Contract committee moves to cut AGS night‑security line item, seeks plan to bring service in house

The West Contra Costa Unified contract committee voted to eliminate the district—udget line for the AGS Security Services night‑security contract and directed staff to develop a transition plan to bring those services in house where feasible.

Booker, presenting for the safety department, told the committee the AGS contract has recorded spending of about $359,917 against a board authorization of up to $450,000 and covers night asset protection for roughly 56 district sites and adjacent properties. "Their contract currently stands at 359,917," Booker said, adding the vendor also responds to some break‑ins and performs FireWatch duties under a separate maintenance contract.

Committee members underlined operational shortcomings and cost tradeoffs. One member said an earlier in‑house staffing proposal estimated savings "somewhere around $60,000" but emphasized the break‑even point depends on how many full‑time positions, overtime and substitution costs are required. Members also raised incidents of missed responses and an alarm that sounded for days; Booker said the vendor and police had been notified and that those incidents would factor into the evaluation.

The committee agreed to remove the night‑security allocation but instructed staff to preserve continuity for required services such as FireWatch and to negotiate with labor on shift design and supervisory arrangements. Purchasing staff warned that if the district bids a replacement vendor, procurement could take about 90 days, a factor staff must account for before the June 30 contract end date.

Committee members framed the action as pushing the district to complete a detailed cost and operational analysis rather than an immediate termination without a replacement plan. "We can cut today," one member said, "but there are a lot of moving pieces we have to figure out quickly."

Next steps identified by the committee included: a detailed cost comparison of in‑house staffing vs. contractor billing; a plan for FireWatch coverage and whether that remains an external contract; discussions with union representatives; and a procurement timeline if an external vendor remains necessary. The committee said it will revisit the plan at a follow‑up meeting before the contract expiration.

The committee's action was expressed as a committee consensus during the meeting; no formal roll‑call vote was recorded in the transcript for public distribution.

The contract committee will provide staff direction and requested analyses at upcoming meetings; the next committee meeting was scheduled to continue remaining departmental contract reviews.