(7)AR 061609 Agreement/Black & Veatch

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CITY OF COLTON ITEM #7 AGENDA REPORT FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 16, 2009 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: Jeannette Olko, Electric Utility General Manager and Dilu DeAlwis, Finance Director SUBJECT: Request approval to award a contract to Black & Veatch Corporation to provide Project Management services for Utility Billing System DATE: June 08, 2009 BACKGROUND: The existing Customer Information System (CIS) was implemented in October 2005. Since implementation, there have been ongoing billing issues that require outside assistance to resolve as there is currently no staff available that has the proper skill sets to address those issues. The City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) in August 2008 to review and analyze the functional specifications that were included in the original Request for Proposals (RFP) for the utility billing system and the current system performance, and to develop a list of recommendations for the City to consider to resolve the billing issues. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The GFOA released their report in November 2008 to staff, and made several recommendations. These recommendations include, but are not limited to, the following: • Creation of a Steering Committee whose task is to oversee the project • Identification of a Project Manager (Independent Consultant) to develop the detailed plans and resource requirements needed for the successful implementation of the project, manage the project, and work with the Steering Committee to meet the objectives of the project. • Entering into a separate contractual agreement with Advanced Utility Systems with a defined scope of work and deliverables A Steering Committee was established that is comprised of the Assistant City Manager, Finance Director, Community Services Director, Water/Wastewater Director, and the Electric Utility General Manager. As the pool of qualified candidates for project management for utility billing systems that include water, wastewater, refuse, and electric services is small, the Committee solicited informal proposals from three vendors: (1) Navigant Consulting, (2) Split Rock Consulting, Inc., and (3) Black and Veatch Corporation. After evaluating the proposals received and interviewing all 3 candidates, the Steering Committee recommends the selection of Black and Veatch Corporation. This project will be separated into two phases: Phase I will consist of an assessment of the priorities of the billing issues and development of the plan for resolving those issues. Plan I is estimated to be completed within two months, and will be an amount not -to -exceed $30,000. Staff will then bring back for Council approval Phase II of the project, which will be the work for implementation of the plan.