Agenda Item #13.8
For Council Meeting of: September 24, 2024
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BRIAN TICKNER, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: AGREEMENT WITH ACCELA, INC. FOR DEVELOPMENT RELATED PERMITTING, INSPECTION, AND CODE ENFORCEMENT SOFTWARE SERVICES AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Finance, Information Technology, Planning and Economic Development and Fire Departments, that the Council, by resolution, approve a seven-year General Services Agreement with Accela, Inc., San Ramon, California, for the provision of a Cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) solution to manage the City’s development-related permitting, inspections, and code enforcement services, data, and processes, for a total amount of $2,523,601.11, which includes a 15% ($13,800) contingency for implementation services, and $30,000 contingency for as-needed additional licenses throughout the contract term.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Santa Rosa has used the on-premises permitting and inspection system provided by Accela, Inc. since 2015. Due to Accela’s announcement that they will no longer support the current on-premises system beyond December 2025, the City issued RFP 24-01 on January 4, 2024 to seek a replacement system. After a comprehensive evaluation process conducted by the Senior Buyer and an eight-member panel of City staff, including a proposal review, on-site demonstrations, and reference checks, Accela’s Cloud-hosted system was selected as the best overall solution.
The proposed solution from Accela, Inc. aligns with the Council Goals of Create an Environment that Supports Staff and Operational Excellence, Invest in the Development and Maintenance of the City’s Infrastructure, Plan for and Encourage Housing for All and Reduce Homelessness, and Foster a Safe, Healthy, and Inclusive Community.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Rosa has relied on Accela’s on-premises system for managing development-related services across several departments, including Planning and Economic Development, Fire, Water, Transportation and Public Works, and Recreation and Parks. In 2023, Accela announced end-of-support for their on-premises systems, and the City recognized the need to evaluate alternatives and transition to a new system.
The current Accela Civic Platform system has been in use at the City since 2015, providing essential software for land management, permitting, inspections, and code enforcement. The system also provides a public-facing web portal for residents and contractors to submit and review permit applications, pay permit-related fees, and conduct research. Annually, the system manages between 12,000 – 15,000 permits and planning entitlements and 1,200 – 1,500 code enforcement cases and provides a critical role in the City's operations.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
Not applicable.
ANALYSIS
RFP 24-01 was issued on January 4, 2024 and attracted proposals from the following 19 vendors across the country.
Bidder
Location
Accela, Inc.
San Ramon, CA
Andrew Barkoff Unisys
Blue Bell, PA
Autocene
San Ramon, CA
CentralSquare Technologies
Lake Mary, FL
CityView
Creve Coeur, MO
GeoCivix
Tucson, AZ
Gov2biz
San Antonio, TX
HS GovTech
Charlotte, NC
IK Consulting
Tucson, AZ
Intuitive Municipal Systems (iMS)
Mount Juliet, TN
MaintStar
Dallas, TX
Online Solutions
Tempe, AZ
OpenGov
San Francisco, CA
Speridian Technologies
Albuquerque, NM
Timmons Group
Richmond, VA
TruePoint Solutions
Loomis, CA
Tyler Technologies
Plano, TX
VisualVault
Tempe, AZ
Woolpert
Dayton, OH
The proposal evaluation panel, led by the City’s Senior Buyer and consisting of eight City staff members across the Planning and Economic Development, Fire, and Information Technology departments, conducted a rigorous review process, including the development of RFP requirements, scoring written proposals, evaluating on-site demonstrations, and conducting reference checks.
The top five vendors, including Accela, Inc., were invited for on-site demonstrations. Following these evaluations, the top three vendors were further assessed through reference checks and were asked to submit Best and Final Offers. Accela, Inc. emerged as the top choice due to several factors:
Proven Functionality: Accela’s system has been demonstrated to meet the City's requirements.
Familiarity: The system's user interface and functionality are similar to the current system, minimizing the training costs and learning curve for staff and the public.
Data Migration: Accela's solution allows for seamless migration of existing data, forms, processes, and reports with minimal reconfiguration.
Integration Capabilities: Accela demonstrated a strategy and ability to provide all required integrations to the City’s existing systems.
Positive References: Strong feedback from reference checks confirmed the reliability and effectiveness of Accela’s solution.
Proven Company: Accela, Inc. is a company with many years of experience providing permitting, inspection, and code enforcement software, supporting numerous municipalities with the size and complexities as the City of Santa Rosa.
Cost and Implementation: Accela’s proposal was amongst the lowest costs for professional services and the shortest implementation timeline, crucial given the City's ongoing operational demands and need to transition by December 2025.
Accela’s SaaS solution will provide the City with continued software releases including enhancements, new features, and bug fixes as well as helpdesk support throughout the term of the contract.
The panel's thorough evaluation and Accela Inc.'s comprehensive offering make this vendor the best solution for the City's needs and staff recommends awarding the contract to Accela, Inc. for the new Permitting, Inspection, and Code Enforcement System. This solution will ensure the City continues to provide efficient and effective services to the community while aligning with the City's operational goals.
FISCAL IMPACT
This new contract is for a seven-year agreement with Accela, Inc. to provide a Cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) solution through September 30, 2031.
The agreement includes professional services to migrate the data, reports, and processes from the current on-premises system to the new Cloud-hosted system; as well as the annual subscription costs for 150 user licenses. As part of the Best and Final negotiations, Accela offered to credit the City for the remaining balance of the annual software maintenance fees paid this year for the on-premises system, saving the City approximately $137,000 to apply to the SaaS solution. Additionally, Accela is offering a discount for paying two years of the subscription costs up front and other incentives including a 9% discount for signing the contract by 9/30/2024, resulting in an additional savings to the City of over $210,000 over the seven-year term of the contract.
With this contract, the first two years of the SaaS subscription license fees will be pre-paid in FY24-25 from existing approved departmental budgets.
Funding for this contract is provided by the departments who use the system, based on the number of licenses allocated to each department, currently as follows:
Department
% of Licenses
FY24-25 Amount
Planning & Economic Development
76.10%
$315,073.36
Fire
12.20%
$50,511.10
Water
6.50%
$26,911.65
Transportation and Public Works
3.00%
$12,420.76
Recreation and Parks
2.20%
$9,108.56
TOTAL
100.00%
$414,025.45
Additional funding for the implementation and to cover the remaining FY24-25 costs includes:
Source
FY24-25 Amount
IT Permitting System Replacement Project (JL Key 02060) $80,000.00
IT Enterprise Software Support (GL Key 350307)
$37,017.00
Credit from Accela for On-Prem System Fees Paid (approx.) $136,553.94
Total
$253,570.68
The Grand Total to be paid in FY24-25, using funds from existing approved departmental budgets and the one-time Accela credit is $667,596.13. This includes funding for the professional services for the implementation as well as the annual SaaS subscription license fees for FY24-25 and FY25-26. Funds to be paid via the applicable charge keys from the departments noted above.
Beginning in FY26-27, the recurring annual costs will be included in the Information Technology department budget for Enterprise Software Support (GL Key 350307), presented to City Council as part of the annual budget process.
Please note that Accela has accepted many of the terms of the City’s standard form of professional services agreement; however, the contract as negotiated with Accela and with input of all involved departments includes some less favorable terms, including a limitation of Accella’s liability to the dollar amount of the contract, interest on late payments, limited remedy for breach of warranty, and no liability for security breaches.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The Council finds that the proposed action is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under section 15061(b)(3) and 15378 in that there is no possibility that the implementation of this action may have significant effects on the environment, and that no further environmental review is required.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution/Exhibit A (Agreement)
PRESENTER(S)
Brian Tickner, Chief Information Officer
Gabe Osburn, Director of Planning & Economic Development Jennifer Myles, Acting Purchasing Agent
ACCELA AGREEMENT
PAGE 3 OF 3