Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Agreement with Park Consulting Group to Provide EnerGov and Finance System Enhancements, Support, and Maintenance.
End
publichearing
End
From: Adolfo Ozaeta, Assistant City Manager
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Ryan Salz, Senior Management Analyst
____________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
A. Approve the agreement with Park Consulting Group (PCG) to provide ongoing EnerGov and Finance Systems support and maintenance, in addition to the implementation of EnerGov Citizen Self Service (CSS) and other enhancements, through December 31, 2024, in an amount not to exceed $252,650; and
B. Approve a budget adjustment for the California Automated Permit Processing (CalAPP) Program grant in the amount of $60,000 to the Building - Intergovernmental - State Other revenue account and Building - Contractual Services expenditure account.
end
BACKGROUND
On November 28, 2018, the Mayor and City Council approved a contract with Tyler Technologies to upgrade and implement software improvements for multiple City departments. The approval initiated a process that resulted in the implementation of EnerGov, a primarily Community Development-based software program; and Munis, a finance-based software program. City staff and the consultant team worked collaboratively to implement the programs in July 2020. Park Consulting Group was the chief consultant that worked with the City during this time to support the implementation and launch of EnerGov.
EnerGov has been a functional system with improved and streamlined internal processes for the Community Development Department. However, as part of the City’s three-year strategic plan, there have been concerns raised regarding the speed and effectiveness of the permitting and entitlement processes. Residents and local contractors have communicated that they encounter delays while working and developing in the city. There have also been requests to provide community members a way to check their application status online, as opposed to calling staff or visiting the lobby counter during business hours.
To address the concerns and requests, PCG recently contracted with the City to implement an EnerGov software upgrade to the latest 2022 product version, replacing the initial version implemented in 2019. The upgrade was a multi-departmental effort between the Community Development and Finance Department, supported by the Information Technology (IT) Division.
With Park Consulting as the lead, the system overhaul was planned and implemented over the latter half of 2023. Staff training occurred during November and December to allow a seamless transition when the upgrade went live. The actual software upgrade occurred over the holiday closure. Dedicated staff remained on-call over the holiday closure to assist PCG and ensure that the system was fully functional for the first day of the business year on January 2, 2024. The upgrade was successful and the EnerGov system is operating as expected.
Over time, the upgrades will help streamline application processes handled by the Community Development Department. The upgrade also integrates functionality features between the Finance Department’s Tyler Technologies software program (Munis) and EnerGov. This will decrease the amount of time that a customer spends at the counter by eliminating manual steps involved in the process between Community Development and Finance.
Approval of the Professional Services Agreement with PCG (Attachment 1) will allow the firm to continue working with the City to support and maintain EnerGov, Munis, and Eden. Eden is another software program utilized by the Finance Department that supports the City’s fixed assets and payroll processes. In addition, they will launch the CSS Portal, a powerful community-facing online tool that will allow local developers and property owners to easily check the status of their applications, pay outstanding invoices, and access public search capabilities. The launch of this feature will directly address the requests relayed by Council. Exhibit “A” of the Professional Services Agreement details these core services among other enhancement initiatives, such as Solar APP+ configuration, development of advanced reporting tools, and workflow improvement. The Cost Proposal divides PCG’s services into four distinct categories, as follows:
• EnerGov CSS & SolarAPP+ Configuration: $60,000 (grant-funded)
• EnerGov Back-office, CSS, and SolarAPP+ Enhancements: $70,000
• EnerGov Support & Maintenance: $43,450
• Finance Systems Support & Maintenance: $79,200
SolarAPP+, short for Solar Automated Permit Processing, is an online web portal that automates the plan review and process for issuing permits to qualified businesses or individuals to install code-compliant residential photovoltaic (PV) systems. The SolarAPP+ project aims to reduce solar installation costs by improving the efficiency and accuracy of the local permitting review process. The implementation of the CSS Portal is a necessary step toward Solar APP+ configuration.
Westminster’s Building Division successfully applied for grant funding to support the integration of SolarAPP+ with the City’s current solar permitting processes and the CSS Portal. The California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded the City $60,000 through the California Automated Permit Processing (CalAPP) Program to fund the effort. Following the successful adoption of the solar permitting platform, the City will provide supporting documentation and invoicing to the CEC. They will then verify successful adoption prior to approving payment to the City. In the interim, funding will be distributed from the Building Division Contractual Services Account to front the cost of the CSS Portal and SolarAPP+ implementation. However, because of the grant award, only $192,650 of City funding will be expended to pay for all of the services described in PCG’s Proposal.
FISCAL IMPACT
Execution of the Agreement will result in the disbursement of $252,650 from the contractual accounts in Building (62050-43090), IT (14450-43090), and Finance (21000-43090) for services through December 31, 2024. The CalAPP grant funding will require a budget adjustment of $60,000 to the Building - Intergovernmental - State Other revenue account (62050-34294) and $60,000 to the Building - Contractual Services expenditure account (62050-43090). No additional funding is necessary to pay for these services in the current fiscal year (FY 23-24). The required allocation for the following fiscal year will be reflected in each Department’s adopted budget.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
Approval of the agreement with PCG to provide EnerGov and Finance system enhancements, support, and maintenance will allow the City to continue working toward a premium customer service experience for the Westminster community. PCG has considerable experience in supporting the implementation of EnerGov for many cities in Orange County and Southern California. The PCG team, in collaboration with staff, has successfully completed the upgrade of the EnerGov system and is eager to continue improving and supporting applicable City software programs and services.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Professional Services Agreement
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
Christian Bettenhausen, City Attorney
Christine Cordon, City Manager