Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: NOVEMBER 19, 2024
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: Ellis chang, director of administrative services PREPARED BY: STEVEN AVALOS, BUDGET AND PURCHASING MANAGER
JOSE GONZALEZ, PURCHASING SUPERVISOR
SUBJECT: MASTER SOFTWARE SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH OPENGOV, INC. FOR E-PROCUREMENT SOFTWARE SOLUTION
SUMMARY
Consideration of Master Software Services Agreement (Agreement) with OpenGov, Inc. (OpenGov) for an e-Procurement Software Solution to host and advertise Citywide bids and solicitations, automate bid development process and provide professional software and support services.
PROPOSED MOTION
Approve Master Software Services Agreement with OpenGov, Inc. for an e-Procurement Software solution and electronic bidding system, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute and administer Master Services Agreement, order forms, purchase orders and/or related documents within budget, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
This software was approved as part of 2024 – 2025 Fiscal Budget.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statement:
Fiscal and Organization Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
The FY 2024-25 Adopted Budget includes OpenGov e-Procurement software solution costs. The OpenGov agreement would have a tree-year term. Costs include the annual subscription cost with unlimited user licenses, one-time implementation costs and setup (FY 2024-25 only) and professional support and technical services. The City would support OpenGov with multiple funding sources including General Fund (Fund 10), Capital Projects (CIP) funding and Water and Sewer utility capital funds as shows in the following table:
Annual Costs By Fund
Year 1 Cost
(FY 24-25)
Year 2 Cost
(FY 25-26)
Year 3 Cost
(FY 26-27)
General Fund
$38,305
$20,580
$21,609
CIP Fund (Various Funds)
9,800
10,290
10,804
Water Fund-Fund 44 (CIP)
6,860
7,203
7,563
Sewer Fund-Fund 47 (CIP)
2,940
3,087
3,241
Grand Total
$57,905
$41,160
$43,217
The City would utilize this software to solicit bids and services as well as Capital Project bids. CIP Fund (Fund 74) and Water and Sewer Utility capital funds would support 50% of the annual subscription cost, with the General Fund supporting the remaining half. Staff would allocate software costs to departments in Years 2 and 3.
The Agreement and software license would automatically renew after the initial three-year term for recurring three-year terms and a 5% cost increase each year, unless otherwise specified in writing 30 days before the end of current term. Staff would have an opportunity to evaluate cooperative agreements available at the end of the initial three-year term to acquire the most cost-effective and competitive pricing should the automatic renewal prove disadvantageous to the City.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Administrative Services Department Purchasing Division administers the City Purchasing Program, overseeing procurement of all goods and services, materials and professional services Citywide. The Purchasing Division oversees and coordinates the formal bid process which requires public notice to solicit bids or proposals over $50,000 to ensure a fair and competitive bid process. The Public Works Department - Engineering Division oversees and coordinates all public noticing and solicitations for bids for all capital projects.
The City uses several bid platforms to publish and advertise City Request for Proposals or Qualifications (RFPs or RFQs) for services and goods and Notice Inviting Bids (NIB) for projects. The City uses a web-based, online electronic platform Public Purchase and the bid webpage on the City website for proposals and solicitations. The City utilizes the Planwell web-based platform to notice and advertise bids for capital project and NIBs. The City finds these web-based systems old and antiquated, cumbersome to utilize and limited in application. Upgrades to these application-based systems do not happen often and the technology has not evolved to meet City purchasing needs and demands. Additionally, using multiple bid sites and platforms makes it more difficult for vendors and firms to do business with the City than having bids in one location.
The City utilizes Microsoft application documents and forms (i.e. Word and Excel) to develop RFP / Qs, bid specifications, scopes of work and scoring tabulations, creating a labor-intensive process with several manual steps, requiring significant staff time and can lead to errors.
Staff sought a new e-Procurement software solution to improve the solicitation development and bid process that would:
fully automate the bid development process
maintain an active Vendor List and database
house and advertise Citywide RFP / Qs and all capital project bids in one software system.
Staff utilized the cooperative purchasing process in accordance with City Purchasing Policy, Administrative Policy No. 4.1.2, to award a contract through an established governmental “Cooperative Agreement” and streamline the procurement of services.
Staff researched available e-Procurement software solutions. Staff evaluated procurement enhancement capabilities with demos open to all involved staff to gather input and further ascertain the need for a new e-Procurement solution and system. Staff reviewed products and software available and determined the OpenGov software best meets the procurement needs of the City.
OpenGov is a highly experienced software solutions provider for the public sector with over 1,600 government clients nationwide. OpenGov has a strong presence in Southern California, including the City of Pasadena, City of Anaheim, City of Tustin and County of Orange. OpenGov offers a modern, cloud-based software procurement solution that streamlines the entire procurement process from bid development to bid completion, promotes collaboration among staff, promotes supplier engagement and digitizes and automates the RFP / Q / I process. Other benefits include:
one centralized OpenGov Procurement Portal and location for all City RFP / Q / Is and Project Bids easily accessible by all vendors and interested firms improves the Bids / RFPs development and completion process maximizing staff time from start to finish Fully automates bid development process with built-in RFP / Q / I and bid templates, electronic ‘Questions and Answers’ and rater scoring templates with electronic workflow approval process, resulting in a paperless process and less reliance on external applications robust Vendor Library with access to 1000s of government bids and RFP / Qs, allowing staff to import and draft tailored scopes of work and bid specifications in a more efficient and quicker manner increase published bid views as a result of the thousands of vendors registered on OpenGov OpenGov increases supplier engagement, resulting in an increased competitive environment, increased qualified number of suppliers and best possible City pricing and savings.
The City seeks to enter a three-year Agreement with OpenGov through the Purchasing Solutions Alliance (PSA) national cooperative agreement, Contract No. 21-203-PCN. The City partnered with the County of Orange (County) and participates in the OC Alliance network, which brought together Orange County cities and other cities to foster collaboration in regional procurement efforts to obtain best possible value and pricing for all public agencies. The County partnered with OpenGov. The City would receive a 25% discount from the already discounted PSA cooperative pricing due to OC Alliance participation, resulting in over $13,000 savings per year. The City would have access to hundreds of County agreements and contracts and could “piggy-back” off any of their agreements as an additional benefit.
Staff requests City Council approve the Agreement with OpenGov for its e-Procurement software solution to streamline and expedite the entire procurement process, reduce administrative burdens and alleviate staff time to perform other projects and focus on day-to-day duties. Staff plans to implement in second half of FY 2024-25.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Master Software Services Agreement with OpenGov, Inc.
Attachment 2 – PSA national cooperative agreement, Contract No. 21-203-PCN cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
OpenGov, Inc. Master Software Services Agreement
November 19, 2024 - Page 2