To: Mark R. Hafner, City Manager
From: Julie Smith, Director of Community Development
Subject:
Title
Consider a resolution approving a consulting services agreement with Sciens Consulting for the Community Development System Solution Selection project and authorizing the City Manager to execute all documents related thereto on behalf of the City of Keller, Texas.
Action Requested:
Consider a resolution approving a consulting services agreement with Sciens Consulting for the Community Development System Solution Selection project in the amount of $69,000 for Assessment and Planning services, Request for Proposal Development, Vendor Evaluation and Selection, and Contract Negotiation.
Background:
The Community Development Department’s current software solution is 20 years old and is approaching the end of its functional life. As is typical with software of this type and age, it has been acquired, modified, customized and transferred between multiple organizations and iterations, resulting in a solution that is costly to modify and limited in its versatility. A few factors have been identified which make transitioning software platforms a necessary adjustment to our workflow.
a. Staff turnover and changing organizational practices have produced data fragmentation which makes reporting ineffective, resulting in complex data queries to obtain information.
b. The software has received limited updates from successive vendors to enable customer self-service and ease of use.
c. Technical support is slow to resolve issues with aging case resolution times impacting operational efficiencies.
d. Several new providers have entered the field in the last several years who have diversified the land management, permitting, planning and code compliance software options.
Our objective is to identify a software solution that more effectively “talks” across function and department lines to improve efficiencies. For example, if a building permit is being reviewed by Building Services for a particular property, any concurrent work, outstanding violations, or other relative information associated with that property is readily apparent so that divisions and departments do not work at cross-purposes.
The proposal furnished by Sciens Consulting will provide for the professional evaluation of existing processes and workflows, including use cases for the various stakeholders and users of the software, and will take into account best management practices in order to develop an effective Request for Proposals and help determine the most qualified software provider for the City.
Financial Impact:
Funds for this project are budgeted in the FY 2021-22 Information Technology budget.
Citizen Input/Board Review:
Not applicable.
Legal Review:
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved.
Alternatives:
City Council has the following alternatives:
- Approve as submitted
- Approve with changes
- Denial
Council Action:
Staff recommends approval of the proposed resolution as presented.