City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: July 23, 2024
Agenda Item: 5.G
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Sarkis Metspakyan, Infrastructure and Cloud Services Manager, Information Services Department
Subject: Award Contract to Speridian Technologies, LLC for Implementation and Support of a Permitting and Land Use Management System
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# 364 to Speridian Technologies, LLC for a new permitting and land use management system for the Information Services Department;
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Speridian Technologies, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $3,837,353 (including a $348,852 contingency) for five years, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
4. Authorize budget amendments as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget Actions section of this report (requires 5 votes).
Summary
The City currently uses an Accela system to enter, store, and manage permits and other record types for multiple City departments, including Community Development (CDD), Public Works, Santa Monica Department of Transportation (SMDoT), Finance, Fire, City Clerk, and Rent Control. Permit tracking and land management processes at the City of Santa Monica have changed over time, necessitating a new system to replace the current permitting system. The City’s workflows in Accela result in inefficiencies and duplicative data entry, highlighting the need for an integrated, modern solution.
Furthermore, support for the current permitting system is being phased out by Accela.
To address this, staff conducted a competitive solicitation process to evaluate 2 of 8
alternatives. After evaluating multiple proposals, staff seeks City Council approval to award an RFP and enter into a five-year agreement with Speridian Technologies, LLC (Speridian) in a total amount not to exceed $3,837,353, which includes a 10% contingency, to implement a new Clariti permitting and land use management system and furnish annual software licensing, maintenance, and support services for a five-year period. Speridian is an authorized reseller and implementor of the Clariti system.
Implementing a new Clariti system with Speridian will ensure the City can maintain and enhance its permitting processes using a modern, efficient platform.
Discussion
The systems and processes supporting the City’s permitting and land management services have been under review by staff following input from customers, local businesses and Council itself. In May 2021, the City engaged its auditor, Moss Adams LLP (Moss Adams) to conduct a Permitting System Efficiency Study. This study highlighted several inefficiencies in the City’s processes which require duplicative, manual entry by both customers and staff, lack of integration of systems within the process, and opportunities to streamline existing workflows. These inefficiencies could be significantly improved by implementing a new, integrated technology system.
Therefore, Moss Adams recommended the City invest in an up-to-date, comprehensive permitting system that guides customers through the permit application process and creates efficiencies for City staff with automatic workflows.
As a result of this recommendation, the City conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) process in May 2023 to identify and procure a modern, flexible, configurable, and customer-friendly system to support the City’s diverse and specialized permitting and land management services. An evaluation panel comprised of subject matter experts from the Public Works Department, CDD, SMDoT, and the Information Services Department, each of whom have extensive knowledge and experience with the City’s permitting system and department workflows, evaluated the proposals. The evaluation panel carefully reviewed all proposed solutions and selected Speridian as the best qualified firm to address the City’s needs based on the quality of the services offered and the capabilities of the proposed Clariti cloud-based solution. 3 of 8
Speridian, together with its strategic partner, Clariti, has proposed a proven comprehensive cloud-based modern solution that will enable efficiencies, enhance the City’s applicant experience, and provide a “one-stop shop” for Land Management, along with the corresponding planning, licensing, permitting and enforcement functions for the City to address the areas for improvement highlighted by the Moss Adams Permitting Efficiency Study. Speridian and Clariti have implemented similar Land Management/Permitting/Planning operations for other government entities, including the City of Bakersfield, the City of Covina, and Orange County Public Works.
The proposed new system has the ability to cover permitting processes end-to-end:
from application to review to issuance to fee assessment to inspections. The initial implementation will cover permitting record types for the following departments: CDD, Public Works, SMDoT, Finance, Fire, City Clerk, Recreation and Arts (RAD), and Rent Control. Speridian will migrate all of the processes that currently run on the Accela system into the Clariti system, including, but not limited to, building permits, construction permits, sewer and water meter permits, sprinkler permits, roadway closure permits, rent-controlled property records, and financial transactions on Accela. Speridian will also migrate RAD’s Community Events permitting process currently managed in an OpenCounter system into the Clariti system.
The new permitting system and successful implementation will:
• Position the City to meet its current and future strategic objectives to improve permitting processes and the customer experience.
• Make permitting metrics, such as number and type of permits, easily and broadly available to City staff.
• Provide dashboards for City staff to keep track of the permits and statuses. • Streamline the application and permit approval processes and eliminate bottlenecks.
• Minimize manual processes, reduce paper, and increase usage of automation wherever possible.
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• Automate manual tasks and improve permit efficiency.
• Provide intuitive systems that are easy to navigate.
• Ensure integration with other City systems.
The services proposed by Speridian will implement a cloud-based solution for the City that is customizable, customer-focused, and capable of integrating with existing systems to enhance efficiency and user satisfaction. Speridian will handle the migration of data from Accela and OpenCounter to the new system, using pre-built modules in Clariti and configuring them to City processes. Once in place, the new system will have the flexibility to configure new record types and support other permitting types as needed for any City department. There may be additional implementation costs in the future to configure new permitting processes or permitting processes not currently in Accela or OpenCounter, as some departments use multiple systems to manage different workflows.
Speridian’s proposal includes support after the new system goes live, ensuring it meets the City’s needs through periodic checkpoints to assess performance and make necessary adjustments. The proposed Speridian solution will also provide useful reporting tools and dashboards for the City.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified Firm Speridian Technologies, LLC
Evaluation Criteria References, cost, experience, presentation/demonstration, work plans/timelines, value add/breadth of service,
technology alignment, and functional capabilities.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.190
RFPs Received
Avocette
Technologies Inc. CivicPlus, LLC Civos, Inc. ClearGov, Inc.
Cloud SynApps Inc. Gray Quarter, Inc. LittleMouse
Productions Maintstar
MK Partners, Inc. Online Solutions, LLC
(DBA Citizenserve) OpenGov, Inc Speridian Technologies, LLC StackNexus, Inc. TruePoint Solutions Tyler Unisys.com
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Technologies,
Inc.
RFP Data
Posted On Posted On
Advertised In
(City Charter & SMMC)
Vendors
Downloaded
Date Publicly
Opened
05/30/2023
City's
Online
Bidding
Site
Santa Monica Daily Press 71 07/27/2023
Justification to Award
Based on the evaluation criteria and criteria in SMMC 2.24.190, staff recommends Speridian Technologies, LLC as the best qualified firm to provide implementation, licensing, maintenance, and support services for a new Clariti permitting and land use management system for the City of Santa Monica based on the quality of the services offered and the capabilities of their cloud-based solution to address the City’s needs.
The Clariti system had superior functional capabilities and technology alignment to the City’s needs for a comprehensive permitting and land management system, including but not limited to, the ability to accommodate all permit record types needed by the City, including future new permit record types as needed. Clariti does more than issue permits but also met the City’s record keeping and reporting needs without having to keep data on multiple manual systems. Furthermore, the Clariti system provides workflow capabilities that allow for flexibility in use (and design) by the various City departments that will be utilizing the system. The user interface is also modern and intuitive for ease of use. Clariti demonstrated the best capabilities in terms of user interface, for both the public and City staff, and had dashboard capability which is useful from management perspective.
When evaluated for added value, Clariti stood out with a desirable module that addressed project management and processing of planning entitlements that allows following projects from initial submittal to inspection, ensuring efficient process and application status tracking. Clariti also includes time saving tools such as integrated mapping and the ability to grab data from one input to populate templates, reports, and determinations for consistency across documents.
The Clariti system requires minimal support and abundant out-of-the-box features that reduce the need for custom workarounds, indicators of a stable system that would align with the city’s long-term strategy. The Clariti system seamlessly integrates with other enterprise City systems including payment processors, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and accounting systems without depending on backend coding. The highly configurable Clariti system will assist in reducing technology barriers to meet the communities' evolving needs.
Speridian was evaluated to have the highest aggregate evaluation score, ranking high in all categories of evaluation criteria. They were notably superior in the categories of 6 of 8
experience and implementation plan. With offices in California, Speridian has been serving citizens and other municipalities in the State of California for over a decade.
Speridian’s proposal also included a thorough, experience-informed implementation plan that indicated their ability to meet project timelines, their ability to perform the work within the desired time frame, and their ability and experience in assembling a highly qualified implementation team. The Speridian proposal demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge of the Clariti system and its functionality and demonstrated a strong understanding of the process and workflow needs of the City. For these reasons, Speridian is the best-qualified firm to provide implementation and ongoing support for a new permitting and land use management system.
Environmental Review
The proposed agreement with Speridian to provide software implementation, licensing, maintenance, and support services is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, 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.” The software services are programmatic in nature and would not have a physical effect on the environment, so therefore, are exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
This project is partially funded with FY 2024-25 operating budget funds and FY 2025-26 capital improvement program funds. In addition to those funds, award of the agreement would require additional appropriations from the General Fund, utilizing prior year funds earmarked for this project along with use of restricted SB1186 funds collected to date and set-aside for this project. The SB1186 funds consist of permit fees revenue for increasing certified access specialist services and compliance with construction-related accessibility requirements.
Approval of the recommended action requires the following budget amendments:
FY 2024-25 Budget Amendment – to Appropriate Restricted Funds Release Funds Appropriate Funds
Account Number(s) Amount Account Number(s) Amount
01.360547
SB1186 restricted funds ($550,000) C0108950.689000 $550,000 7 of 8
FY 2024-25 Budget Amendment – To Transfer Funds between CIP Accounts Transfer Funds Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount Account Number(s) Amount
C0105810.689000 ($62,707) C0108950.689000 $62,707
C0108950.689000 $637,760
Total ($62,707) $700,467
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the General Fund (including SB1186 restricted funds), the Clean Beaches & Ocean Parcel Tax – Measure V Fund, the Water Fund, the Wastewater Fund, and the Resource Recovery & Recycling Fund to award an agreement with Speridian Technologies, LLC to provide implementation, licensing, maintenance, and support services for a new permitting and land use management system.
Agreement Request
FY 2024-25 Request
Amount
Future Years
Amount
Account Number(s) Total Contract
Amount
$1,250,467 $200,000 C0108950.689000 $1,450,467
$50,000 C1608950.689000 $50,000
$50,000 C5008950.689000 $50,000
$50,000 C5108950.689000 $50,000
$50,000 C5408950.689000 $50,000
$100,000 C0108890.689000 $100,000
$113,142 01430002.529230 $113,142
$380,000 $1,593,744 01700001.552010.98922 $1,973,744
$1,630,467 $2,206,886 Total $3,837,353
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Alice Pang, Business Process Technology Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
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Attachments:
A. Levine Act Disclosure Form 2.6.24 - Speridian Technologies - 06242024 B. OAKS INITIATIVE FORM - Speridian Technologies - 06242024 C. Staff Report - Web-Based Land Management System 11.22.11 Item 3F D. Moss Adams Permitting Efficiency Study 05.11.2021