CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 6/18/2024
DEPARTMENT: Information Technology
SUBJECT:
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH ECS IMAGING, LLC FOR
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANGEMENT SOFTWARE AND SERVICES
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
1. Approve the First Amendment to the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with ECS Imaging, LLC for Electronic Document Management Software and Services.
2. Authorize the Mayor to sign, and the City Clerk to attest, the First Amendment to the Agreement with ECS Imaging, LLC, substantially in the form attached.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council awarded a Professional Consultant Services Agreement to ECS imaging, LLC (“ECS”) to deploy Laserfiche for electronic document management services in 2022 (“Agreement”) (Attachment 1). Since then, ECS has launched an effective system and staff has identified additional opportunities to digitize other processes. One such opportunity involves digitizing the Personnel Actions Forms (“PAFs”) process. PAFs are essential for documenting various personnel actions, including onboarding, promotions, position changes, reviews, and terminations. PAFs are currently routed manually. As part of Strategic Plan initiative SP#49, staff propose expanding the scope of work under the Agreement with ECS to digitize this process.
The Agreement with ECS includes costs for the Laserfiche software used to host the City’s electronic document management services and professional services to configure the system. The Agreement with ECS has a three-year term and is set to expire on August 15, 2025. The proposed First Amendment to the Agreement with ECS (“First Amendment”) would add an additional amount of $15,120 to cover the cost of the expanded scope of services for digitizing PAFs, bringing the new total contract amount of $137,820. Sufficient funding is available in the 2023-2025 Operating Budget for this purpose. The proposed First Amendment to the Agreement with ECS was prepared by the Finance department and approved as to form by the City Attorney.
BACKGROUND:
Aligned with the City’s Strategic Plan initiative SP#49, staff began working to procure a new document retention system to increase public access to City records. On August 16, 2022, following a competitive proposal process, the City Council approved the Professional Consultant Services Agreement with ECS for Laserfiche software, support, and implementation services in the amount of $122,700 (Attachment 1). The initial term of the Agreement is three years and ends on August 15, 2025. The current agreement includes two optional one-year extensions.
After ECS launched Laserfiche software system, staff recognized further opportunities to digitize additional processes, including the PAF process. A PAF is a document used by City to record and process changes related to an employee's status, such as promotions, transfers, salary adjustments, and other employment-related actions. It serves as an official record to ensure accurate and consistent tracking of personnel changes within the organization. The proposed First Amendment (Attachment 2) would expand the scope of services by adding PAF digitization to the agreement and provide sufficient compensation for the additional services, including automated workflows, electronic approvals, and document storage in Laserfiche for all PAF actions.
DISCUSSION:
The City currently uses a paper-based PAF system that requires manual completion, routing, and multiple review steps. To address the challenges and align with the City’s Strategic Plan, staff propose digitizing the PAF process using Laserfiche's digital forms, workflows, and electronic signature capabilities. The City’s Strategic Plan Goal B, Priority Area 3, prioritizes innovative technologies to enhance organizational efficiency and better serve our community. Leveraging Laserfiche will streamline processes, improve document management, and ensure efficient workflows, thereby enhancing overall service effectiveness.
Laserfiche is already the City's designated repository for records management.
Utilizing it for PAF digitization ensures seamless integration of PAFs into the existing record-keeping system. This will improve the ability to maintain accurate and easily accessible records, thereby enhancing compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies. Additionally, transitioning to a digital workflow with Laserfiche will save many hours previously spent on manual routing and handling of PAFs. Automated workflows will ensure that forms are correctly routed to the appropriate parties without delay, and electronic signatures will expedite the approval process.
Prior to identifying Laserfiche as the preferred modality for PAF digitalization, staff evaluated the pros and cons of two products: Laserfiche and DocuSign.
While both offer digital signature capabilities, Laserfiche provides a more comprehensive solution tailored to the City's needs. By integrating forms, workflows, and storage in a single platform, Laserfiche eliminates the need for multiple systems, reducing complexity and potential points of failure. This makes Laserfiche a superior choice for achieving the City's strategic objectives.
The primary objective of the proposed First Amendment is to digitize the PAF process and store the documents in the City’s electronic document repository, Laserfiche, which was established through the work completed under the original Agreement. The scope of services proposed by the First Amendment includes the following:
Developing PAF Automated Workflow: Configure automated workflows to achieve efficiencies and ensure documents are properly created, circulated, and stored for City operations.
Implementing Electronic Approvals: Allow for electronic signatures on documents that were previously routed through a time-consuming, paper- based process.
Document Storage in Laserfiche: Provide centralized and secure repository for storage of PAFs, providing training and support during its implementation.
The City's Purchasing and Contracting Guidelines allow amendments to existing agreements for changes to the original scope of services. The proposed First Amendment would expand the scope of work to include digitizing the PAF process, incorporating automated workflows, facilitating electronic approvals, and enabling document storage in Laserfiche for all PAF actions. The Proposed First Amendment increases the total compensation by $15,120 to cover the cost of the expanded scope of services for digitizing PAFs, bringing the new total compensation under the Agreement to $137,820, while keeping the same agreement term. Table 2 below outlines Software, Support, and Contingency items over a three-year period under the proposed First Amendment.
Table 2: Contract Amount
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
Software $25,850.00 $29,600.00 $29,600.00 $85,050.00
Support $25,150.00 $6,250.00 $6,250.00 $37,650.00
Original Total
Compensation $51,000.00 $35,850.00 $35,850.00 $122,700.00 PAF Digitization
(First Amendment
Added Scope)
$15,120.00 $15,120.00
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
First Amendment
Total Compensation $51,000.00 $50,970.00 $35,850.00 $137,820.00 Pursuant to the City’s Purchasing and Contracting Guidelines, staff completes a vendor performance assessment during a proposed contract amendment. The vendor performance assessment is used as a guide to determine whether a contract should be amended, renewed, or terminated based on performance in the following categories: performance of scope of services; timeliness; budget performance; and customer service.
Table 3: Vendor Performance Assessment
ECS Imaging, LLC Consulting Performance Assessment
August 16, 2022, to April 30, 2024
Category Rating
Performance of
Scope of Services
□ Unsatisfied □ Satisfied X Very Satisfied □ N/A Timeliness □ Unsatisfied X Satisfied □ Very Satisfied □ N/A Budget
Performance
□ Unsatisfied □ Satisfied X Very Satisfied □ N/A Customer Service □ Unsatisfied □ Satisfied X Very Satisfied □ N/A Table 3 provides an overall summary of the consultant’s performance during the respective evaluation period. The evaluation period for ECS is from the start of the contract term on August 16, 2022, through April 30, 2024. Staff believes ECS worked effectively with the City to implement Laserfiche, successfully transitioning nearly 200,000 documents, and 4.4 Terabytes of data, from the old system to Laserfiche. The City successfully transitioned to Laserfiche in May 2024. Staff have been satisfied with ECS’s timeliness, and very satisfied with their performance for all other measures.
Based on ECS’ contract performance, savings in software licensing, and the appropriateness of Laserfiche as a workflow automation solution, staff recommend approving the First Amendment to the Agreement with ECS. If approved, the proposed First Amendment amends the Scope of Work to include the digitization of the PAF process and add $15,120 to the Agreement for a new total compensation of $137,820 while maintaining the current term of the agreement. The Finance Department prepared the attached First Amendment and the City Attorney reviewed and approved it as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The proposed First Amendment would add $15,120 for the new contract amount of $137,820. Sufficient funds are available in Fiscal Year 2024-25 of the 2023- 2025 Operating Budget.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Agreement for Professional Services with ECS Imaging, LLC
2. First Amendment to Agreement with ECS Imaging, LLC
Initiated By: Joanne Jin, Information Technology Analyst Submitted By: Douglas McBratney, Information Technology Manager Approved By: Debra Rose, City Manager