Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: April 15, 2025
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: STEPHEN BISE, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
PREPARED BY: JEROME JOAQUIN, PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Gar Huang, Associate Engineer
SUBJECT: $71,125 BUDGET APPROPRIATION FOR CHANGE ORDER WITH GLASS BOX TECHNOLOGY, INC AND $28,875 CONTINGENCY TO DEVELOP CUSTOM UTILITY REPORTS WITHIN THE TYLER MUNI SYSTEM
SUMMARY
City Council consideration of $100,000 budget appropriation from the Water Fund for $71,125 change order to retain Glass Box Technology, Inc. to develop Custom Utility Reports within the Tyler Munis system and $28,875 for project-related contingencies.
PROPOSED MOTION
Authorize $100,000 budget appropriation and transfer from the Water Enterprise Fund (Fund 44) fund balance to Tyler System Custom Utility Reports Project within the Water Enterprise Fund (Fund 44).
Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute documents and issue $71,125 change order with Glass Box Technology, Inc. for continued development of custom utility reports.
Authorize City Manager, or designee, to approve change orders for professional consultant services within the approved project budget.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Do not approve purchase order
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The City Manager recommends approval.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statement:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
The $71,125 change order for GlassBox would continue to develop custom water utility reports in the Tyler Munis system. This includes $52,375 for development and $18,750 for project management. Staff requests additional $28,875 for contingency cost, bringing the total budget transfer and appropriation request to $100,000.
A budget appropriation from the Water Enterprise Fund (Fund 44) fund balance to the Tyler System Custom Utility Reports Project in the Water Enterprise Fund (Fund 44) would cover the $71,125 change order and contingency. The Water Enterprise Fund has available fund balance to cover this request.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City approved an agreement with Tyler Technologies, Inc. in March 2021 for General Billing, Cashiering and Utility Billing Software as a Solution. The City went live with Tyler Utility Billing in May 2024.
Through the implementation of the Tyler Utility Billing software, the development of custom reports with complex calculations became necessary to ensure the City can provide accurate and timely data to state and regulatory agencies. These reports were originally custom developed and available in the previous legacy billing system. They need to be recreated in the Tyler Utility Billing software, as the canned reports within the Tyler Suite do not meet the specialized data requirements for regulatory compliance or support staff to continue performing their regular duties.
On October 15, 2024, the City engaged Glass Box Technology to develop custom utility reports to support operational and planning needs. Additional time and resources are required to complete the outstanding reports and to ensure the accuracy and quality of the final deliverables.
Staff requests approval of a change order in the amount of $71,125 to cover the remaining report development and associated project management costs.
A total of eight reports were requested to be created, ranging in various complexities. The eight reports are as follows:
The first report, Apportioned Consumption Report, consolidates and itemizes the City’s monthly water sales and is utilized for various reporting purposes, including submissions to regulatory agencies and water conservation programs. This report is both the highest priority and the most complex to develop. A significant portion of the original project budget was allocated to its creation; however, it remains incomplete. The current data output by the report is slightly higher than expected and additional work is required to find the source of these errors. The software does come with a default version of this report; however, it does not adequately meet the needs of staff, including prorating the consumption data.
The second report, Extrapolated Consumption Report, builds upon the first report (Apportioned Consumption Report) by generating estimates for unfinalized accounts. Due to the City’s bi-monthly billing cycle, final data from the Apportioned Consumption Report may not be available for 2–3 months. This report enables the City to meet State and Regulatory Agency reporting requirements by providing preliminary estimates, which can be updated once final data becomes available. Development of this report has not yet begun and is dependent on the completion of the Apportioned Consumption Report (Report #1).
The third report, Block Summary Report, also builds upon the first report (Apportioned Consumption Report). The City applies Tiered Billing to residential customers. This report breaks down the water usage by the defined tiers. This information can be requested by Regulatory Agencies during times of drought. Additionally, the data output from this report aids in creating budget estimates for the Water Fund (Fund 44) in the City's annual budget. The work on this report has not yet begun and is contingent upon the completion of the Apportioned Consumption Report, (Report #1).
The fourth report, High Consumption Report, compiles the City’s top water consumers. The data from this report is frequently requested by Agencies and is used during drought conditions to support customer outreach and conservation efforts. The work on this report has begun utilizing the original budget and is approximately 60% complete.
The fifth report, Meter Install Report, exports all meter information for a given area. The primary objective of this report is to support the CIP Division in locating water services where a water main replacement is to occur. Prior to its implementation, staff were required to manually compile the necessary data—a process that could take several hours or up to an entire day. With the report now in place, this task has been reduced to approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The creation and testing of this report have been completed utilizing the original budget.
The sixth report, MeterGPS Report, exports comprehensive meter data for the entire City to facilitate import into the City's GIS system. This report is essential for verifying and updating GIS records, ensuring that staff are working with and reporting the most current and accurate information. The work on this report has begun utilizing the original budget and is approximately 90% complete.
The seventh report, Reads by Account Number, complements the fourth report (High Consumption Report) by exporting the complete usage history for individual customer accounts. This report is primarily used for customer outreach during drought conditions, enabling staff to highlight historical usage patterns, including peak and low periods, while offering personalized conservation strategies. The creation and testing of this report have been completed utilizing the original budget.
The eighth and final report, Meter Read Export, compiles all meter reads conducted within a specified time period. This report was requested to support compliance with California’s 2015 Senate Bill 555 (SB 555), which mandates that all California water agencies complete an annual water loss audit and work toward improving their audit scores. A key component of the audit process involves verifying that the data feeding into the Apportioned Consumption Report (Report #1) has been thoroughly reviewed and validated. While development of this report has not yet begun, it is anticipated to be of moderate complexity.
During the course of developing the custom utility reports to support the Tyler Munis billing system, staff identified a number of technical complexities and integration challenges. Some of these are related to differences in system configuration and data processing between Tyler Munis and the City’s previous billing system. Others have emerged as part of the natural refinement process following system implementation.
These factors have required additional time for testing, validation, and quality assurance to ensure that all custom reports meet the City’s operational and regulatory reporting standards. As with any large-scale software transition, certain issues may require further review and refinement to ensure data consistency across systems.
To support these efforts, through the City’s master services agreement with the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), the City engaged E Source, a consultant with deep expertise in utility data validation and regulatory compliance. E Source, formerly Water Systems Optimization, has worked with numerous agencies across California, including the City of Fullerton through various contracts with MWDOC. Their support has been particularly valuable in ensuring the City aligns with the requirements of SB 555, which mandates for annual water loss audits to be compiled, certified, and submitted. Staff has paid for these costs within Public Works operating budget in the Water Fund.
This Change Order includes funding for the continued development and refinement of the utility reports by Glass Box Technology, including continued collaboration with E Source to validate data integrity and maintain compliance with applicable standards.
Staff recommends issuing a $71,125 change order to retain Glass Box Technology, Inc. for continued development of staff identified and need custom utility reports. This action would ensure prompt and continued compliance with county, regional and state water agencies.
Staff also requests City Council approve a $100,000 budget appropriation from the Water Fund (Fund 44) to the Tyler System Customs Report Development project in the Water Fund (Fund 44). This includes the Glass Box change order and a $28,875 project contingency should the project require additional work.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Glass Box Technology, Inc. Statement of Work cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
Tyler Munis Implementation Project Custom Utility Reports April 15, 2025 - Page 2