1999 AGN APR 06 I10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Colton AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 6, 1999 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY CO NCIL APPROVAL: HENRY T. GARCIA, CITY MANAGER FROM: DILU DE ALWIS, ACTING FINANCE DIRECTOR p SUBJECT_ : AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF AZUSA TO PROVIDE UTILITY CUSTOMER INFORMATION SERVICES. DATE: MARCH 22,1999 BACKGROUND: The City is currently using a custom -developed software program known as MUIS (Municipal Utility Information System), installed over 10 years ago for its Utility Billing and Customer Information System. Staff has identified several problems with this customized software, including the inability to run special'reports on demand without the assistance of the outside consultant/programmer, at additional expenses. This program is antiquated and requires change to meet and exceed our customer service goals. In addition it fails to meet the Y2K compliance. DISCUSSION/ANALYIS: With the demand to meet the needs of our growing customer base and to respond to competitive challenges, it is extremely important to equip ourselves with a Customer information System that is flexible, user friendly, efficient and above all, provide accurate billing. In January 1996 the City of Colton awarded a bid to Harris Computer Systems to install a Customer Information System. However, due to the complexity of the required systems, Harris has not been able to meet their contractual obligations, and has requested to terminate the contract, refunding a major portion of the funds already paid to Harris. The current Customer Information System that was developed over 10 years ago is not Y2K compliant and would require extensive investment in on-going programming costs and maintenance. The City of Azusa has developed a Customer Information System that is state of the art and will enable the City of Colton to increase its productivity in serving our customers. Some of thekey advantages of the City of Azusa system includes, real time update of customer accounts, paper -less, automated customer account inquiry capability, faster processing etc. Their system utilizes a similar operating platform, which will speed up the conversion, testing and training process. ALTERNATIVES: To retain the current outdated hardware/software and continue to experience delays, complications and fail to meet audit and internal reporting requirements, as well as reporting requirements to outside agencies. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The total startup cost of the Customer Information System with the City of Azusa is $148,863. This cost includes the upgrade to the City of Azusa hardware to accommodate City of Colton database, license upgrade fees and the cost to upgrade specific external components. The funding for this purchase will be made from the following sources; $32,000 from Harris Settlement, $30,000 balance due to Harris (disencumber from Harris and encumber to City of Azusa), and appropriate additional funds in the amount of $86,863 to Acct. #520-8000-8007-4900-0107-000. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that Council approve the agreement between the City of Colton and the City of Azusa for the purpose of providing a Customer Information System for a total of $148,863 Item # 10