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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-03-2009 - 6d ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 3, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. (o ' SUBJECT: Contract with Property Information Management System Software Vendor DEPARTMENT: Information Technologies, Tax PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No Assessor, Revenue, Purchasing ATTACHMENT(S): BSCA Systems Contract INFORMATION CONTACT: Memorandum from Staff Todd Jones, (919) 245-2285 Memorandum from IT Advisory John Smith, (919) 245-2101 Committee Jo Roberson, (919) 245-2727 Pam Jones, (919) 245-2652 This item was delayed from the January 22, 2009 Board meeting due to time constraints. PURPOSE: To obtain approval to contract with Barry Strock Consulting Associates, Inc. for consulting services to develop vendor agreements, technology deliverables and legal documents between vendors and Orange County for the Property Information Management System (PIMS) project for managing land records and property taxation. BACKGROUND: The County has relied on an internally developed software system for tracking and managing land records, property valuation and payment data for 29 years. This system has been modified and enhanced over the years to meet the County's needs and has played an important role ensuring the Assessor's office maintains accurate valuations while helping the Revenue office maintain a high collection rate. The legacy system, however, was developed on what has become, over time, a fundamentally antiquated computing platform. The underlying architecture makes it difficult to integrate with more modern software, an increasingly important requirement as the County moves toward enterprise systems for greater efficiencies. Further, the expertise for maintaining the legacy system is increasingly difficult to find and develop. The departments of the Tax Assessor, Revenue and Information Technologies (IT) have been working since 2005 to investigate replacing the legacy system with a modern and more supportable system. In 2006 work began on identifying functional requirements for a new system. This was done using consulting resources (Carolina Consulting Group) working closely with the Chief Information Officer, IT's Business Analyst and staff from the Tax Assessor's and Revenue offices. From this functional requirements work, the stakeholder departments and Purchasing developed a Request for Proposal that was released on July 20, 2007. North Carolina General Statute 143-129.8 authorizes local governments to use a "request for proposals" (RFP) process 2 to purchase information technology goods and services. This procedure provides flexibility in procuring these potentially complex contracts. The RFP was issued following this Statute which allows for award to be made to the "best overall" proposal. Thirteen potential vendors were sent the RFP and it was advertised in the Durham Herald and on the County website. From the RFP, three vendors responded. The stakeholder departments and Purchasing met extensively with each of the three responding vendors. The vendors' responses and functional demonstrations were evaluated against the functional requirements. On the basis of the analysis of the responses, the departments of Tax Assessor, Revenue and Information Technologies are recommending the County pursue a solution which uses the Patriot Systems' of Boston, Massachusetts AssessPro product and the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners' (NCACC) North Carolina Property Tax System (NCPTS) product, administered by Intelligent Information Systems, Inc. (IIS) of Durham, North Carolina. These two software applications together represent a solution that is the lowest risk and highest benefit among the various responses received and best overall solution for Orange County. Because of the broad scope, cost and complexity of implementing a new Land Records and Taxation system, the departments of the Tax Assessor, Revenue, Purchasing and Information Technologies seek approval to begin detailed contractual negotiations with the two vendors. Further, the stakeholder departments request to contract with a firm specializing in technology contracts. The County Attorney's Office is prepared to provide an initial level of review in upcoming negotiations, but since contracting for information technologies is notoriously complex with high risk factors, and critical deadlines have been defined for optimal project launch, staff believes specialized consulting will mitigate the inherent risks of such a critical project. The legal consultant, working with staff and the County Attorney, will ensure the contractual obligations of the vendors are clearly delineated and legally enforceable. The Information Technology Advisory Committee has discussed and will continue to discuss the PIMS project. The Committee reviewed a status report with the recommendation of a specialized legal counsel. The members of the committee in attendance concurred with these needs in order to proceed with the project. Recently, the Committee evaluated the sustainability of the legacy system and concurred with the Chief Information Officer's assessment that the legacy system is not supportable. In order to implement this system properly, the timing of the conversion must be carefully planned in between property revaluation cycles. Any further delays of the replacement of the legacy system will cause the implementation to coincide with the next revaluation cycle, causing considerable disruptions in the Tax Assessors' office. The firm of Barry Strock Consulting Associates, Inc. (BSCA) is uniquely qualified for performing these consulting services. Specializing in local government technology contract development, BSCA has significant experience in North Carolina County government tax and land records systems. Further, the firm is familiar with the vendors Orange County has selected and has a detailed understanding of the technical challenges that other, less experienced vendors would devote resources to achieve. Further details and costs of implementing the Property Information Management System will be determined on the basis of the negotiations and submitted for Board approval at a future date. 3 FINANCIAL IMPACT: Barry Strock Consulting Associates, Inc. has quoted a price of $45,000 to develop multi-vendor contracts encompassing development, implementation, training, acceptance and ongoing maintenance. Further vendor costs for implementing the Property Information Management System will be delineated and submitted for approval in future Board presentations. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve the contract with Barry Strock Consulting Associates, Inc. and authorize the Chair to sign the contract pending final approval by staff and the County Attorney. 34 County of Orange,NC.and BSCA,Inc.—Software Consulting . 1 of 4 BSCA Systems Consulting CONTRACT FOR SYSTEM EVALUATION ANALYSIS County of Orange North Car lina \e • Sof, oQ o Q) CO N co • • Ede hno\o • SYSTEMS CONSULTING CONTRACT BARRY STROCK CONS IG ASSOCIATES,INC. 154 ROSEMONT STREET,ALBANY,NY 12206 JANUARY 8,2009 (49 County of Orange,NC. and BSCA,Inc.—Software Consulting w-- 2 of 4 BSCA Consulting Contract with Orange County,North Carolina Barry Strock Consulting Associates, Inc.,(hereinafter referred to as BSCA)offices located at 154 Rosemont Street,Albany,NY 12206,will provide consulting services to Orange County, North Carolina (hereinafter referred to as "COUNTY")with offices located at County of Orange,Finance Department, 129 East King Street,Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278. I.SCOPE OF SERVICE As defined in the proposal for services attached as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference to the same,BSCA will provide consulting services in scope and general quantity as described more fully on Attachment A. III. Charges,Expenses and Payment Terms Expenses Expenses include: travel costs such as lodging,meals for BSCA staff or for County staff during working meals, public transportation (taxis, bus, train, plane or car rental) or private transportation at forty-five cents(.45) per mile from BSCA offices plus tolls and parking charges. Additional reimbursable expenses include telephone,postage or shipping charges and any Orange County or other local or state or other required licensing permits,fees or taxes. County Provisions The County will be responsible to provide printing,duplication or reproduction services and will assume all distribution costs for sending materials to the desired parties. Payment Terms Terms of payment are net thirty days (30) from the date of receipt of an "Approved Invoice". For purposes of this Agreement,an Approved Invoice is an invoice submitted to the County containing specific and detailed entries and that is approved by the County's Information Technology Director. Deposit A refundable deposit of$500(five hundred dollars) shall accompany the return of this Agreement to BSCA once it is executed by the County. This refundable deposit will be credited towards the first invoice rendered to the County under this Agreement. Hourly Rate An hourly rate of$160.00 per hour will be charged for all services rendered under this Agreement plus travel time and other costs incurred during the carrying out of the duties associated with this Agreement. BSCA will provide a detailed itemization of all tasks and hours expended. Hourly rates will be billed as the actual time expended at 15-minute minimum intervals. Thus,for example,if 25 minutes is expended,then one half hour is billed. Billing will be as follows: On-site hours at the County or other directed sites as time is expended. Travel Hours will be billed at 60%of the time expended in traveling from BSCA Geneva [near Rochester] or Albany offices in New York. Off-site hours for services rendered that are to be provided for any preparation,consultation, research,analysis,evaluation,or presentations associated with this contract are billed as time is expended. Amount Payable The total BUDGETARY amount payable to BSCA pursuant to this Agreement, including all hourly rate charges and expenses, shall not exceed$45,000.00. This Agreement must be amended in writing if the parties desire to contract for services or expenses in excess of County of Orange,NC. and BSCA,Inc. —Software Consulting 3 of 4 $45,000.00. Since BSCA cannot project exact tasks and hours before BSCA begins this contract,the not-to-exceed is a budget limit, but it does not imply that all services will be included for this amount. Relationship of Parties BSCA is an independent contractor of the County. BSCA represents that it has or will secure, at its own expense, all personnel required in performing the services under this Agreement. Such personnel shall not be employees of or have any contractual relationship with the County. All personnel engaged in work under this Agreement shall be fully qualified and shall be authorized or permitted under state and local law to perform such services. It is further agreed by BSCA that it shall obey all State and Federal statutes, rules and regulations which are applicable to provisions of the services called for herein. Neither BSCA nor any employee of BSCA shall be deemed an officer,employee or agent of the County. Term & Cancellation The term of this Agreement shall be for a period of twelve months from the latest date written on the signature page of this Agreement. This Agreement may be cancelled by BSCA upon thirty (30) days'written notice to the County, and the County may terminate this agreement upon thirty (30) days'written notice to BSCA. County shall be responsible for payment for all charges and services rendered by BSCA up to and through the date of the written notice of termination, subject to the"Payment Terms" Section of this Agreement. Indemnification BSCA agrees to defend, indemnify,and hold harmless the County, for all loss, liability, claims or expense (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from bodily injury, including death or property damage, to any person or persons caused in whole or in part by the negligence or misconduct of BSCA,except to the extent same are caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of the County. It is the intent of this section to require BSCA to indemnify the County to the extent permitted under North Carolina law. Non-Assignment BSCA shall not assign this Agreement, including rights to payments, to any other party without the prior written consent of the County. Entire Agreement The parties have read this Agreement and agree to be bound by all of its terms, and further agree that it constitutes the complete and exclusive statement of the Agreement between the parties. Governing Law This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina. IIII. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS Limitation of Liabilities BSCA makes no representation or warranties,express or implied,with respect to the services it has or will furnish including,but not limited to,any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose and assumes no liability to the County except as specifically set forth in this contract,or any mutually agreed amendments thereto. Any loss is limited to fees paid to BSCA for services rendered during this contract. County of Orange,NC. and BSCA, Inc. -Software Consulting 4 of 4 Barry Strock ConsudtbirAssociates,Inc. By: . President 2j 07 Title Date Orange County,NC By: Title Date Name of Signatory: This instrument has been pre-audited in the manner required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. COUNTY FINANCE OFFICER PIMS Contract Consultant Statement of Work r 1 11)'1 Business Background Orange County has relied on an internally developed tax and land management system for the past 30 years. This system has served the County well over the years and has played a significant role in keeping the County's high collection rate. However, as technology has advanced, this legacy system has become increasingly difficult to integrate with newer systems and expertise needed to support it is becoming increasingly rare in the marketplace. Because of these reasons, Orange County's departments of Information Technologies, Revenue and Tax Assessment are leading a project in which the entire property tax system and processes, including Land Records functions will be replaced with new applications and concomitant business processes. To date, Orange County has released a detailed RFP, received vendor responses and performed an evaluation of the solutions proposed. Based on this analysis, Orange County has identified two primary vendors, IIS Systems of Durham, NC and Patriot Systems of Boston, MA as the intended solution providers. IIS is to provide customization, implementation and support services for the North Carolina Property Tax System that is owned and managed by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, specifically to manage the collections, billing and personal property taxation functions of our overall program. Patriot Systems is to provide software, customization, implementation and support services for AssessPro, their product used to manage property assessment data, including land records data. The unavailability of a viable single vendor solution yield significant challenges in integrating the two primary vendors. Each of these vendors may in turn work with subcontracting firms.Additionally, the taxation system must also integrate with existing GIS, Register of Deeds, Property Inspections, Financial software. Because of the complexity of implementation and the imperative need to ensure a smooth transition, Orange County feels that project planning and detailed contract negotiations will be essential to produce a successful product. Orange County is seeking outside assistance in defining detailed contractual requirements for the vendors to be engaged, assist in developing a detailed project plan and provide assistance in measuring and enforcing vendor performance. Tasks The work will include the following tasks: • Ensure the detailed business requirements for all relevant taxation and related activities are covered, unambiguously and enforceable in contracts, using the body of process documentation available • Identify all functionalities required by Orange County, vetting the need in the context of vendor recommended best practices. • Oversee contract development to ensure the following vendor and County deliverables are documented in specific, detailed, measurable and enforceable language: o software functionalities o data conversion responsibilities Sept 8,2008 - 1- Orange County IT 0 PIMS Contract Consultant Statement of Work o acceptance testing o integration responsibilities (including vendors of other systems for which we'll be integrating) o user training • Assist in the development of change management process • Work with vendor, County tax offices and County's Information Technology department to develop a detailed project schedule, with milestones, dependencies, resource requirements to be managed by the County's. • Information Technology department Technology Background The Tax Assessor and Revenue Collection Departments currently use legacy database applications. They are installed on IBM RISC hardware running the AIX operating system, with the Universe database and application environment. Information Technologies has expertise on staff that will be instrumental in converting data and other project support roles. The Planning/Inspections division has installed the Permits' Plus version 4.7.73 (vendor. Accela Inc.) application for the management of inspections data. It also has an interface with the legacy applications as well as the GIS system. The Information Technology/GIS Department has developed and currently supports a GIS system, based on ESRI software products. The legacy system is used to populate the attribute fields in GIS for all parcel data. The County also has the Master Orange Address Database (MOAD) application that is intended as the foundation for future address-related applications. MOAD is an Access 2000 database. The Register of Deeds office.has installed the AiLIS application (vendor: American Cadastre) for the storage and management of deeds information as well as vital records information. This application has an interface with the Land Records/GIS, Tax Assessor and Revenue Collection legacy applications. The County has implemented the Munis version 2004 (vendor. Munis, Inc.)financial and business systems software package. The Munis application also interfaces with the legacy applications. Project Goals and Objectives • This project will define and prioritize the requirements for an integrated, enterprise-wide Land Records and taxation application and business processes that meet the needs of all stakeholders. Primary Orange County stakeholders include: • Revenue Collections • Tax Assessor • Register of Deeds Sept 8,2008 -2- Orange County IT • PIMS Contract Consultant Statement of Work • Information Technologies, including GIS division Secondary stakeholders include: • Finance • Planning/Inspections • Town of Chapel Hill Finance Department • Town of Carrboro Finance Department • Town of Hillsborough Finance Department • Town of Mebane Finance Department • City of Durham Finance Department • • Adjacent ,County's Land Records divisions (Durham, Chatham, Alamance, Caswell and Person) • This project will also identify areas of improvement in the stakeholders' business process related to taxation. Areas to be considered include: • Customer queries for all aspects of land records, property valuation and payment status. Phase Details Orange County sees three distinct phases in which consulting work may be needed. Contract Development Phase This phase involves the development of a detailed contract between Orange County and the proposed software vendors, Patriot Systems and IIS, Inc. The consulting vendor would take a primary role in outlining the specific deliverables of the contract, the milestones for delivery and payment, enforcement mechanisms and all other aspects of the contract ensuring successful delivery of software to Orange County. The County's attorney, the County's Purchasing department, the vendors and the stakeholder departments will be closely involved. Implementation Plan Development Phase This phase involves developing a detailed implementation plan in which individual tasks are identified, prioritized, dependencies are established and documented in a project plan. Also included would be a risk management plan and communication plan. Project Management Phase This phase would involve consultants actively tracking the progress of all project related tasks, noting slippages, providing communications to all involved and tracking all • activities relevant to the project. Scope of Work and Deliverables — Contract Development Phase The primary requirement of this phase of the overall project is to develop a contract which ensures a successful, implementation of a property records management and taxation business process and software application suite that is within time, budget and performance specifications. Sept 8,2008 -3- Orange County IT • io PIMS Contract Consultant Statement of Work • Convert documented functional requirements into enforceable contractual deliverables of delivery schedule, budget and performance standards • Attribute all deliverables to specific parties (vendors and Orange County) • Contractually assign integration roles to specific parties • Contractually assign data conversion roles to specific parties • Develop mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing contract deliverables Scope of Work and Deliverables Implementation Plan Phase The following outlines the scope of work to be undertaken to complete the initial project planning phase of the overall project and may be augmented by additional tasks: • Confirm stakeholders' areas of interest and validate the scope, organization, and direction of the project to all identified stakeholders • Work with stakeholders, IT, and vendors to develop and manage a full and detailed implementation plan • Establish and document task dependencies • Document resources available for project and develop resource plan • Project plan for negotiating a comprehensive set of vendor contracts • Create and maintain detailed project plan with tasks, resources (both internal and vendor supplied), milestones, and deliverables • Develop and maintain business processes • Develop change management processes • Work with IT Senior Analyst and vendor to plan data conversion • Assist in estimating full project implementation costs, including (but not limited to) software acquisition, hardware acquisition, software configuration and enhancement, project management costs, training costs, and data conversion costs • Estimate ongoing sustaining costs • Work with IT Business Analyst to create communications plan • Develop and manage a change management strategy • Work with stakeholders to develop and coordinate a test plan with go-live criteria • Include integration planning in implementation Scope of Work and Deliverables - Implementation Plan Phase. The following outlines the scope of work to be undertaken to complete the project management phase of the overall project and may be augmented by additional tasks: • Track performance of vendors and County staff against project plan • Escalate any slippages of performance against schedule to stakeholders • Advise on contingency,options in the event of delivery slippage or resource disruptions • Conduct regular meetings among stakeholders • Update project plans at detailed and executive levels • Manage all scope change requests within change management process Sept 8,2008 -4- Orange County IT [t PIMS Contract Consultant Statement of Work • Analyze impacts of change orders to overall project delivery. Material changes to the project scope, schedule, and budget will be documented and presented to the project steering committee for impact review, discussion of options and decision. Submittal Consultant Qualifications The Consulting Firm must have the expertise in-house or through third parties to provide the services required by the scope of work. Interested firms or subcontractors must not be vendors for or affiliates of any Hardware, Software, or Equipment suppliers or providers. The firm must have a project manager to serve as the point of contact, coordinator and the liaison between the County and the Firm and any subcontractors. • • • • Sept 8,2008 -5- Orange County IT la MEMORANDUM To: Board of County Commissioners Laura Blackmon, County Manager From: Jo Roberson, Revenue Director/Tax Collector John Smith, Assessor Todd Jones, CIO Joyce Pearson, Register of Deeds Subject: Property Information Management System (PIMS) Recommendation Date: January 26, 2009 This memorandum has been prepared by the members of the PIMS Team to emphasize its strong support for moving forward with the consulting services required for acquiring a new County taxation system. The Team recognizes current funding constraints but continues to support the need to act without delay in ensuring the Assessor's Office maintains accurate valuations while helping the Revenue Office maintain a high collection rate. These are the primary points the Team wants to reinforce as the BOCC decides. The Current Taxation System is Unsupportable and Exposes Vital Transactions to Tremendous Risk — The Team stresses real and serious problems are inherent in a computing platform with the following characteristics. • The system is thirty-plus years old • The computer language is antiquated • Even partial system collapse could be crippling to direct/indirect users • No viable means of internal technical support or cross-training exist • There are few outside professionals with the highly specialized expertise required, and access to them is extremely limited • In case of system failure, immense cost in time and effort for staff resources would be diverted to try and effect rescue/recovery • • Any workarounds in the event of system disruption would still be complex and extremely expensive • Impending retirements of staff could further compromise capabilities and raise costs of system conversion Time is of the Essence — The Team is very conscious and aware of the amount of time needed to bring a new system up and make it operational while otherwise maintaining customer service levels, such as • Minimum two years required for system selection and conversion (conservative estimate) • Not one but two fiscal years of revenue receipts could be impacted • Schedule must allow ample consideration for careful contract negotiations The County and Towns Might Fail to Capture Significant Revenue — The Team believes major revenue opportunities could be lost if a taxation system is not accurate and reliable, including • Countywide — 5 to 10 percent (conservative estimate), or $5.5- $11.5 million • The Three Towns — 5 to 10 percent (excluding impact on transportation enterprise funds) Consensus Achieved on Cost Sharing with Towns — The County Manager and PIMS Team have been meeting with Town counterparts and made considerable progress on a program to share initial and continuing costs • Towns have agreed to bring forth a plan to pay prorated share of acquisition • Formula would include yearly payments towards software maintenance • Proposed plan to be previewed at Assembly of Governments meeting in March 2009 In summary, the PIMS Team understands and appreciates the difficult budget season ahead but respectfully submits these comments, and urges authorization to proceed with the next step in acquiring a new taxation system as recommended on the Board agenda for February 3, 2009. Attachment (1) Tentative Timeline of Events Mar-04 Land Management Team began drafting a Project Charter for the Property Information Mgmt Program Apr-05 Group prepared a Statement of Work for project management to create a needs assessment and RFP documents for vendor response May-05 BOCC approved the contract to engage consultant-Carolina Consultants for assessment preparation. Oct-05 Needs Assessment and RFP development began . May-06 Final Needs Assessment and RFP Development report was presented to PIMS Team- PIMS Team began the process of creating the final RFP. Jul-07 RFP document was finalized and put out through Purchasing for response Aug-07 Team reviewed responses and selected 3 vendors for demostration Oct-07 Reviewed all documentation and selected potential vendors Nov-07 IT Adversary Committee Presentation of needs assessment and recommendations Dec-07 Presented to Board of County Commissioners request for authorization to begin contract negotiations with potential vendors. Jun-08 Discovery Phase Contract with Patriot Properties(Assesssor-CAMA) presented for approval to Board of County Commissioners. Dec-08 Finance, Manager, and Revenue completed preliminary negotiations with the three Towns staff comprised of corresponding staff for presentation forward to respective Boards for town contribution to purchase and continued support of new taxation system. Email and notes of final meeting were sent to the BOCC on December 9. 2008 by manager. -Q 0 Memorandum Orange County Board of County Commissioners C/o Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough,NC 27278 January 28,2009 Dear Commissioners, The Information Technologies Advisory Committee has been well apprised of the current fiscal constraints of the County. We understand the County has to balance myriad priorities in putting together next year's budget, and that in order to hold the line on tax increases,any increased expenditures in one area will necessitate cuts in other areas. The Information Technologies Advisory Committee strongly recommends the continued funding of the replacement of the County's land records&taxation system(the project known as the Property Information Management System,PIMS). The current system has been in place for three decades. While it has served the County well in this time,there are several reasons it is not practical to continue using it through the next assessment cycle: • Waiting for the current system to fail to commence its replacement will produce major disruptions in the operations of many departments.A rushed implementation will still take a year to complete and will undoubtedly be more costly to implement under such circumstances. • Especially during time of fiscal duress,the County can ill afford disruptions in its primary revenue stream. Should the current system fail, even partially,the inevitable result would be a decrease in collections efficiency,which could imperil the finances of all County initiatives. • The County's ability to support this technology cannot reasonably, or affordably be extended beyond when the IT department's mainframe specialist retires. There are no practical staff development options to address these particular skill sets of the retiring member of the IT workforce. The Revenue Office will articulate the potential financial consequences of the current system failing. The Information Technologies Advisory Committee supports the Chief Information Officer's conclusion that the current system cannot be sustained beyond the current assessment cycle. While the County has many difficult budgetary decisions to make,your careful considerations of the risks of postponing the replacement of an aging revenue system is critical to ensuring steady revenues for all County priorities. Res ectfully submitt d, j L Frederick"Stoney"Brown Chair, Orange County Information Technology Advisory Committee