To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: Independent Arts & Media Contract Amendment
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Administrator, or designee, to execute a contract amendment with Independent Arts & Media for arts council services, to modify the payment schedule and make additional clarifying changes, with no modifications to the payment limit or contract term, subject to approval as to form by County Counsel.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
Independent Arts & Media acts as fiscal sponsor for ARTSCCC to provide arts council services, to serve as the state-local partner with the California Arts Council, and to implement the Arts & Culture Master Plan for Contra Costa County. The contract was authorized by the Board of Supervisors on December 12, 2023, following a competitive procurement process. The current contract for the period January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028, includes a payment limit in an amount not to exceed $1,781,611. This contract is funded through Measure X revenues.
The current contract includes a schedule of payments as Attachment A to the contract, which includes an assumed annual increase (cost of living adjustment, or COLA) of 5%. COLAs for Measure X-funded programs are set annually by the Board of Supervisors through the budget process, which exceeds the approved COLA applied to Measure X allocations. The FY24-25 Measure X COLA is 2.4%, necessitating modification to the schedule of payments.
The proposed contract amendment would set the baseline annual payment amount and provide the County Administrator’s Office discretion to set the COLA annually following the Board of Supervisors’ adoption of the Measure X budget and Measure X COLA.
Additionally, the amendment would make clarifying language adjustments to several sections of the Service Plan. Proposed amendments would affirm that official County holidays are eligible closure dates for the organization, in addition to State and Federal holidays. A second proposed modification would make clear that the development and maintenance of an arts and cultural inventory database should collect and maintain information on public art pieces that is reasonably available to the public, such as information available to the public on the internet, phone calls, site visits, or other methodology. The third set of modifications clarify the role of the contractor as they work to facilitate the creation of an Arts Consumer Database. The contractor’s intended role is to facilitate discussions around the Arts Consumer Database, rather than to develop, build, or house such a database. The proposed clarifications conform to the intent of the existing contract, and the contractor and County Administrator’s Office mutually agree to these terms. The contract amendment does not modify the payment limit or contract term.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The existing contract will include a payment schedule that exceeds the currently approved Measure X COLAs set by the Board of Supervisors.