101-Staff Report.pdf COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
CITY HALL
10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3308 www.cupertino.org
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting:
February 7, 2012
Contract for the Online Permit Tracking Software System for Permit Review
Subject
Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with Computer Software Incorporated (CSI)
Magnet solution and Avolve Software Corporation for an Online Permit Tracking Software System
including licensing, training and services in the amount of $483,410.00 for implementation and
annual maintenance for five years per Attachment A and an additional contingency in the amount of
$16,590.00.
Recommended Action
As part of the work program, Council directed a comprehensive review of the City's development
review process. In 2009, the Matrix Consulting Group was hired to conduct a comprehensive
organizational and management analysis of the City’s development permit process and operations.
Matrix began their research in March 2009 and completed the study on November 5, 2009. The
study used a variety of sources for its analysis including: customer focus groups, a survey of City
staff, and a review of the development process, permit data and the City’s website. Matrix
compared Cupertino’s permit processes and organizational framework with other comparable cities
and best management practices in the industry and made a list of recommendations to improve the
City’s permit process and organizational efficiency. One of the major problems identified in the
report is the “lack of an effective automated on-line permitting information system.” Based on
Council direction, two workshops were held on July 28 and September 8, 2010 to discuss the
development review process and ideas for improvement. Input from the community workshops also
identified the need for a comprehensive online permitting system to simplify processing and
tracking of projects.
Background
On January 18, 2011, as part of the mid-year budget amendment, Council authorized setting aside
$224,000.00 in available Information Technology funds and $165,000.00 in budget savings in FY
2010-11 (a total of $389,000.00) for an online permitting system. The remaining funds were added
in the FY11-12 budget to create funding in the amount of $500,000.00, the estimated cost of an
online permitting system.
After City Council’s authorization to move forward, a Permit Tracking Software Committee
(PTSC) was formed to review and provide input into creating the Request for Proposals (RFP) and
Discussion
select the online permitting software provider. The committee consists of staff from the
Information Technology Division, Finance Department, Public Works, Building, Planning and
administrative staff. The Technology Information and Communication Commission (TICC) also
provided input at key points in the process such as reviewing the RFP and interviewing software
providers. Feedback on the draft RFP from TICC was received by the PTSC on July 7, 2011. On
August 1, 2011, the City of Cupertino released a Request for Proposal to solicit proposals for a
permit tracking system solution. The scope of work included in the RFP described software
modules and services to be performed during the installation and configuration of the software. The
RFP was mailed to multiple software providers and was posted on the City’s website.
By the due date of September 1, 2011, the Committee received 13 proposals from various software
companies responding to the RFP. The Committee rated the written proposals and short-listed the
top four companies. The ratings were based on delivery of requirements stated in the proposal,
commitment to the schedule and availability of key team members, qualifications/experience/
understanding of work flow processes, intuitive/user-friendly software, cost and overall presentation
of material. The top four firms were invited to City Hall on October 24, 2011 to introduce their
company and present their software solution to four separate groups including Building, Planning,
Public Works and Information Technology (IT) / GIS. A member of the TICC was a participant in
one of the interview panel groups.
The top two of these four firms (CRW Systems, Inc. and CSI) were invited back for a second
interview/presentation on November 16th and 17th, 2011, allowing more time to present their
software to the PTSC and a team of staff making up the various workgroups within the City.
After the interviews/presentations were complete, the Committee scheduled an on-site interview
and a phone interview with a reference from each vendor. On November 29, 2011, a conference
call with members of the Committee and Newton County, Georgia, was held to interview them as a
reference client for CSI. The Committee also scheduled an on-site visit with the City of Milpitas as
a reference client for CRW.
On December 1st, 2011, after the Committee met and discussed the results of the interviews and
customer feedback, CSI received the highest score based on their proposed software, number of
successful installations, strong customer references, quality customer service, relationship with third
party vendors, and commitment to cost of the project. CSI Software was deemed the most suitable
for Cupertino because it not only met the requirements of the RFP but also had the highest customer
satisfaction ratings for its software and maintenance contract.
CSI’s MagNet software solution is a web-based application that uses GIS as its foundation. CSI’s
proprietary software eliminates the need of third-party licensing for users to benefit from their GIS
module. The various applications (permitting, planning, public works, business license, etc.) are
integrated into one database, which makes it easier for users to reference all records (i.e., building
permit history, code violations, pending inspections, plan checks) assigned to an address or parcel.
The software meets the City’s goal of integrating its systems to GIS while avoiding the potential of
implementing software that may need to be transitioned to be web-based at a future date. CSI’s
software and public access portal also appeared intuitive and easy to use compared to the other
vendors that were evaluated. The public access portal will allow sign-offs, inspection details and
inspection results to be instantly available to the public. CSI’s iPad application used by field staff
was shown to be more developed than any other company can offer. CSI also had the best pricing
on a third-party vendor, ProjectDox, which provides advanced software to review and compare
plans. While other vendors had their own software programs, they had limited review capability.
CSI also provided a greater degree of customization per the City’s requirements without increased
costs. This was corroborated by a number of CSI’s clients that the City interviewed.
The new online permitting system will allow extensive accessibility to the database and its related
services including 24-hour, 7 day-a-week public access. Applicants will be able to apply and pay
for permits, schedule building inspections, check on status of plans, inspections and projects, and
receive real-time notification of inspection results - all on-line. The system will also enhance the
wireless connectivity for our field inspectors and will greatly improve efficiency and effectiveness,
extending inspection management capabilities to the field for inspections, service requests, and
other functions. Time in the field and communication between field staff and the office will be
optimized.
Fiscal Impact
The total one-time cost of implementing the system is $483,410.00 per the draft contract for CSI
Magnet provided as Attachment A. It should be noted that the contract quote, including the special
reduced pricing for the ProjectDox plan checking software, is valid until March 31, 2012. An
additional contingency amount of $16,590.00 is being requested for any additional unforeseen
expenses. The amount of the contract and contingency are within the allocated budget of
$500,000.00 for the online permitting system.
The annual maintenance contract is for five years. The cost for the first year is $38,439.00, which is
lower since the first year’s cost for Avolve’s ProjectDox software has been waived. Thereafter, the
cost increases to $59,319.00 with increases of 5% every two years up to year five. Our current
annual maintenance cost for the Pentamation system is about $32,000.00 with annual increases in
the amount of 1-2%.
Next Steps
The current implementation schedule has a start date of late February 2012. The phases in the
project include; discovery (data), scope analysis, setup and design, training/testing, transition,
production and post-production. CSI has estimated that implementation will last about 12 months
with a preliminary “Go Live” date in February 2013.
_____________________________________
Prepared by: Albert Salvador, P. E., C.B.O., Building Official; Traci Caton, Administrative
Assistant
Reviewed by: Aarti Shrivastava, Community Development Director; Timm Borden, Public Works
Director
Approved for Submission by:
Attachment:
David W. Knapp, City Manager
A. Draft Contract