Benicia City Council has affirmed a $150,000 one-year contract with Michael Baker International and a revised work program for Alex Porteshawver for Climate Action Plan coordinator services.
Porteshawver has been the city’s CAP coordinator since 2012, under the original contract with Sonoma State University. As that contract wound down, she was hired by PMC, an Oakland firm later bought by Michael Baker.
Under the old contract, she spent up to four days a week in Benicia, but as a Michael Baker employee, she would spend one day in Benicia, would work on Benicia projects from the Baker office a second day. In addition, the company would provide the city with additional expertise from other employees.
The Community Sustainability Commission has felt so strongly about continuing Porteshawver’s services that it offered to pay for a year of work using its share of Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee settlement agreement money, and urged the Council to find additional money to extend the contract.
Some speakers who addressed the Council on the matter chided the panel for not offering Porteshawver two years of work.
“She is your consultant,” Marilyn Bardet, an ex-officio member of the sustainability commission, said.
Porteshawver has brought value, contacts drive and commitment, and losing her at the end of the year means losing consistency, she said.
Sharon Maher, the commission’s vice chairperson, said Porteshawver has obtained $295,000 in grants, saved the city $105,000 and generated $86,500 in incentives, “a 170 percent return on our investment.”
She continued, “I want to point out her amazing value,” representing Benicia in many situations that have put Benicia on the map for its environmental accomplishments.
Councilmember Tom Campbell reminded the audience that the Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee money, at $14 million, has funded many projects.
“Each one of these programs had to be self-sustaining,” he said. “Do we take it from the General Fund?”
He said the Council has to make tough choices, because with the city’s tight budget which still isn’t balanced, and funding one project may mean another one doesn’t get money.
“I’d like to keep Alex, too,” he said, but he agreed with the rest of the Council, which unanimously approved the one-year contract ending June 30, 2016.
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A 170% return on our investment? Well if that is the case what do we do about the Mayors statement when she said the budget was balanced with 1.2 mil fix. Well guess what it took another 1.3+ mil to finally fix it. Explain that return on investment. a very silly statement. Folks are hired to do a job. Not return on investment. If grants etc are part of the job so be it. You never evaluate a person on their job responsibilities in dollars and cents. Only job performance. Like did she train people so the city can move forward. when there is not a CAP co-ordinator. This CSC group thinks they run the city budget. No concept of a budget only agenda driven ideals. The CSC should be combined with another commission/committee.