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PROPOSED ORDINANCE
ASSET MANAGEMENT AND SPACE STANDARDS ORDINANCE
BE IT ORDAINED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that Chapter 2, ADMINISTRATION, Article XII, Asset Management, Division 1, Sections 2-1000 through 2-1025, is hereby enacted as follows:
Chapter 2, ADMINISTRATION, Article 12, ASSET MANAGEMENT AND SPACE STANDARDS
Sec. 2-1000. Legislative findings and purpose.
(a) Section 5/5 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-1106) provides that "it shall be the duty of the county board "to provide proper rooms and offices for the accommodation of the county board, State's attorney, county clerk, county treasurer, recorder and sheriff . . . .
(b) In fulfilling that obligation, the County of Cook owns or occupies over 19 million square feet of real estate assets.
(c) The County expends millions of dollars each year to operate those real estate assets.
(d) In addition to operating costs, hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and capital needs will be required to continue to operate County real estate, which will require constant capital expenditures over many years.
(e) Efficient use of the County's real estate assets could save the County millions of dollars in operating and capital costs by facilitating consolidation of space into fewer facilities and reducing space needs for many users.
(f) Efficient use of the County's real estate assets requires a centralized and consistent approach, with participation by various agencies and departments having knowledge and responsibilities bearing on the use and maintenance of real estate, and cooperation among using departments and agencies in modernizing space use.
(g) In order to promote efficient use of real estate assets, in 2011 the Real Estate Management Division, the Office of Capital Planning and Policy, the Department of Facilities Management, the Budget and Management Services Department, and the Bureau of Administration, under the authority of President Toni Preckwinkle, created the Space Allocation Committee, charged which instituting processes and procedures for departments and agencies requesting additional space or reconfiguration to existing space.
(h) The Space Allocation Committee has implemented a process for allocating real estate assets, and has begun reallocating unused or underutilized space, with significant cooperation from many departments and elected officials.
(i) In 2012, the County undertook a Real Estate Asset Strategic Realignment Plan project (the REASRP) which has assessed both the physical condition and the space utilization of County real estate assets.
(j) The REASRP recommends re-structuring the management of real estate assets by combining the departments of Capital Planning, Facilities Management and Real Estate into one group, under the leadership of an Asset Manager.
(k) The REASRP has revealed that administrative and other space is often underutilized, based upon modern office standards, whereas other agencies and departments operate in cramped and therefore inefficient space which hampers the delivery of public services.
(l) The REASRP has developed Office Standards and procedures for applying those standards, which, if fully implemented, could reduce administrative occupancy by over 300,000 square feet, as well as data on employee counts and uses of space which will enable the Space Allocation Committee to analyze space needs and promote fair and efficient use.
(m) The data generated by the REASRP requires continuous updating in order to support efficient space allocations, which can only be accomplished through cooperation and open exchange of information regarding space use between the Space Allocation Committee and Elected Officials.
(n) The purpose of this article is to:
(1) Establish an Asset Management Steering Committee in order to achieve the goals of the REASRP and implement its recommendations, to provide for participation by Elected Officials and to foster cooperation in furthering the goals of the REASRP;
(2) Formally adopt the Office Standards; and
(3) Empower the Space Allocation Committee to apply and enforce the Office Standards, to develop and enforce Furniture and Fixture Standards, to continue the process of space allocation, and to develop additional standards and procedures to further the goals of the REASRP.
Sec. 2-1001. Establishment of the Asset Management Steering Committee
(a) The County Board hereby establishes an Asset Management Steering Committee (AMSC).
(b) The AMSC will fall under the auspices of the Asset Manager.
(c) The AMSC shall consist of representatives from each of the following Cook County agencies and Elected Officials:
(1) the Office of the President;
(2) the Bureau of Finance, including the Department of Budget and Management Services;
(3) the Asset Manager, representatives of the Department of Facilities Management (DFM), the Office of Capital Planning and Policy (OCPP), and the Real Estate Management Division (REMD);
(4) the Bureau of Administration (BOA);
(5) The Bureau of Technology;
(6) Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS);
(7) The Chair of the Finance Committee of the Board of Commissioners;
(8) The Chair of the Subcommittee on Real Estate and Economic Development;
(9) The Assessor;
(10) The Board of Review;
(11) The Chief Judge;
(12) The Clerk of the Circuit Court;
(13) The County Clerk;
(14) The Recorder of Deeds;
(15) The Sheriff;
(16) The State's Attorney; and
(17) The Treasurer.
(d) AMSC shall be chaired by the Deputy Bureau Chief for Asset Management, or such other member of AMSC as may be designated by the President. AMSC shall meet semi-annually, or as otherwise requested by the President.
(e) The President shall have the authority to appoint additional member departments and remove departments as necessary to accomplish the goals of the AMSC.
Sec. 2-1002. Authority of Asset Management Steering Committee
(a) AMSC shall have the following responsibilities:
(1) Reviewing the implementation of the Office Standards and other policies developed for efficient space use by the Space Allocation Committee;
(2) Modifying and adopting policies and standards, based on the recommendations of SAC, to further the goals of consolidation and cost savings;
(3) Administering and ensuring compliance with this Article;
(4) Receiving and reviewing reports by the Space Allocation Committee advising AMSC of progress in the goals of improving space utilization.
(5) All members of AMSC shall be responsible for ensuring that their respective agencies comply with the procedures of the SAC and that the policies of the AMSC are administered and adhered to by employees within their offices.
(6) Submitting an annual report to the Board describing progress toward the goals of the REASRP, any modifications of standards or policies adopted throughout the preceding year, failure to participate or cooperate on the part of any department, agency or Elected Official, and any cost savings achieved through consolidation or increased efficiency in use of real estate.
Sec. 2-1003. Authority of Space Allocation Committee
(a) The County Board hereby establishes the Space Allocation Committee (SAC) as previously authorized by the President.
(b) SAC shall serve under the auspices of and report to the President.
(c) SAC shall consist of representatives from the County departments designated by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and shall include the Asset Management Group and its constituent departments, the Bureau of Administration, the Department of Budget and Management Services, and the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. The chairperson of SAC shall be the Real Estate Director, or such other SAC member as is designated by the Asset Manager.
(d) No Elected Official, Bureau Chief, Department Head or other County employee or official shall have the authority to assign, allocate, or change the use of space in any County facility or in or on any County-owned or occupied real estate other than by participating in the process established and administered by the Space Allocation Committee.
(e) SAC has the authority to make and deny allocations of space, changes to space use, renovations, reductions of space, and all other changes affecting the use of real estate assets; to develop and implement standards for space use, apply such standards to space requests and existing uses, investigate existing space uses and re-allocate space that is determined to be underutilized, prioritize space needs, develop and implement policies and procedures regarding the use and allocation of real estate assets, approve and deny furniture procurements not in accordance with the Furniture and Finishes Standards, and take other actions as necessary to optimize the County's use and expenditures for its real estate assets. SAC will report to AMSC on progress in the space allocation process, on issues requiring policy decisions, and on progress in consolidation and efficient asset management.
(f) All Elected Officials, Bureau Chiefs, department heads and other County employees or officials for whom the County provides real estate in which to conduct County business, will be required to cooperate with the SAC space allocation process in making any alterations, improvements, reconfiguration or other changes to space or to use of space, expanding or reducing occupancy of space, relocating staff within or between facilities, reallocating existing space among departments of the using agency, and procurement of furniture, regardless of source of funding.
(g) Due to the cost of operating and maintaining real estate assets, all Elected Officials, Bureau Chiefs, department heads and other County officials or employees for whom the County provides real estate will notify the SAC of any vacated space in order that such space can be re-purposed.
(h) Upon request, Elected Officials, Bureau Chiefs, department heads and other County officials will provide SAC with updated information as to the number of staff at any location, and other information regarding space use as may be necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the SAC.
Sec. 2-1004. Standards
(a) The Office Space Standards recommended in the Real Estate Asset Strategic Realignment Plan, and incorporated in this Ordinance by this reference, are hereby adopted as a policy of Cook County. SAC shall apply the Office Space Standards for all administrative and office space, with adaptation to specific uses being within the discretion of SAC.
(b) It is recognized that fully implementing the Office Space Standards requires capital investment, and will occur over a number of years. Therefore, SAC will endeavor to adhere to the Office Space Standards as much as practicable in all requests for space and reconfiguration, while balancing the costs to achieve the goals with other factors such as the length of time the space will be occupied, the eventual plan for the facility in which it is located and similar factors.
(c) The implementation of the Office Space Standards depends in large part on procurement of appropriate sizes and configurations of modular and other office furniture, fixtures and certain office equipment such as printers and similar devices that impact space use (Furniture and Fixtures). In addition, in order to provide flexibility in re-purposing of space, fairness and a consistent and productive office environment, it is important to apply standards to the design and allocation of Furniture and Fixtures. Therefore, SAC is further charged with the development of furniture, fixtures, equipment and finishes standards (Furniture and Finishes Standards), and the application of such standards. The Chief Procurement Officer shall provide to SAC copies of all procurement requests involving Furniture and Fixtures and using departments shall cooperate with SAC in conforming purchases to the Furniture and Finishes Standards. Orders for items covered by the Furniture and Finishes Standards will not be placed without concurrence from the SAC Chair.
(d) The implementation of the Office Space Standards is also impacted by the use and adoption of technology, such as printing and multifunctional devices, broadband availability, and network connectivity. Therefore, the Bureau of Technology will collaborate with SAC to promote efficient use of technology to minimize space use, and to adopt standards and procedures for the distribution and use of such technology so as to improve the efficiency of space utilization. As technology is adopted, and as space use and standards evolve, the Bureau of Technology will cooperate with SAC to review the Office Space Standards from time to time and adopt modifications as appropriate to enhance space utilization and cost effectiveness.
(e) The provision of adequate conference rooms and maximizing use of conference rooms are critical elements in the efficient use of space. Therefore, SAC is further charged with developing procedures for sharing and scheduling of conference facilities accommodating more than 10 individuals.
Sec. 2-1005. Procedures
SAC shall develop procedures for efficient use of space and for submitting, evaluating and deciding upon requests for space, requests for changes, procurement and installation of furniture, and other actions regarding or impacting space use, space efficiency, and improvements.
Sec. 2-1006 through 1025. Reserved.
Effective date: This ordinance shall be in effect immediately upon adoption
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