Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, October 04, 2022
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH VERTOSOFT LLC. FOR OPENGOV BUDGET/PLANNING AND TRANSPARENCY PORTAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE CITY OF CARSON (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
The City’s annual budget is available on the City’s website as well as printed in hardcopy for elected officials, residents, and a select number of staff. Staff recommends transitioning from the printed budget document to an interactive digital budget web-portal dashboard, which would be presented in a more understandable way, broaden citizen engagement, and strengthen public trust. The platform is a product of OpenGov Inc. with whom the City of Carson can acquire solution through Cooperative Purchasing via Vertosoft, LLC. The addition of two platforms: (1) Budgeting & Planning, and (2) Reporting & Transparency, would allow staff to create a more collaborative experience, budget process automation, managerial reporting, and public transparency. OpenGov solutions can also provide the City more streamline approach to developing personnel budget during budget development.
The contract term will be for 5 years for a total not to exceed amount of $368,163.46, with the initial year being $105,282.65 for deployment and integration with current ERP system Tyler Munis.
Competitive bidding was not required under the City’s Municipal Code as City was able to utilize Cooperative Purchasing under Section 2611(e g). The cooperative agreement being referenced is contract No. 220105 (Exhibit NO. 1) between The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) and Vertosoft LLC, an authorized OpenGov reseller.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. WAIVE the formal bidding procedures as defined by the Carson Municipal Code (CMC) pursuant to Carson Municipal Code Sections 2611(e) (cooperative purchasing program) and 2611(e) (sole source purchasing);
2. APPROVE and APPROVE the Contract Services Agreement with Vertosoft,LLC. for OpenGov budget planning and transparency portal solutions for five years, for a total not to exceed amount of $368,163.46; and
3. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the agreement, following approval as to form by the City Attorney.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
The OpenGov proposal includes purchase and implementation of operating budgets, workforce planning, online budget book, reporting and transparency platform, reporting and analytics dashboards, stories, open town hall, and data management components. OpenGov’s workforce planning will enhance the development of personnel annual budget which is extremely important as Personnel Expenditures are 70% of the City’s Annual Operational Budget. The workforce or personnel planning components will be much easier to update and use compared to the City’s current ERP system Tyler Munis. OpenGov also provides the option to integrate Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) into the budget system. The CIP is currently conducted via Excel. OpenGov will automate the creation of the budget book and move the budget book from a published document to an online easily navigable document. Currently the production of the budget book compiles files from a number of platforms and takes hours of communications staff time to complete. OpenGov will save significant finance and communications staff time along with giving departments much more control and transparency around their budget submissions.
In addition to improving our existing internal processes OpenGov offers a number of features that will enhance our current process particularly around external communication with the public. OpenGov has the capability to include and track performance measures on a regular basis. It includes an online transparency tool which the public can use to drill into historical budgets and actual finances. It also includes a tool that can be used to easily survey the public both on budget and financial questions, or any other survey need of the City and easily compiles and analyzes the results. Exhibit 3 illustrates OpenGov scope of work and enhancements their solutions will bring to the City of Carson.
OpenGov provides software solutions for municipalities all over the country and in California, including Laguna Beach, Lomita, Buena Park, Irvine, Fresno.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The annual cost of the OpenGov implementation is estimated to be $105,282.65. Funds for the project were not included in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget; therefore, if the contract is approved by the City Council, the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget will need to be amended by $105,282.65 via resolution no. 22-195 (Exhibit No. 4)
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Vertosoft, LLC. Contract (pgs.4-47)
2. Vertosoft, LLC quote (pgs. 48-49)
3. OpenGov Partnership Summary with City of Carson (pgs. 50-68)
4. Budget Resolution 22-195 (pgs. 69-70)
5. Signed Authorization for Cooperative Purchasing (pg.71)
Prepared by: Ralston Turner, Sr. Budget Analyst; Tarik Rahmani, Deputy City Manager