Fremont City Council Meeting: 11/12/24 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Information Technology Services Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5296) DOC ID: 5296
Updated: 11/5/2024 4:11 PM by Dina Lewis Page 1
CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR THE CITY’S PUBLIC RECORD REQUEST MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE - Authorize the City Manager, or Designee, to Enter into Agreements, Issue Purchase Orders, and Execute Implementing Documents with CivicPlus for Implementation Consulting Services and the Software Subscription (includes Maintenance and Support) of the NextRequest Software System.
Contact Persons:
Name: Eleanor W Lee Sanford Taylor
Title: Systems Analyst/Programmer IT Director
Div/Dept: Information Technology Services Information Technology Services Phone: (510) 494-4807 510-494-4802
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: Public Records Act (PRA) requests for the City of Fremont are managed through an online portal provided by NextRequest. The Fremont Police Department (FPD) manages sensitive records that require a solution with restricted access to authorized personnel only. To ensure this segregation, the City needs to deploy a new, separate portal dedicated solely to the FPD.
Deployment of the new FPD NextRequest portal will require an amendment to the existing agreement with NextRequest, which runs through February 28, 2027. That amendment will add $30,499.47 to the current $97,496.49 not-to-exceed amount, increasing the total contract value to $127,945.96. Given that the estimated total contract amount exceeds $100,000, this expenditure requires approval from the City Council.
BACKGROUND: Prior to July 2022, the City of Fremont’s public record requests were predominantly processed through emails, paper forms, and phone calls. To address operational challenges for City staff in promptly providing records to requesters, tracking staff involvement and their specific tasks associated with each request, and ensuring compliance with all applicable deadlines, the City procured and implemented a PRA request management software system provided by NextRequest (now part of CivicPlus).
Since its deployment in 2022, the NextRequest software system has helped improve the City's management and transparency of public records requests. The NextRequest portal offers the public a means of submitting and managing their record requests online. Through this portal, individuals can create profiles, receive notifications, monitor their request status, and access the requested materials. For City staff, NextRequest has streamlined interaction with requestors and collaboration across departments. The platform uses automated workflows, which alleviates some of the draw on City resources.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The Police Department would like to implement a separate NextRequest portal to release confidential records to persons who are entitled to receive those records. Developing a specialized portal for the Police Department is required to manage records classified with heightened security controls, such as restricting access to authorized personnel and ensuring confidentiality. The recommended amendment will add a Council Staff Report (ID # 5296) Meeting of November 12, 2024 Updated: 11/5/2024 4:11 PM by Dina Lewis Page 2
new FPD portal subscription and services to the existing agreement, which expires February 28, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT: The one-time implementation costs for the new FPD portal are $3,000.
As the first year of services will only cover the period October 2024 through February 2025, the first-year subscription cost has been pro-rated to $4,732.67. The implementation and first-year costs will be funded by the Information Technology Services Capital Replacement Fund (Fund 625). The ongoing future-year annual subscription cost of $11,358.40 will be requested in the Information Technology Services Department operating budget as part of the City’s annual budget process.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The renewal of computer software licenses is exempt from and not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because, without limitation, it is not a “project” as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and/or 15378(b)(5) and as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment per CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), each as a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
LINKS: None
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an amendment to the agreement with NextRequest (now part of CivicPlus) to provide implementation and subscription services for a dedicated Fremont Police Department public record request portal, increasing the not-to-exceed amount of the agreement by $30,449.47 to $127,945.96.
2. Authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute any implementing documents and take any implementing actions as necessary.