STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Stephanie Harris, Director of Community Services
Chad Lynn, Deputy Director Special Projects Public Safety Subject:
Attachments:
City of Beverly Hills Community Security Ad Hoc Recommendation for Safety and Hospitality Services
1. Current Service Area
2. Proposed Service Area
INTRODUCTION
The current safety and hospitality service agreement for the Beverly Hills Ambassadors (Ambassadors) expires March 31, 2025. Staff is seeking direction from City Council on the new scope of work proposed by the Community Security Ad Hoc which include:
- Consolidation of overnight services related to parking garages - Reducing the Ambassador routes and coverage area, and consolidating these areas with existing security patrol services
- Tailored hours of operations to more closely align to local restaurant and retail hours
- Issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the continuation of outreach, hospitality, education and other services for the remaining hours and areas of service, including high pedestrian volume areas of the Business Triangle and South Beverly Drive
DISCUSSION
The Community Security Ad Hoc; Mayor Lester Friedman and Councilmember Craig Corman have reviewed the full scope of work currently being performed by the Ambassador team. The work is currently broken down into eight different categories:
- Hospitality
- Homeless Outreach
- Overnight Parking Garage Checks
- Panhandling Monitoring
- Tobacco Education and Outreach
- Electric Scooter Pick Up
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
- Safety Escorts
- School Field Permit Management
The Ad Hoc has identified an opportunity to consolidate services, specifically related to the overnight security functions and parking garage patrols. The community security contract through the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) includes overnight patrols throughout the community, including parking garages. Providing a more detailed mission to the security service provider within their current deployment (no additional positions or funding needed) provides the ability to consolidate these overlapping services.
Furthermore, this would provide a higher level of service for this security function, as this service provider is integrated with the BHPD for security services and engaged throughout the City with deployments and practices related to loitering.
Currently, the Ambassador team provides the other categories of work, such as hospitality services and outreach services throughout the Business Triangle and South Beverly Drive.
The Ad Hoc identified a value to the community to continue providing these functions as well as recommended two adjustments to the Ambassador program: a reduced footprint and more specific service times focused in high-trafficked business areas.
Continued services in the reduced footprint would focus the area of service in the Business Triangle from Camden Drive to Crescent Drive, between Wilshire Boulevard and North Santa Monica Boulevard, and on South Beverly Drive from Wilshire Boulevard to Gregory Way (Attachment 2). Areas outside of this proposed footprint would be consolidated with overlapping patrols by the BHPD security service provider, such as the City Hall campus and 3rd Street tour bus loading area.
The proposed footprint will reduce the number of Ambassadors necessary for coverage and will concentrate services to business and tourist-dense areas. Additionally, the Ad Hoc requested an RFP add-alternate proposal to include the area surrounding the City Hall campus, including the 3rd Street tour bus loading area for consideration at the time of award.
The Ad Hoc also recommended tailoring the hours of service to more closely align with the business hours within the coverage area. Ambassadors currently have coverage 24 hours per day, seven days per week broken into four shifts over the course of the day.
The overnight shift (8pm – 5am) would be eliminated from this program and consolidated with the BHPD security service provider. The new proposed hours of operation more closely align with local retailer and restaurant business hours are proposed as follows:
• Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: 7am – 10pm
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 7am – 12am
In addition to recommendations related to the footprint and hours of operation, the Ad Hoc highlighted service level, reporting and performance metrics to be addressed through the RFP process. Areas to further enforce through the Ambassador training process include conduct and professional standards, such as a prohibition on the use of personal cell phones (those not associated with logging encounters and response to service calls), enhanced/ongoing training standards, and uniform presentation and appearance. The suggested term of the new agreement will be three years, with three one-year extensions at the discretion of the City. These and other specific service level standards will be addressed and included in the RFP and evaluation process.
The RFP process is estimated to take approximately 5 months (including the November and December holiday periods) from release to award.
• October/November – Draft and Release of RFP
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
• December/January – Review of RFP Submissions
• February – Return to City Council for Award of RFP
• March – Potential Transition and Ramp Up for Awarded Vendor • April – Start of New Agreement
If the City Council does not wish to provide final direction related to the proposed scope of services for release of the RFP, and the City Council wishes to continue these services, Staff will return with a request to extend the existing agreement and a request for an appropriation related to the current scope of services.
FISCAL IMPACT
The current Ambassador program is under a nine-month, $1.2 million extension to the original service agreement, which is estimated to be $1.6 million for a full year of services under the current agreement rates, terms and conditions. Based on the age of the agreement, limitations on fee adjustments for multiple years, and relatively low fees compared to neighboring agencies, Staff anticipates costs and pricing for hourly and individual service rates to rise as part of next RFP process; however, these increases may be offset by decreases in services provided under a newly negotiated contract.
Funds for these services are currently budgeted in the amount of $1,185,249 in Community Services’ operating budget for FY 2024/25. The fully budgeted amount for these services is anticipated to be expended at the completion of the nine-month extension through March 2025. The execution of any services past March 2025, either by extension or by award of a new agreement through the RFP, will require a budget adjustment, such as a transfer or an appropriation, to fund services for the remainder of the fiscal year; April 2025 through June 2025. Based on the current rates, this would be an additional estimated $400,000 to complete the fiscal year.
Based on the RFP submissions and award of the new agreement, a budget enhancement request for FY 2025/26 may be required if the total cost of the services under the new agreement exceed the historic budgeted value of the agreement. There will be a more accurate estimate of the budget impact upon review of the RFP submission in December/January.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the direction from the City Council, staff will prepare to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) in November using the modified scope of work to secure services under a new multi-year agreement
Stephanie Harris,
Director of Community Services
Approved By
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
ATTACHMENT 1
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
Current Service Area
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
ATTACHMENT 2
Meeting Date: October 10, 2024
Proposed Service Area