HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-16-1996 - IX-B S 4'
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ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT ITEM NO. --D(—$
MEETING DATE APRIL 16, 1996
SUBJECT: CONTRACT APPROVAL; UTILITIES REDUCTION SPECIALISTS
DEPARTMENT: PURCHASING AND PUBLIC HEARING: NO
CENTRAL SERVICES BUDGET AMENDMENT REQD? NO
ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: PAM JONES
EXT: 2650
CONTRACT
PHONE NUMBERS: HILLSBOROUGH 732-8181
HILLSBOROUGH 732-9361
CHAPEL HILL 967-9251
MEBANE 227-2031
DURHAM 688-7331
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PURPOSE: To consider approval of a contract between Orange County and
Utilities Reduction Specialists of Clemmons, North Carolina.
BACKGROUND: Utilities Reduction Specialists is a company that provides an
audit of telephone and energy bills to identify potential cost
savings to the County. Utilities Reduction Specialist will
scrutinize the bills and identify billing errors, meter errors,
unnecessary services, etc. Some of the savings they identify
will be on a one time basis while others may be ongoing.
Several other North Carolina counties have used the services of
this company with good results in both short and long term
savings.
There are no up front costs of this audit to the County.
Utilities Reduction Specialties will be reimbursed 5011 of the
one time savings and 50% of any ongoing savings for a period of
24 months. It is left to the County' s discretion to accept or
decline any and or all of the recommendations of Utilities
Reduction Specialists .
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RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the Manager to sign the contract between Orange County
and Utilities Reduction Specialists of Clemmons, North Carolina.
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NORTH CAROLINA
ORANGE COUNTY' CONTRACT
Orange County,a body politic organized and existing under the laws of the State of North Carolina,
hereinafter referred to as"County";and iPTII1TIES REDUCTION SPECIALISTS,a partnership organized
and doing business under the laws of the State of North Carolina,hereinafter refaced to as"Specialists",do
hereby agree and covenants as follows:
W ITNESSETH
1. Specialists agree that it will:
A. Conduct a utility audit by analyzing: telephone billings and records;electric billings and records;gas
billings and records as directed by County.
B. Seek refunds and credits for billing errors;
C. Create a cost savings plan which will identify and implement actions and modifications which are
guaranteed to be full and completely transparent to the County's business operations and
imperceptible in any fashion except in the form of reduced billing.
2. The County agrees as follows:
A It will retain Specialists as its exclusive utility consultants;
B. It will provide Specialists with the one(1)month of its telephone bills and one(1)month of energy
bills.
C. It will compensate Specialists as follows: For refunds or credits from any utility company the fee
will be fifty percent(50'/0)of the refimds and/or credits that result from the Specialists'audit. This
fee will be payable upon receipt of the refired or credit. The fee for the cost savings plan,as
described above,will be fifty percent(500/6)of the savings demonstrated over a twenty-four(24)
month period following the implementation of the audit.
3. The parties agree that the tam of this contract is twenty-four(24)months.
4. The parties agree that m the event the County is required to make any ogmditures whatsoever to
obtain egiripmeat/sezvices to implement the cost savings,the County's approval will be obtained in
advance by Specialists and the amount will be fully deducted from the savings sum and commissiorn
calculated on the balance.
5. The parties firther agree that the following actions will be excluded as a fee item under the cost
savings plan:
A. Potential hard fiuww*ng of Chapel Hill lines to a less expensive Hillsborough line.
B. Any recommendation which may eliminate Chapel Hill and/or Burlington lines or any
other line which may be effected by Eat Area Service(EAS)now in effect in Orange County.
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6. The parties fiather ackmowledge that if the County does not receive a refund/credit or expense
reduction there will be no fee for the Specialists'services.
7. Any court action Sled in reference to this contract must be filed in the North Carolina State Courts in
Orange County,North Carolina. This contract may not be assigned with the prior written consent of
the County.
8. Specialists retains the exclusive right to conduct any utility audit during the 24 month term of this
agreement which is from the date of the County's acceptance until the implementation of the plan as
described above. During this period,should any in-house review or any other vendor,business,or
entity conduct any analysis or audit,Specialist will be entitled to the fifty percent(50'/o)fee produced
by the plan,credits or refimd,providing the savings in question was recommended in the original
final report prepared by Specialist.
9. The parties acknowledge that County has the right to accept or reject any or all of cost savings plan
or recomnneodations made by Specialists and if all recommendations are rejected that thane shall be
no payment due to Specialists.
10. The parties acknowledge that Specialists will provide audit results back to county within a nine(9)
month period from date of this agreement. If Specialists fails to comply with this time frame,this
agreement is no longer in effect and County is under no obligation to Specialists for their services.
11. The parties acknowledge that this agreement constitutes the entire and complete understanding of the
parties and supersedes and replaces all previous written and verbal agreements.
This the day of 1996.
ORANGE COUNTY
John Ni Link,Jr.,County Manager
UTH=S REDUCTION SPECIALISTS
By:
Steven D.Mann,President
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