1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: May 21, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Kevin Gray, Chief Information Officer
Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director
Mike Albanese, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Approval of a Master Customer Agreement with T2 Systems for Parking Citation/Permit Software, Parking Citation Management, and Collection Services
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve the Master Customer Agreement with T2 Systems to provide parking citation management, parking citation collection services, and parking permit software (Attachment 1); and
2. Find the approval of the Master Agreement with T2 Systems to be exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty there is no possibility the agreement will have a significant effect on the environment.
BACKGROUND
One of the City’s primary parking management functions is to conduct parking enforcement of its on-street parking spaces and public parking lots. To do this, the City utilizes a combination of third- party software and services to administer parking enforcement functions. This system is made up of three main components. The largest component is a parking citation processing system that is used by Parking Control Officers to complete, issue, catalog, and adjudicate parking citations to vehicles that are improperly parked.
Supporting this primary function, the City also utilizes the second component, parking citation collection services, to administer invoicing and payment of citations that have been issued. The third component is the parking permit software platform to manage the issuance, approval, and payment of parking permits each year. Currently, these functions are implemented across three City Departments and utilize software and services from multiple companies. This causes significant challenges when managing parking services.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
POLICE
2 To address these issues and better implement Council’s Parking Management Principles, Information Technology (IT), Community Development Department (CDD), and Burbank Police Department (BPD) are collaborating to enhance and streamline parking services for the community. Staff is pro posing to enter into a Master Customer Agreement with T2 Systems, a technology solution that aims to consolidate all citation management, citation collection services, and parking permits into a single, unified system. By implementing this integration, the City will be able to streamline parking management, improve customer service, and offer new parking services.
DISCUSSION
Staff is proposing to enter into a Master Customer Agreement with T2 Systems, a company that offers a variety of technology solutions and services to manage parking into to a unified system. This includes online parking permits, mobile payments, pay stations, enforcement handhelds, citation issuance, and data management. The Master Customer Agreement with T2 Systems establishes the overall contractual framework and the applicable terms and conditions. The Master Customer Agreement (Attachment 1) includes a statement of work for the City , and staff is proposing to purchase all three parking components under T2 Systems.
Below are details about each City Department’s current operations for parking services, its challenges, and technology solutions should the City implement the proposed agreement with T2 Systems.
Parking Citation Processing
BPD provides parking enforcement services with its primary focus on balancing the parking needs of Burbank residents and businesses. Parking enforcement personnel issue between 45,000 to 50,000 parking citations on an annual basis, although past staffing shortages have reduced the number of citations issued. Currently, the BPD utilizes vendor Duncan Solutions for the software required to issue and process Burbank parking citations. The software is outdated, lacks contemporary features necessary to accommodate recent administrative parking management changes, and does not support the implementation of more sophisticated parking management programs requested by Council.
A Master Customer Agreement w ith T2 Systems will allow for the integration of parking citations and collections information together. T2 Systems will also allow the City to rely on single credential, license plate numbers, to determine whether a vehicle has permission to park. Rather than managing operations with separate identifiers (license plate, timestamped vehicle photograph, parking permit number, parking sticker, etc.), the City can utilize vehicles’ license pla te numbers, which can be tracked across multiple systems and functions, to reliably determine if a vehicle is allowed to park in a given location.
T2 Systems offers software and hardware that utilize automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technology, which will allow Parking enforcement personnel the ability to capture vehicle license plates and check databases for valid registration and/or City permits , as well as date/time stamp the specific location of vehicles for the purpose of enforcing time restrictions on City streets . ALPR technology will also allow Parking Control Officers to more efficiently verify vehicles with valid City permits while driving in the field rather than issuing citations solely based on observation. ALPR verificatio n minimizes, if not 3 eliminates, enforcement gaps associated with contested citations for failure to properly display a valid parking permit or grace periods provided when residents are obtaining new hangtags and vehicle stickers. Additionally, the use of A LPR technology provides the ability to accurately date/time stamp vehicles by license plate and geographical information system (GIS) mapping coordinates. This helps to precisely document photographs of improperly parked vehicles, corresponding license plates, and location in the City. The improvements in documentation using ALPR technology increases accuracy rates in parking citations and reduces the likelihood of challenging citation validity.
Parking Citation Collection Services
BPD manages parking citation collection services through Duncan Solutions’ collections services, Professional Accounts Management, LLC (PAM). PAM assists in the collection of delinquent parking citations and submits monthly net revenue to the City . The current system lacks the ability to provide robust data to the City, which results in significant staff time required to manually manage parking citations and reconcile accounts in a timely manner. Additionally, staff is unable to conduct in-depth data analysis to effectively manage workload and implement process improvement measures.
Included in Attachment 1 is the proposed Collection Services Addendum that will be incorporated in an agreement with T2’s affiliate, Citation Collection Services, LLC (CCS), which will replace BPD’s current agreement with Duncan Solutions’ collection services through PAM. The proposed Collection Services Addendum will establish the terms and authority for CCS to perform collection efforts on delinquent accounts. CCS and BPD will have a central system to view all parking citations and payment status.
Parking Permits Processing
CDD manages the City’s parking permit program which provides approximately 5,000 residential parking permits, 2,000 business parking permits, and 200 large non- commercial vehicles (LNCV) permits annually. Currently, CDD manages parking permits through a mixture of software and systems, also causing data inconsistencies. Residential permits are managed in an online parking permit system provided via an annual agreement with Passport Labs, Inc., while LNCV permits are administered through an in- house software system based on the City’s Microsoft Enterprise platform. Business permits are administered manually through the Parking counter and cannot be purchased online.
Parking permits are processed manual ly by issuing residents physical hang tags and vehicle stickers that correspond to unique identification numbers. This operational model requires significant staff time to label and mail permits on an annual basis and can be difficult to visually enforce in the field. It is challenging and time-consuming to match and verify vehicles that have registered for parking permits and receive parking citations.
Migrating the parking permit platform to T2 Systems will allow the City to use one online platform for all permits and use license plate numbers as the identifier , seamlessly integrating with BPD’s operations for parking citations and collection services. Parking enforcement personnel will have a master database of parking permits and citations and CDD staff will no longer need to issue physical hang tags with different identification numbers.
Procurement Requirements
4 Staff is utilizing a cooperative purchase agreement with Sourcewell, which complies with the City’s bidding and purchasing requirements . Sourcewell is a State of Minnesota local government unit and service cooperative created under the laws of the State of Minnesota (Minnesota Statutes §123A.21) that offers cooperative procurement solutions to government entities. Under cooperative purchasing, procurement is conducted by, or on behalf of, one or more Public Procurement Units as defined by the American Bar Association Procurement Code for state and local governments. Sourcewell conducts competitive solicitations and the cooperative purchase option with Sourcewell is beneficial to the City as it results in a lower price, ensures a timelier delivery of technology solutions, and saves staff time and administrative costs. Through the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing agreement, staff conducted interviews with the approved vendors and selected T2 Systems.
Staff anticipates the entire parking services system to be implemented prior to parking permit renewals in October 2024.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
All existing permit holders will be informed of the new online platform once the system is ready. There will be detailed instructions on how to use the parking permit platform posted online in advance of the launch, including a list of frequently asked questions. General information will also be available on the City’s website, social media pages, and other communication channels.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of this Agreement is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under State CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty there is no possibility the activity will have a significant effect on the environment . The City currently has a parking permit and citation system, but is switching vendors to ensure better compatibility and efficiency in implementation.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost for the parking permit software portion is $67,405.16 over the three- year term period. The multi-year Agreement is also subject to the City’s annual budget appropriation pursuant to Burbank Municipal Code §2-2-107(A). Funding for this project was approved in CDD’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021/22 Budget in the Internal Service Fund 537 (Computer Replacement Fund) project account 537.CD32A.15112.24189.
There is no fiscal impact to BPD’s budget since the annual cost of contracted citation issuance and processing services is included in the FY 2023/24 Budget. The fee schedule proposed by T2 Systems is comparable to that of the current vendor, therefore, BPD does not anticipate a significant variance in citation issuance and processing expenses. Staff will monitor the volume of citations issued and if necessary, will request approval for additional funding through the City’s budget process.
Under the proposed Master Customer Agreement, customers like Burbank may acquire or license additional products and procure services by entering into an Addenda, if requested. The Agreement delegates the administrative authority to the City Manager or designee if the City chooses to purchase the additional features and functions of the parking services at the listed costs in the Agreement.
5 CONCLUSION
Staff recommends Council approve the Master Customer Agreement with T2 Systems for parking citation management, parking citation collection services, and parking permit software. This Agreement will benefit the community by enhancing the parking experience and implement Council’s p arking management principles. By consolidating parking permits and citation management into a single, unified system, residents and visitors alike can expect improved service delivery and greater convenience. Additionally, the integrated solution will promote more efficient enforcement practices, contributing to safer and more orderly parking throughout the City.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – T2 Systems Master Customer Agreement