Purpose
The purpose of this Procedure is to describe the general role, composition, and activities of Program Oversight Committees and to define the responsibilities of Project Delivery Team members who interact with these Committees.
REFERENCES
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RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Oversight Committee Members: Committee Members approve the initial structure of the program. They may review the City Engineer’s selection of the Program Manager and determine the need for program management consultants to assist the Program Manager. They may also review the Memorandum of Understanding between the Owner/Client department and the Bureau of Engineering as well as the Program’s initial Master Schedule. Revisions to the Master Schedule must be approved by the Oversight Committee. Oversight Committee members are responsible for preparing formal agendas and holding monthly meetings subject to the Brown Act requirements for public notice. They monitor the projects to ensure that they are completed in a timely fashion and must monitor both the expenditure of available funds, utilization, and cost of City personnel working on the projects. When necessary, Committee Members act to resolve conflicts between the Owner/Client department and the Engineering Program Manager to avoid delays and minimize cost increases. They also assist in expediting program work by exerting their influence to ensure cooperation from all required City agencies and departments to help meet project deadlines. Finally, the Committee often is required to submit quarterly and annual status reports to the Mayor and City Council.
Program Manager: It is the Program Manager’s responsibility to present the project status and major issues to the Oversight Committee. The Program Manager prepares all reports going to the Committee, briefs the City Engineer on any controversial items before the Committee, and represents the Bureau on general items related to delivery of projects under the jurisdiction of the Oversight Committee.
Project Manager (PM): The Project Manager for each specific project under the jurisdiction of the Oversight Committee must be prepared to present the Committee with an update of the project status, answer questions regarding project status, raise to the Committee any issues of concern, and advocate any proposed changes to the project schedule or budget.
PROCEDURE
Program Oversight Committees have proven to be a very effective way for the City to govern complex new programs. There are several types of Oversight Committees in existence. Each program’s Committee is separate and distinct. However, Program Oversight Committees are typically comprised of representatives from the City Administrative Office (CAO) as the chair, Chief Legislative Analyst’s (CLA) Office, Mayor’s Office, General Manager or Assistance General Manager of the Owner/Client department, and the City Engineer. Because these Oversight Committees usually include representatives from the various offices, they provide additional assurance to the Mayor and City Council that the program is running smoothly. In fact, the Mayor and Council have required the formation of Oversight Committees for all recent voter-approved bond programs.
Each Program Oversight Committee is unique with different methods of operation. Typically, Committee members meet monthly to review project status and expenditures, identify potential delays and cost increases, and resolve any issues of concern such as conflicts between the Owner/Client department, Bureau of Engineering, and other City agencies.
Oversight Committees rely on the Project Delivery Team to provide them with current and accurate information regarding the development, status, and expenditures of each project. Depending on the methods and requirements of each Oversight Committee, the Project Delivery Team communicates this information using one of various media. For example, some Committees require that the Project Managers submit a written letter summarizing the project status, expenditures, and current issues. Other Committees require the submission of a detailed report. In other cases, the Committee may rely on the monthly update of the Program Master Schedule. Still other Committees require that the Program Manager lead the Project Delivery Team in a presentation before the Committee at their regularly scheduled meetings. The Program Manager may also be required to bring in representatives from General Services or other City departments or bureaus to make presentations. At times, Committees may select a combination of these options for the presentation of project updates.
As noted above, a monthly progress report may be required. Formats will vary but the following is a general guideline on the organization and information that would be presented:
Section 1.0 – Executive Summary
This section includes an overall summary of the program’s activities, schedule, budget, project status, and key issues.
Section 2.0 – Schedule
This section includes a detailed progress report for each project. Typically, each project is broken down into pre-design, design, bid and award, construction, post-construction and, where applicable, land acquisition. A table is used to indicate if the project is on, ahead of, or behind schedule, based on the adopted Program Master Schedule. Normally, the Program Master Schedule, with a status bar indicating the level of progress for each project, is included.
Section 3.0 – Budget
This section includes a detailed expenditure report, typically provided by the Bureau’s Administration Division, which presents all labor charged to each project and program including expenditures for City staff, consultants, and vendors. Project expenses, such as design cost, land acquisition, construction, and other direct costs are also included.
This section also includes the “original budget” (the adopted budget), the “revised budget” (any revisions approved by the Oversight Committee), project expenditures for the reported month, and expenditures from project inception. In addition, actual expenditures for City staff, plotted against the anticipated expenditures, are graphically presented and any deviations are justified in narrative format.
Section 4.0 – Project Status
This section consists of a detailed report of progress by project, which identifies the project phase, location, Council District, facility size, funding source, design firm’s name, bid amounts, name of the contractor awarded the project, change orders, payments to date, and includes a brief narrative of the progress.
Section 5.0 – Appendix
This last section includes miscellaneous information that varies from month to month.
The Monthly Progress Report is duplicated, bound, and distributed one week prior to the monthly Oversight Committee meeting. The distribution list will vary depending on the program. The following is a typical distribution for a bond program that involves an Owner/Client department, public buildings that involve the Department of General Services, and a separate Citizens Oversight Committee.
Oversight Committee Members
Citizens’ Oversight Committee Members (if applicable)
Office of Accounting (2 copies)
General Services, Asset Management (1 copy)
Mayor’s staff (1 copy)
CAO staff (2 copies --1 unbound)
CLA staff (1 copy)
Client Commission (5 copies)
Owner/Client department (3 copies)
Board of Public Works (5 copies)
BOE, Administration Division (4 copies)
BOE, Executive Management (2 copies)
Bureau of Contract Administration (1 copy)
The Oversight Committee considers the information presented in the monthly report or other requested medium and takes whatever action is necessary to ensure that each project is delivered within its schedule and budget requirements and is ready for use by the Owner/Client department and/or community.
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