Report 2014-107 Recommendation 6 Responses

Report 2014-107: Judicial Branch of California: Because of Questionable Fiscal and Operational Decisions, the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts Have Not Maximized the Funds Available for the Courts (Release Date: January 2015)

Recommendation #6 To: Administrative Office of the Courts

To justify maintaining its headquarters in San Francisco and its additional space in Burbank, the AOC should conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis of moving its operations to Sacramento. If the analysis determines that the financial benefits of consolidating its operations in Sacramento outweigh the costs of such a move, the AOC should begin the process of relocating to Sacramento.

1-Year Agency Response

An independent cost-benefit analysis was conducted. The analysis provided comprehensive quantitative and qualitative data and identified potential risks and benefits on consolidating operations that were weighed from a financial perspective but also, necessarily, an operations and service delivery perspective.

A 10-year horizon was used to account for lease expirations and payoff of a lease revenue bond in 2021.

Impacts on workforce, budget, real estate, working relationships, business continuity, productivity, and long-term effectiveness and efficiency of staff operations in meeting customer needs and public service obligations also were presented as key considerations.

Decisions Summary

- Terminate at expiration, or earlier as appropriate, office leases for Burbank, Governmental Affairs, and eight real estate/facilities management field offices.

- Consolidate operations into two locations: Sacramento and San Francisco, and consolidate field office staff in courthouse hubs.

Considering fiscal data only, cost-savings of up to $18 million may be realized over the 10-years. The SF location will see the most rent savings when the lease revenue bond is paid off. However, final determinations were based on what would allow the judicial branch to:

- Maintain without disruption ongoing key statewide work on initiatives such as stable funding and self-help assistance.

- Keep staff attrition to manageable levels.

- Have sustainable fiscal savings, the bulk of which are not from potential one-time labor costs.

Impacted programs/employees were advised of closures/consolidations on November 6. Implementation is under way with efforts to mitigate service impacts and employee layoffs.

The report is posted on the California Courts public website.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

To ensure objectivity, a consultant has been retained to oversee this analysis. The analysis will be completed in the third quarter of 2015.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

Council staff is gathering pertinent facilities, lease, human resources and market data. This data collection* will be completed in the second quarter of 2015.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2014-107

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.