SR - AGR-6390 - UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE UPGRADE AND MAINTENANCE1. SUBJECT
Approve a Consulting Services Agreement and Five -Year Maintenance Agreement with N. Harris
Computer Corporation (Harris).
2. SUMMARY
Authorize an agreement with Harris to upgrade the current Public Utility Billing Software (PUBS)
to Northstar 6.4. 10 for a total cost of $124,202, which includes a 10% contingency for unexpected
costs. The new software will replace a 12 -year old system as well as provide a new automation
platform. Staff also recommends approving a five -year maintenance agreement from April 1, 2017
through March 31, 2022 in the total amount of $450,610. The cost for the first year of maintenance
is $75,097. The total project cost for the first year is $199,299, and the total financial commitment
over the five -year period is $574,812.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
Approve the consulting services agreement for the upgrade and the five -year maintenance
agreement and authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute on behalf of the City.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
Funds are currently budgeted and available in the following account numbers:
220.1222.56510.20242 Sanitation - CIP -UB Software Upgrade $62,101
600.1222.56510.20242 Water - CIP -UB Software Upgrade $62,101
600.1222.51700.00000 Contractual Services $75,097
$199,299
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL(S)
2 a. Expend financial resources responsibly;
2 b. Effectively manage and develop City assets.
6. DISCUSSION and BACKGROUND
Over the last 12 years the City has contracted with Harris for all utility billing applications through
their PUBS application. They have provided a quality utility billing software program that has met
the needs of our customers and City staff. As of January 2012, Harris discontinued any further
enhancements for PUBS. They are forging all of their efforts into their flagship program of
Northstar 6.4.10. In addition, the server language of PUBS, Linux, is discontinuing support as of
January 2017. Therefore, staff has been assessing options to replace the PUBS application. After
extensive research, staff narrowed its focus on two options: Northstar and Eden.
The City currently uses Eden, a product from Tyler Technologies, as its Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) and financial management system. Staff researched the utility billing module in
Eden in an effort to use the same software city wide. It was determined the ERP system would
not be able to provide the same level of service that our current provider does, such as pay by
phone, mobile service work orders, and Kiosk integration.
The new software provided by Harris, Northstar, will have a new look and feel, but the core
processes are still the same. This will make the transition from PUBS to Northstar much easier.
Included in the upgrade is Harris' Automation Platform which will assist in streamlining daily
processes. It is designed to run daily processes such as posting payments or uploading reads. It
can also perform tasks based on a criteria of events; for instance, creating a refund after an account
is closed and sending the information to Accounts Payable for processing. This will reduce the
amount of manual labor involved and will ensure more accuracy with the data and processes. The
Automation Platform will assist in freeing up resources that will enable staff to provide better
customer service and increase productivity. In addition, the updated version of the report writer is
embedded in the program. This will provide more ease in querying the data and creating reports.
The proposed upgrade will include going to a new server with Structured Query Language (SQL),
which is a widely used language for software. Many other software platforms throughout the City
are SQL- based, which will allow us to leverage our SQL Enterprise licensing, saving on database
maintenance costs.
Finally, Harris has partner companies that are integrated with the software to provide extra
services. We currently have a website, a kiosk, and a phone system that provides our customers
options to pay or view their utility bill. Harris also has a work order system for our field crew to
electronically create and complete work orders for services rendered including meter leaks or
change -outs, water audits, turn-on, and turn-off requests.
The cost of $124,202 for the upgrade includes professional services from Harris to assess staff s
current use of PUBS and how to maximize the features of Northstar, migration of data from PUBS
to Northstar, training, and quality - control testing and verification to ensure that data was migrated
correctly. Also included in the costs is a 10% contingency in order to cover any unforeseen
circumstances.
ITEM 2 09/13/16
The five -year maintenance agreement will replace the City's current maintenance agreement with
Harris. In year one of the new agreement, maintenance costs will be $5,225 less than the current
maintenance agreement. Harris is including the first year subscription for the Automation Platform
at no cost. In years two through five, maintenance costs will increase approximately 1.5% per
year, and the annual subscription cost of $15,225 (also subject to a 1.5% annual increase) will be
added for the Automation Platform.
A summary of the costs is presented below:
Description
Cost
FY 2016 -17 Costs
Professional Services for Upgrade
$
124,202
Maintenance (4/1/17 to 3/31/18)
75,097
Automation Platform (4/1/17 to 3/31/18)
0
Total FY 2016 -17 Costs
$
199,299
Future Year Costs
Maintenance (4/1/18 to 3/31/19)
$
76,223
Automation Platform (4/1/18 to 3/31/19)
15,225
Maintenance (4/1/19 to 3/31/20)
77,367
Automation Platform (4/1/19 to 3/31/20)
15,453
Maintenance (4/1/20 to 3/31/21)
78,914
Automation Platform (4/1/20 to 3/31 /21)
15,762
Maintenance (4/1/21 to 3/31/22)
80,492
Automation Platform (4/1/21 to 3/31/22)
16,077
Total Future Year Costs
$
375,513
Total Project Costs
$
574,812
7. ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A — Consulting Services Agreement
Exhibit B — Maintenance Agreement
ITEM 3 09/13/16
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES SEPTEMBER 13, 2016
3. CONSENT CALENDAR (Continued)
3.7 A four -year agreement with Granite Masters, Inc. for cleaning and maintenance of
the Veterans Memorial stonework in an amount not to exceed $37,400. (A2100.0;
Agr -6389)
ACTION: Approved agreement with Granite Masters, Inc. and authorized the Mayor and
the City Clerk to execute on behalf of the City.
3.8 License Agreement between the City of Orange and County of Orange for use of the
east -end Police Substation Facility. (A2100.0; Agr- 5807.A)
ACTION: Authorized the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute the license agreement
between the City of Orange and the County of Orange.
3.9 Consulting Services Agreement and five -year Maintenance Agreement with N. Harris
Computer Corporation (Harris). (A2100.0; Agr -6390, 4345.C)
NOTE: Mayor pro tem Murphy abstained due to a potential conflict with his employment.
ACTION: Approved the consulting services agreement with N. Harris Computer
Corporation for the upgrade and the five -year maintenance agreement and authorized the
Mayor and the City Clerk to execute on behalf of the City.
APPROPRIATIONS
3.10 Appropriation of funds received from Rancho Santiago Community College District
(Santa Ana College) for Fire Department training hours. (C2500.H))
ACTION: 1) Accepted into the City's revenue budget a $15,689.04 payment from Rancho
Santiago Community College District, into revenue account 100.3023.48210.20234 —
(Expense Reimbursement Santa Ana College); and 2) Authorized the appropriation of
$15,689.04 into expenditure account 100.3023.51840.20234 — (Local- Training Santa Ana
College).
3.11 Request to Accept and Appropriate into the City's Revenue Budget a $14,350
Donation from the Orange Public Library Foundation (OPLF). (C2500.I)
ACTION: 1) Accepted into the City's revenue budget a $14,350 donation into revenue
Account No. 100.2001.48390.19322 (Library Foundation Donations); and 2) Authorized
the appropriation of $14,350 into expenditure Account No. 100.2001.53301.19322 (Book
Budget — OPLF).
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