Fremont City Council Meeting: 09/19/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Community Development
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4985) DOC ID: 4985
Updated: 9/13/2023 12:56 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
ETECH CONSULTING ON-CALL ACCELA SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY SERVICES - Authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute an amendment to the Master Technology Services Agreement with Etech Consulting Inc. to extend the term and increase the not-to-exceed compensation to $400,000.
Contact Persons:
Name: Jennifer Craven Sanford Taylor
Title: Business Manager IT Director
Div/Dept: Community Development Information Technology Services Phone: 510-494-4554 510-494-4802
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The proposed amendment to the Master Technology Services Agreement with eTech Consulting, Inc., would extend the term of the agreement and increase the not-to-exceed compensation to $400,000.
eTech provides on-call technology support services for the City’s permit system, Accela, as well as all software integrations with Accela. eTech provides dedicated support to address specific projects/task orders as assigned by the City’s authorized representative, such as collaborating with staff on comprehensive Accela improvement projects. The proposed amendment will ensure that eTech will continue to be available to enable ongoing improvement in Accela’s functionality, including continually working to improve the online permitting experience.
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute an amendment to the Master Technology Services Agreement with eTech Consulting, Inc. to extend the term of the agreement by two years from the date of execution and increase the not-to-exceed compensation to $400,000.
BACKGROUND: eTech Consulting has been providing on-call Accela programming consultant services since 2022 and was integral in facilitating the City’s enhanced and improved services to online permitting during and after the COVID pandemic. The City’s permit system, Accela, is a cloud-based program (i.e., software as a service; “SAAS”). As staff worked to rapidly shift the City’s permitting functions from in-person and paper intensive to online and digital during year two of the pandemic, eTech was instrumental in supporting the City’s efforts to maximize efficiencies while helping to simplify our permit system, including how the public interacts with it.
While the City’s online permitting presence has made great advances over the past few years, there are many pending projects that remain to be addressed, such as: advanced reporting; enhanced features/customizations; application integrations; and efficiencies and simplifications with the original permit system configuration. Additionally, eTech’s deep expertise - as a certified Accela partner - provides weight and support when it comes to advocating for and advancing the City’s third-party integration needs and overall improvements to Accela’s Civic Platform.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4985) Meeting of September 19, 2023 Updated: 9/13/2023 12:56 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
In addition to providing direct Accela on-call support, eTech has also been critical in ensuring that that other software technology integrations with Accela are configured accurately and work well. These include integrations with: ePlanReview, the electronic plan review software; Tyler Munis, the City’s financial system; Green Halo, the construction waste reporting software; and the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB).
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: In April 2022, the City entered into a Master Technology Services Agreement with eTech Consulting, Inc. The agreement had an initial one-year term, with the option for two additional one-year terms and not-to-exceed compensation of $100,000. The City has exercised the first optional one-year extension.
Given the extensive amount of work required to modify Accela to streamline online permitting, the length of the current agreement, even with the remaining one-year extension, and the $100,000 not-to-exceed compensation are insufficient.
The proposed amendment to this Master Technology Services Agreement would extend the term by two years from the date of execution of the amendment and increase the total not- to-exceed compensation to $400,000, thus facilitating the City’s ongoing efforts to improve the online permitting experience.
FISCAL IMPACT: etech Consulting services are funded via PWC8756, Land Use Permitting System, which is appropriated from the Development Cost Center Technology Reserve through the Capital Improvement Program. Services provided by eTech are included in this appropriation. No additional appropriation is required to support eTech on-call Accela technology support services.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The recommend action is exempt pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(4) and (5) (not a project) because it involves the creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities which do not involve a commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute an amendment to the Master Services Technology Agreement with eTech Consulting, Inc., to extend the term by two years from the date of execution and increase the not-to-exceed compensation to $400,000.