City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: May 13, 2024
Report #:2308-1903
TITLE
Approval of a Professional Services Contract Number C24187280 With 3Di in a Not-to Exceed Amount of $443,256 to Provide Rental Registry Program Software Solutions and Professional Services for a Term of Four-Years; CEQA Status – Not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute Contract No. C24187280 (Attachment A), with 3Di, to provide rental registry program (RRP) software services and professional services for a term of four (4) years and a total amount not to exceed $443,256, including $402,960 for services and reimbursable expenses and $40,296 for additional services.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Palo Alto released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for procurement of rental registry program (RRP) software solutions and professional services in March 2023. Based on the evaluation process, the City issued a Notice of Intent to Award a contract to 3Di in August 2023.
The contract agreement with 3Di (Attachment A) is the result of contract negotiations with staff to implement the rental registry program approved by City Council on November 27, 2023. Staff recommends the City Council enter into a contract with 3Di for a not to exceed amount of $443,256, including $402,960 for services and reimbursable expenses and $40,296 for additional services. The contract agreement would support the City’s initial and ongoing RRP implementation over a contract term of four years, specifically from implementation kickoff in Spring 2024 through December 31, 2028.
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto joins a growing number of California jurisdictions that implement rental registry programs. City Council adopted Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) Chapter 9.65 (Residential Rental Registry Program)1 on November 27, 2023, which enables the City to:
•Learn about the rental landscape as it is experienced by renters and landlords; •Make data-informed policy decisions that protect public health, safety, and welfare for residents of Palo Alto and that support certainty, stability, and fairness in the residential rental market for renters and landlords;
•Support community awareness of existing renter protections; and •Support the implementation of the City’s Housing Element goals, policies, and programs, including providing information available to inform the City’s significant investments in rental unit protection, preservation, and production.
Contract No. C24187280 (Attachment A) represents a new software solution and professional services agreement for the City. Contract No. C24187280 outlines the 3Di scope of work and tasks, schedule, and costs to support the City’s initial and ongoing RRP implementation over a contract term of four years, specifically from implementation kickoff in Spring 2024 through December 31, 2028. The software solutions and professional services are detailed in the contract and include a variety of tasks and deliverables. Some notable items include:
•Consultant project management and regular software performance evaluation metrics/reporting;
•Cloud-based database system for annual and event-based reporting with information collection, quality control, data visualization, reporting, and customer relations management (CRM) functionality (for use in public noticing and community engagement);
•Online portals/dashboards for City staff, landlords, and the public for generally 24/7 year-round database access;
•RRP participation fee and administrative penalty fee invoicing and payment collection system integrated with the database and online portal/dashboard; •RRP guidance and resources webpage, including an RRP overview, how-to-register training worksheets, demonstration videos, and other online information resources provided by the City; and
•Weekdays call center/online help desk available for customer technical assistance with rental unit registration.
1 City Council discussed and held a first reading on the Rental Registry Program on November 27, 2023 as Agenda Item 16: https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=13307.
City Council held a second reading on the Rental Registry Program on December 18, 2020 as Agenda Item 19:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=13074.
The Rental Registry Program Ordinance No. 5605 can be found online here:
https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=70214&repo=r-704298fc The Rental Registry Program Ordinance is codified in the Palo Alto Municipal Code online here:
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0-0-0-92776.
ANALYSIS
To implement the City’s rental registry program, the City needs to procure software solutions and professional services to support and complement City staff efforts.
Solicitation Process
The City released an RFP for procurement for RRP software solutions and professional services in March 2023 through PlanetBids, the City’s eProcurement platform at the time, and 1,124 vendors were notified. The solicitation period was posted for 51 days and closed on April 25, 2023. The City received four proposals. One proposal was deemed non-responsive and was disqualified. Three proposals were evaluated by a selection committee comprised of staff from Human Services, Information Technology, and Planning & Development Services. The two bidders with proposals that ranked the highest by the selection committee were interviewed.
The City issued a Notice of Intent to Award a contract to 3Di in August 2023.
Table 1: Summary of Request for Proposal
Proposal Description RFP 187280 Rental Registry Program Proposed Length of Project 4 Years
Number of Vendors Notified 1,124
Number of Proposal Packages Downloaded 9
Total Days to Respond to Proposal 51
Pre-Proposal Meeting No
Pre-Proposal Meeting Date N/A
Number of Proposals Received 4 total received, 1 deemed non- responsive/disqualified
Proposal Price Range $267,560 - $3,217,413
Public Link to Solicitation PB System - Bid Information (planetbids.com) 3Di's proposed software solutions and professional services align with the City's RFP, addressing key requirements. These requirements include providing the registry database, portals, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) functionality, fee collection, multi-lingual translation services, system maintenance and security, quality assurance/control procedures, and dashboards for data analysis and reporting. Furthermore, 3Di offers staff training and ongoing support, including a weekday helpdesk/call center for landlords with technical inquiries regarding rental unit registrations. In contrast, the alternative proposal was costlier and did not include all the functionality and registry reporting capability requested in the RFP in the proposed scope and budget.
3Di’s demonstrated success in deploying and implementing rental registry programs in other California cities distinguished their proposal. In the Bay Area, 3Di has worked with the City and County of San Francisco on their Housing Rental Inventory Registry, the Berkeley Rent Control Board on the Berkeley Rent Control Rent Tracking System, the City of Alameda on their Rent Control Program, the City of Oakland on their Client Management Module and Eviction Data Platform, and the City of Mountain View on their Rent Program implementation.
Contract Highlights
Contract No. C24187280 (Attachment A) accounts for the timeline necessary to initially build the RRP software for the City, test the system, and return to the Planning & Transportation Commission and the Housing Ad Hoc for public feedback on the rental unit registration forms ahead of RRP public launch, currently anticipated during calendar year 2024. The contract timeline also covers the first four years of phased RRP implementation through December 31, 2028.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Pursuing renter protection policy work is consistent with the goals in the City’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan to provide adequate housing for all. Implementation of this contract agreement is also consistent with the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element and the programs identified in the Housing Element to create a rental registry program. The rental registry program provides an opportunity to collect information to inform future rental protection policy initiatives.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for this program was approved by the City Council in the FY 2024 budget in total of $328,000 for professional services and consultant software to initiate the rental registry program and one full time staff position, estimated to cost an additional $270,000 .
Additionally, Council approved $68,000 in ongoing funds for software related to this contract; although annual ongoing cost shown below are above annual ongoing budget, there is sufficient funding from the initial professional services and software that will be reallocated to cover these expenses. While additional 3Di support hours are included in Years 1 and 2 to assist City staff in the earlier phases of this program, annual contract costs will decrease in Year 3 and Year 4 as the program becomes more established. At this time, this contract (as outlined in Table 2) is fully funded.
Table 2: Contract No. C24187280 Summary of Initial and Annual Contract Costs RRP Year RRP Contract Costs
Initial Build (Spring 2024-Summer 2024) $73,420
Year 1 (Fall 2024-Summer 2025) $84,800
Year 2 (Fall 2025-Summer 2026) $87,116
Year 3 (Fall 2026-Summer 2027) $77,540
Year 4 (Fall 2027-Summer 2028)* $80,084
Sub-total for Services and Reimbursable Expenses $402,960 Additional/Optional Services/Contingency $40,296
Total $443,256
*Subscription services end Fall 2028 and contract ends December 31, 2028.
City Council approved program included no participation fees for the first year of the rental registry, therefore, these costs are funded by the General Fund. A fee will be developed and implemented for Year 2 to begin recovering costs associated with the program; full cost recovery is not anticipated until registration and RRP participation fees are required for all rental units in Palo Alto. Depending on Council direction and policy, this could occur as early as Year 3.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
A request for proposals (RFP) for the rental registry program was posted on the PlanetBids, the City’s eProcurement platform, and 1,124 vendors were notified. The solicitation period was posted for 51 days and closed on April 25, 2023. Four proposals were received. Three proposals were evaluated, given that one was disqualified.
Although not part of this contract, stakeholder engagement is expected to occur with the City Planning & Transportation Commission and the Council Housing Ad Hoc for public feedback on the Rental Registry Program ahead of the public launch.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The approval of a contract agreement for software procurement and to receive professional services is not a project or an action subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 3Di Rental Registry Program Software and Professional Services Contract, C24187280
APPROVED BY:
Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director