The FY 2020 non-routine work plan adopted for the Planning and Codes Department includes a task of researching and selecting a replacement Development Management and Permitting software system. Funding for the project is provided in the Capital Projects Fund budget.
Currently, the Department uses a software system called TrakIT, originally developed by CRW Systems. CRW Systems has been sold several times and the software is currently supported by Central Square Technologies. The software tracks and manages all development-related requests from plan review, permit issuance, project review, codes enforcement, and licensing management such as architects, engineers, contractors, mobile food vendors, and home occupations. The software has been in use by staff since December 2003. It is also used by the Engineering and Fire and Rescue Departments, and to a lesser degree, the Water Services Department. When the existing system was acquired in 2003, the was $240,000.
The effort to look at new software began with the idea of enhancing the services we provide to our customers and the desire to provide electronic plan submittal and review, thereby greatly reducing the amount of paper flowing through the Planning and Codes offices. A citizen portal will be included providing applicants the ability to track the progress of their plan/permit review. TrakIT does not provide either of these features. Over the past year, staff has been researching program alternatives, meeting with consultants, and attending web demonstrations, which were used to design the scope of the project.
In August 2019, staff drafted a detailed set of specifications that were included as part of a Request for Proposals (RFP). A total of 11 firms responded to the RFP. The first-year costs for providing the software ranged from $79,300.00 to $569,640.00. The annual software and maintenance costs ranged from approximately $3,950.00 to $119,000.00. Staff narrowed the list down to four firms and conducted follow-up web demonstrations with each firm. Staff from the GIS and Technology Departments attended each demonstration. Upon completion of the follow-up demonstrations, staff agreed that the Davenport Group provided the best option and the versatility necessary to best address the unique requirements of the City.
The Davenport Group was the lowest submitted cost proposal for the project in terms of the initial first year cost. Although iWorQ Systems initially appeared to be the lowest proposal with a first year cost of $78,000.00, iWorQ does not currently provide Single Sign On (SSO) using Active Directory integration, which was required as part of the City's RFP specifications for security purposes preferred by City IT staff. Provision of the SSO added an extra $10,000.00 to iWorq's initial cost increasing it to $88,000.00. The annual software maintenance costs would also be increased by $10,000.00. The annual software maintenance, per year for the first three years quoted by Davenport was $24,623.00, while iWorQ quoted $48,000.00, a $23,377.00 annual difference. Note that the annual maintenance cost, quoted by iWorQ does not include the additional annual maintenance for the SSO integration. When considering total costs over the first three years of the system (initial cots and annual maintenance), the three-year cost of the Davenport Software package is $160,769.00, while the three year cost for iWorQ was $232,000.00, which does not include the extra costs of the maintenance for the SSO.
The Davenport Group will provide its Land Management (LAMA) Software as a replacement for the City's aging TrakIT system. The proposed project implementation schedule from contract signing to "go live" includes a total of approximately 27 weeks beginning in January 2020 and extending to the first week of July 2020. Staff expects that all work will be completed during FY 2020.
The total one-time cost associated with the implementation of the software is $79,300.00. There is also an estimated cost included in the RFP of $7,600.00 for anticipated travel expenses for training. One of the more attractive features of the LAMA proposal is the software training, which includes on-site classroom, one-on-one, role and module specific training provided by LAMA staff. Additionally, the Software as a Service (SaaS) fee, which is the annual reoccurring cost associated with the maintenance of the program in the cloud, is $24,623.00 per year for the first three years. The annual maintenance costs could increase based upon the CPI. The initial capital outlay for the first year is $111,523.00 ($79,300 + $24,623 + $7,600).
The software uses "Bluebeam Studio" to provide the link for the electronic plan submittal and review. Bluebeam provides document management and collaboration features and serves as a centralized location to store all documents, plan submittals and review. Planning and Codes Department staff have been testing the Bluebeam software for slightly more than one year. Note that the Engineering Department is also using Bluebeam. The cost of the Bluebeam Revu Standard is $349 per seat. The Planning and Codes Department will require a total of eight seats for a total cost of approximately $2,800.00. For 2021 budgeting purposes, other departments expected to use the LAMA software have been informed of the additional Bluebeam software required.
It was important to staff that all of the information stored in TrakIT be preserved and migrated to the new system. Staff reviewed sample data migration from TrakIT to LAMA and the data appeared to transfer intact. It was readable and searchable. Other details of the proposal include:
- Licensing for 18 named users. The TrakIT System currently has 17 users. Additional named users can be added to the program at any point in the future. Billing of the new users would be on the annual renewal dates.
- Integration with an online payment gateway is provided at no additional cost.
- Eleven days of on-site training. Davenport is the only company of the four finalists that offered this option.
- LAMA provides software modules for Permitting and Inspections, Planning -- Development Review, Code Enforcement and Licensing. The program is GIS Centric and will use our GIS data, and permits and Code cases can be initiated from the map.
- The program offers a Citizen Portal that will allow customers to apply for permits and licenses online, upload documents, interact with staff, check the status of applications, schedule inspections, pay fees, and point documents.
- All inspectors have the ability to use an "App" to view details of the permit and enter inspection results via a tablet or mobile phone in the field using iOS or the Android operating system.
Staff recommends the software solution provided by the lowest cost proposer, The Davenport Group USA, with a total first year implementation/start-up cost of $111,523.00. As described above, this includes the implementation cost of $79,300, which includes migrating our existing data stored in TrakiT to the LAMA platform, the annual software and maintenance cost of $24,623.00 (for the first three years), which will be assessed at the time that the software is placed in the Cloud for City use (anticipated to be around April 2020), and the cost of the on-site training of $7,600.00. A copy of the scope of work, the pricing, and the project milestones are attached for your information.
Should you have any questions, please contact the Planning and Codes Director. |