Item Number: 15
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: March 18, 2025
Submitted By:
Doug Mathews, Director of Public Works and Water
Subject:
Contract Award for an Asset Management and Work Order System Recommendation:
That the Honorable City Council/Board of Directors award a contract to OpenGov, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $577,601.36 for an Asset Management/Work Order System and allow the City Attorney or City Manager to make non-substantive changes, as needed.
Fiscal Impact:
Should the Council move forward with staff’s recommendation, there are sufficient funds for this project in the following accounts:
Account Account Description Amount Available
4202076-52300-74665 VMUS – Contract Svcs. $51,956.61
4250700-52300-74665 Sewer – Contract Svcs. $117,829.67
4120710-52300-74665 IWWTP – Contract Svcs. $67,330.33
4100030-52300-74665 Water – Contract Svcs. $132,256.15
3705501-52300-74665 LMAD 1 – Contract Svcs. $1,185.26
3705502-52300-74665 LMAD 2 – Contract Svcs. $4,500.00
3705003-52300-74665 LMAD 3 – Contract Svcs. $4,500.00
3705505-52300-74665 LMAD 5 – Contract Svcs. $7,000.00
3705506-52300-74665 LMAD 6 – Contract Svcs. $32,000.00
3705507-52300-74665 LMAD 7 – Contract Svcs. $500.00
3705508-52300-74665 LMAD 8 – Contract Svcs. $1,500.00
3705530-52300-74665 DFAD 1 – Contract Svcs $30,000.00
3705532-52300-74665 DFAD 2 – Contract Svcs. $500.00
3705550-52300-74665 MAD 1 – Contract Svcs. $1,000.00
3705551-52300-74665 MAD 2 – Contract Svcs. $500.00
2025060-52300-74665 Storm Drain – Contract Svcs. $60,117.34 4265005-52300-74665 Street Sweeping – Contract Svcs $64,926.00 Total $577,601.36
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Strategic Plan Goal:
Goal A. Financial Sustainability: Promote fiscal health through disciplined long-term planning and cost control, making informed decisions on resource allocation to ensure efficient use of funds. This system will assist with forecasting future maintenance and replacement costs to plan effectively and help ensure that adequate financial resources are available to cover these expenses.
Goal E. Invest in Infrastructure: Create a healthy and livable community by maintaining the City's assets through investment in infrastructure and innovations. This system will act as a records database where staff can automate preventive maintenance schedules, intake resident concerns, include the useful life of assets and have a running cost for various components of asset management.
Background:
The City currently manages assets and work order processes using a variety of methods, including Excel spreadsheets, paper-based daily work orders, and email communication.
Previously, the City relied on legacy systems such as EnerGov-Work Order and Sedaru.
This fragmented approach has led to inefficiencies, as different divisions use different tools to track and manage tasks. As a result, there is a significant opportunity to streamline and modernize these systems to improve operational efficiency, reduce data duplication, and enhance real-time decision-making.
In September 2023, the City was notified that Tyler Technologies would no longer support EnerGov-Work Order, and the system would be discontinued. The Public Works Department had previously relied on this system to track and research maintenance activities, as well as manage daily worker tasks related to asphalt repairs, sidewalk repairs, sanitary reports, assessment district service requests, and various other public inquiries. Since the discontinuation of the program, staff have adopted an email-to-paper process. In this workflow, administrative staff receive inquiries via email, forward them to a lead worker for investigation, and the lead worker responds to the inquiry and advises the administrative staff on the course of action. A daily paper work order is then created, and field crews fill in the necessary details. Once completed, the work order is submitted to administrative staff, who manually update a spreadsheet to track the status and research work activities.
In December 2023, the City/District was notified that the asset management and work order system used by the Water Department (Sedaru) would be sunset in December 2024 after being acquired by a new company, which decided not to continue the asset management feature. As a result, staff began migrating information to spreadsheets and daily paper work orders to ensure that the District’s operations were accurately documented. This information is essential for monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting to various agencies.
The Victorville Municipal Utilities Services (VMUS) Department, which lacked an asset management and work order system, was managing tasks using email, paper, and 4 0
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spreadsheets. This approach did not allow for automated reminders for preventative maintenance or easily accessible data storage for reports.
To address these challenges, staff from across the departments met and began outlining their collective needs for a centralized asset management and work order system. This system would enable the online submission of service requests, provide automated updates as work is completed, manage work orders across Public Works, Water, VMUS, and Traffic Engineering operations, support preventative maintenance schedules, and generate operational reports. It was determined that a single system could meet the needs of all departments as, while operations may differ, the overall requirements were largely the same across the board.
Discussion:
Asset management and work order systems are vital tools for municipal governments, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and long-term sustainability in managing public infrastructure and services. Assets, which are tangible components of the City's infrastructure, require ongoing maintenance to ensure optimal performance. These assets vary across departments but include everything from pipelines, irrigation systems, roadways, sidewalks, traffic signals, and transmission lines to meters, hydrants, electrical cabinets, substations, water treatment plants, manholes, signs, and more. If an asset is equipped with a GPS location or an asset tag, the software can generate a unique identifier, enabling the City to track all maintenance, repairs, and inspections related to that asset.
Below are some of the key benefits of implementing a robust asset management and work order system:
Enhancing Customer Service
For operations and maintenance departments, service requests from the public and customers typically come through phone, email, or the website. Staff then email or call customers to confirm receipt of their concern, explaining that it will be investigated and the appropriate course of action will be determined. With the proposed system, we will continue to accept concerns in the same manner, but there will be an added feature: a widget on the public-facing website where customers can directly submit their concerns.
As the request moves through the work order system’s workflow, the requester will be automatically updated throughout the process. They will be notified when their request has been resolved—whether it’s the completion of work (e.g., a pothole filled or debris cleared from the right-of-way)—or if the request falls outside of our jurisdiction, in which case they will be provided with the correct contact information (for issues related to Caltrans or County service areas).
This system will provide a more efficient and customer-friendly response to public concerns, while also reducing the number of calls and emails staff receive inquiring about the status of service requests.
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Asset Protection and Maintenance
The City is committed to providing reliable services to residents and businesses, and assets are a crucial component of that commitment. Without proper management and maintenance of these assets, we risk service disruptions that could negatively affect residents' quality of life or business operations. Additionally, we must comply with a range of local, state, and federal regulations concerning infrastructure and safety standards.
This system will enable each department to import and manage all preventative maintenance schedules and regulatory inspections, ensuring compliance. By consolidating these records in one place, the system simplifies reporting to regulatory bodies and facilitates compliance tracking through audits. It will maintain detailed records of inspections, repairs, and maintenance for each asset within the program, helping to ensure ongoing protection and performance.
Risk Management and Public Safety
This system will support risk management by maintaining detailed logs of maintenance activities and repairs. In the event of accidents or asset failures, the City/District will be able to access a comprehensive history of work performed on the affected asset, which is essential for legal, insurance, or regulatory purposes. Additionally, the City frequently receives Public Records Requests (PRRs) related to various assets across the city for numerous reasons. This system will enable a timely and efficient response to these inquiries, ensuring that we provide reliable and transparent information.
Budget and Decision Making
This system will help track the lifecycle of assets, including maintenance, depreciation, and replacement. By understanding the current condition of these assets, departments can make informed decisions on where to allocate resources, ensuring that funds are used efficiently. It will also allow departments to forecast future maintenance and replacement costs, helping them plan and ensure there are sufficient financial resources to cover these expenses. Additionally, the system will enable departments to prioritize and plan maintenance and repairs based on urgency and available resources. Currently, there is no system in place to automate these processes.
Moreover, by gaining insight into each asset and its unique attributes, staff will be able to identify potential failure points, assess materials that are underperforming, and begin analyzing what works best for the City's infrastructure. The work order system will also enable staff to track performance metrics, task completion times, and repair costs.
This system will not only enhance immediate maintenance of the City and district assets but also optimize the use of existing assets, reduce unnecessary replacements, and extend the lifespan of our infrastructure.
The need for this system was so critical that staff undertook a thorough decision-making process to identify the best vendor to meet the City and District’s needs. 4 0
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A comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) was developed to solicit proposals, as staff had a clear understanding of what was required from the program but lacked the specific parameters for how a vendor could meet those needs. In accordance with the Victorville Municipal Code (VMC), which defines software as a general service (Section 2.28.050 (8)(H)), the formal bid process is required for purchases exceeding fifty thousand dollars (Section 2.28.100).
In collaboration with the City’s Purchasing Division, the project was posted on the City’s website on August 12, 2024, emailed to interested parties, and also posted on the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO) purchasing organization’s website. Proposals were due by 3:00 p.m. on September 23, 2024. The following 14 firms submitted proposals before the submission deadline. •Nobel Systems
•MaintStar
•I Water
•OpenGov
•Smart Energy Water
•PSD Citywide
•Kloudgin
•Novotx
•Brightly Software
•Mentor APM
•Beehive
•Saitech
•Univerus
•Data Transfer Solutions
A panel of ten staff members, representing Public Works, Water, and VMUS, was formed as the selection committee. Staff rated the proposals from each of the fourteen firms based on the established criteria, and the top six were invited to provide product presentations. Following the presentations, two firms stood out: Nobel Systems and OpenGov. The two firms scored within 0.5 points of each other, prompting the panel to decide between them. The panel was evenly split, with five members favoring each firm.
Ultimately, the Director of Public Works and Water, in consultation with staff and IT, acted as the tiebreaker. After ensuring all factors were considered, the Director selected OpenGov as the best solution for the work order/asset management system.
OpenGov offers a two-way, real-time integration with the City’s existing geographic information system (GIS), which serves as the backbone of this software solution. This integration allows for instantaneous updates from both the field and the office, ensuring that the GIS system remains up-to-date at all times. Additionally, the City has an Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) with Esri, which OpenGov’s system leverages.
Furthermore, OpenGov provides a custom application program interface (API) that integrates seamlessly with the City's enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Munis.
While Nobel Systems was a strong contender, the data updates to the GIS system would have been less frequent. Nobel operates via a Google-based GIS system, requiring data to be downloaded from Nobel and uploaded into the City’s GIS Esri database at a frequency determined by the City, but not in real-time. Furthermore, losing a component of the Esri ELA would negatively impact other City departments that rely on this software. 4 0
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Following this decision, staff began negotiations with OpenGov to discuss the City’s needs. During these discussions, it was determined that expert contract services in utility asset management networks would be crucial for successfully launching the project. As a result, a third task was added to the contract to include these services.
Should the Council/Board move forward with staff’s recommendation and award the contract to OpenGov, the following tasks will be completed by OpenGov:
1. Implementation/Deployment & Professional Services: $404,580.01
2. Annual Services – Year 1: $173,021.35
This will be a three-year contract, with years two and three subject to approval through the annual budget process.
Staff are available for any questions you may have.
Attachments: A. Draft Agreement