City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: November 28, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.D
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director, Code Enforcement
Subject: Approval of Professional Services Agreement with Data Ticket for Administrative Citation Processing Services
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3)(Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Award RFP #370 to Data Ticket, Inc. for administrative citation processing services for the Community Development Department.
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Data Ticket, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $214,000 over a five-year period with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
Code Enforcement Division staff issue Administrative Citations for violations of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. The City currently uses Data Ticket, Inc. to provide administrative citation processing services and collection of delinquent fines. The current agreement with Data Ticket, Inc., will expire on January 25, 2024. Staff evaluated the proposals and met with both prospective vendors and determined that Data Ticket, Inc.’s proposal met the needs of the City. Staff recommend that the Council authorizes the City Manager to negotiate and execute a five-year contract for administrative citation processing services with Data Ticket, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $214,000 with future funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Discussion
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Prior to May 2018, payments for Administrative Citations issued by the Code Enforcement staff were processed by the City’s Finance Department. Under this system, there were many challenges that staff had to address on a regular basis, including delinquencies and collections. Therefore, it was determined that it would be beneficial and more cost effective in the long term to utilize a vendor for issuance and processing of administrative citations and delinquent fine collections. This decreased the volume of fines that were unpaid and made the citation process more efficient by freeing up the officers’ time to investigate and enforce violations of the Santa Monica Municipal Code rather than pursue unpaid citations.
The Santa Monica Police Department contracted with Data Ticket, Inc. in May 2017 after evaluating three firms through the competitive bidding process. On May 23, 2018, the City entered into a three-year agreement with Data Ticket, Inc., for the Code Enforcement Division resulting from the competitive process conducted by the Police department. Since 2018, Data Ticket, Inc. has been providing citation entry, online citation management for city personnel and customers, online payment options, noticing, Franchise Tax Board services, customer service, data management, reporting, and statistical capabilities. The initial contract was for three years for an amount not to exceed $40,000. On August 22, 2019, a first modification to the contract was executed to extend the term through December 31, 2022 and include additional funds, as Data Ticket, Inc. charges the City a percentage of the revenue they collect in delinquent fines. On January 24, 2023, a second modification to the contract was executed to extend the contract through January 31, 2024, to coincide with the termination date of Data Ticket’s agreement with SMPD and to provide staff with time to conduct a solicitation process to award a new agreement.
The City conducted a formal RFP solicitation in August 2023 and received two responses: one from Data Ticket, Inc. and one from TBL Systems, Inc. Data Ticket, Inc., has been providing administrative citation processing services to the city since 2017. Their proposal provides two pricing options which offers the city with the ability to either pay a single fee up front for all services or pay for each instance. The Code Enforcement Division recommends continuing with the pay for each instance option as some of the services included in both options are not utilized, such as Hearing Schedule 3 of 5
Letters and Hearing Performance. In addition, there would be no CPI increases for the duration of the contract.
A response was received from TBL Systems, Inc. an Arizona corporation. TBL Systems, Inc. provides most of their services to law enforcement agencies by building web-based cloud systems tailored to each agency’s needs. This process takes about six months from project initiation through transition to operation with the first-year costs at $625,000 and over $2.6 million for the five-year period.
Staff from Code Enforcement and the Police Department met with both prospective vendors who provided an overview of their platforms and the services they provide. It was determined that Data Ticket, Inc. best meets the needs of the city. 4 of 5
VENDOR SELECTION
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified Firm Data Ticket, Inc.
Evaluation Criteria Customer service, including the size and capabilities of a full-time dedicated customer call center; staffing levels and whether they are able to meet or exceed the City’s anticipated volume;
comprehensive cost structure specific to services requested; full access to data collected by the vendor; ability to receive citation data in the preferred format; ability to meet the City’s reporting capabilities; references.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFPs Received
Data Ticket, Inc. TBL Systems, Inc.
RFP Data
Date Posted Posted On Advertise In (City Charter &
SMMC
Date Publicly
Opened
08/14/2023 City’s Online Bidding Site Santa Monica Daily Press 09/11/2023 Justification to Award
Based on the evaluation criteria above and the criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends Data Ticket, Inc. as the best qualified firm to provide Administrative Citation Services based on previous experience working with the City, their ability to deliver quality services, their compliance with all City requirements, and fair pricing .
Environmental Review
The agreement is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The agreement is covered by the common sense exemption which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” This agreement will allow the City to continue to contract with Data Ticket, Inc. for the processing of administrative citations and the collection of delinquent fines. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the agreement will not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and as such, is categorically exempt from CEQA.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the General Fund to award a contract with Data Ticket, Inc. for administrative citation processing and delinquent citation collection.
Contract Request
Current Year
Request Amount
Amount for
Future Years
FY 2023-24 Budget
Department Account #
Total Contract
Amount
$21,400 $192,600 01700005.550010 $214,000
Future year funding will be contingent upon Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Cheryl Shavers, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A - Data Ticket, Inc. CSA #4449
B. Attachment B - Data Ticket, Inc. CSA #4449 First Modification C. Attachment C - Data Ticket, Inc. CSA #4449 Second Modification D. Data Ticket, Inc. OAKS FY 23-24