Inquiries to DPAC Presentation 10-25-18

Calmentor

October 25, 2018, Caltrans District 4 Jt. Professional Liaison - Calmentor Quarterly Meeting
Caltrans DPAC/lndependent Office of Audits & Investigations
Calmentor Member Questions

Caltrans Independent Office of Audits & Investigations

1. Is there any plan to increase the Safe Harbor Rate based on Bay Area specific overhead costs?
   
   Answer: Once FHWA provides policies that allow each state to oversee the SHR program. the
   Department will consider at that time.
   
   
2. Will there be opportunities for small businesses to negotiate their rates over taking the Safe Harbor
   Rate (similar services provided under a different contract by another company by a different
   company)?
   
   Answer: lCR has to be supported and FAR compliant or SHR; non-negotiable.
   
   
3. If firms have an accepted ICR and number, why are they asked for additional information during
   the contract negotiation process?
   
   Answer: A&I still requires certain standard financial documentation, such as policies for every contract.
   Also, different conditions may exist on subsequent contracts that would require additional documents to
   be requested. A&I reserves the right to request for additional documents as needed.
   
   
4. If firms are using the Safe Harbor Rate, why are they asked for additional information during the
   contract negotiation process?
   
   Answer: Same as #3 above.

Caltrans DPAC

1. Would Caltrans consider establishing the profit and escalation and publishing those numbers in the
   IFBs for each contract? This would allow firms to make an informed decision on if they wanted to
   submit and eliminate this from the cost negotiation process.
   
   Answer: Caltrans is now advertising the profit(fee) and the escalation rates in every RFQ as required by
   internal policy.
   Fee and Escalation have been adjusted to reflect the current economy in California. Fee continues to meet
   the criteria requirements outlined in 23 CFR 172.1 l, while the escalation rates are tied to wage and salary
   data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
   The fee range is 10% - 11 %, and the salary escalation rate is set at O - 3%.

2. Why are the cost proposal formats and footers different for the various Caltrans Districts?
   Answer: DPAC is making continuous process improvements, one being the recent updates to the cost
   proposal (CP) templates for on-call construction inspection/surveying contracts, and related
   instructions. There are no footnotes on the CP templates; each consultant is responsible for including
   footnotes on the CP in the designated area. All footnotes will be approved by the A&E Coordinators at the
   time they perform a technical review.

3. What are some examples of circumstances where contracts could not be negotiated, and Caltrans went to the second qualified consultant?
   
   Answer: This does not happen often, but there have been instances when consultants could not provide the appropriate level of supporting documentation. In those instances, Caltrans moves on to the second ranked consultants.

4. Under ODC's -Vehicle requirements for a single field survey staff augmentation requirement, will there be the ability to provide a rate? Most survey businesses have a fully equipped truck in their rate for a field crew, not a single crew member.
   
   Answer: We would have to look at the scope of work and understand what work a consultant's employees would be performing. This, in addition to what the consultant submits as supporting documentation.

5. Define the range of Profit and Escalation rates under the new process.
   
   Answer: See response to Q#1.