2002 AGN AUG 20 I15 - Laserfiche WebLink

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well together, and also had technical problems. Larger consulting firms do not have the experience working with small organizations, and as a result produce applications not suited for the needs of a small city. 2. The applications that need to be developed are specific to City of Colton staff, and most consultants do not tailor their work to small organizations. This consultant specializes in Inland Empire public agencies, and is familiar with the applications of other local agencies, so communication between agencies results in less duplication of work and resources. 3. The public will benefit from hiring this consultant, because he has the ability to help city staff get our GIS information on the internet. This has been a technical hurdle in the past, and no other consultant has been able to accomplish that task. However this consultant has both the software and hardware experience to make this task a reality. Also, the city will not have to pay above the cost of the contract, since this is included in the scope of work. Other consultants in the past had additional billing for hardware related issues. 4. This consultant has lower than average hourly charges at $85/hour, for GIS application consulting. In the past, the city has been given hourly charge estimates over $100/hour for these same services (from Symcas). Also, past experience with computer consultants show that they may bid low on a proposal, but then charge extra if they are asked to perform a function not detailed in the scope of work. This consultant is very flexible and will not charge beyond the stated hourly rate. GIS application development is a very indefinable undertaking, and this consultant has proven that he fits well at the city and will produce results. ALTERNATIVES: 1. The first alternative is to not hire an application consultant. This choice would result in using existing GIS staff being the sole source of GIS information. This would slow down the process of providing information to the citizens, and city staff. The original scope of GIS implementation involved application development for use of all city personnel. Lack of applications would impede the original purpose of GIS. 2. The second alternative is to hire a full-time GIS programmer on staff. This alternative would be very costly. Adding personnel is costly, and application development is sporadic, therefore there is not enough application programming to keep an individual busy working full-time. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The $40,000 expense will come out of the GIS System Operations Account for fiscal year 2002/2003, 605-8000-8002-2350. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: None RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase order not to exceed $40,000 to Donoghue and Associates for GIS software application development. Report prepared by: Michelle Pierce, Electrical Systems Engineer Page 2 of 3