management agrees with the recommendation that inspectors perform inspections in teams and that the Fire Marshal document review of completed inspection forms and Commission Memorandum—Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 6 of 8 inspection summary results.The inspection form has been changed by adding a signature section at the end that includes the firefighter's signature and the fire marshal's review signature. The firefighters will sign at the end of the form instead of each line for efficiency and certification statement. The Fire Marshal will also sign off the summary report review. The current policy is that both firefighters must be together when performing night inspections. If one of the firefighters ventures out on his/her own,then the individual will receive disciplinary action. A reminder email will be sent to all lead inspectors to follow this directive. Fire Marshall Machen clarified that the inspectors do go in teams. Chairperson Weithom took FI-03 Inspection Venues and FI-04 Inspection Schedule together. FI-03 recommends that the City implement controls to ensure that all venues are included in the population from which venues are selected for inspection and that venue information is verified for completeness and accuracy. Management agrees with the recommendation that all venues should be included in the population from which the venues are selected for inspection and that venue information is verified for completeness and accuracy. FI-04 recommends that the City establish a systematic and logical approach to inspecting venues. The revised approach should take into account the timing of inspections and how they relate to when violations are most likely to occur. Inspection shifts should be adjusted accordingly. Management agrees with the recommendation that the City should establish a systematic and logical approach to inspecting venues. The list of locations selected for inspection is generated by a random number selection and the Night Inspection Coordinator sorts the group in alphabetic order of Street.The policy is that the restaurants are inspected between 10pm to 11 pm since the nightclubs are not opened yet. The Fire Marshal has h w r "restaurant" o he names of he establishment o make i easier on he inspector o added te word tt t t tt t t p t identify those locations to visit earlier in the night. The night inspectors can select the restaurants from the group to inspect between 10pm—11 pm and then concentrate on the nightclubs after 11 pm or midnight. During special events weekends, the shift is adjusted as necessary; starting earlier at 9pm or ending later at 5am, or both. Fire Marshall Machen stated that both of these recommendations have already been implemented. Commissioner Gongora discussed PT-01 Complaints Dispatching that recommends City should implement a procedure to mandate the first available officer in the closest proximity is dispatched to complaint sites. Management agrees with the recommendation.We have created procedures where the Parking officer shall be dispatched to complaint issues based on their availability and proximityto the complaint site, the dispatcher shall send the first available officer in the closest proximity to the complaint side in question and an officer shall be at the complaint site within 30 minutes of the receipt of the complaint. The attached written directive (see SOP No. 2013-013) which includes these procedures has been issued and acknowledged by those employees responsible for its implementation and compliance. Commissioner Gongora discussed PT-02 Identifying Parking Permits recommend the City should implement a policy that requires officers to team up when addressing complaints that require officers to canvas large areas. Management agrees with the recommendation. We have created procedures where larger areas shall be canvassed by multiple officers made up of teams. These teams shall be assigned contingent upon availability and proximity to the complaint site. Commissioner Gongora discussed PT-03 Citation Supporting Documentation that the City should implement a policy that requires supporting documentation taken for all instances of noncompliance. Management agrees with the recommendation. We have created procedures where officers are to accurately document all information pertaining to the citation or enforcement action, supporting documentation and violation information should be recorded for all areas of noncompliance and officers are to take photographs with their Autocite and city issued camera for all areas of noncompliance. i Commission Memorandum—.Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 7 of 8 CONCLUSION The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission approve the recommendation of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee to establish working groups to identify and implement procedures and monitoring guidelines to address the recommendations of the Crowe Horvath performance and operational audit. JLM\PDW T:\AGENDA\2013\July 17\Crowe Horwath Performance And Operational Audit-Memo.Doc Commission Memorandum—Crowe Horwath Performance and Operational Audit July 17,2013 Page 8 of 8 Attachment A The Proposed Members of the Working Groups are as follows: Internal Workinq Group Commission representative—Commissioner Deede Weithorn City Manager's Office— Marcia Monserrat City Clerk's Office/Special Master— Ralph Granado Fire —Chief Otero /Sonia Machen Information Technology—Gladys Gonzalez Internal Audit—James Sutter Code Compliance— Hernan Cardeno Planning — Richard Lorber Public Works.— Eric Carpenter. Parking —Saul Frances Working Group on Noise Commission representative—Commissioner Jorge Exposito Dr. Morris Sunshine - resident Jo Manning - resident. Deborah Lebowitz- resident Deborah Ruggiero - resident Roman Jones, Opium Group Marlo Courtney, Ocean Drive Jeff Klein, Fontainebleau Roberto Santos-Alborna, Code Compliance Alek Boksner—City Attorney's Office Hernan Cardeno—Code Compliance Henry Doce— Police Richard Lorber- Planning