COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Tax Collector/Treasurer

DATE:

02-20-2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

03-19-2002

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Lee Buffington, Tax Collector/Treasurer

SUBJECT:

Request for Approval of an Agreement with Independent Contractor, WorldScape, Inc., for the continued support of the link between the Assessor, Controller and Tax Collector Systems

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution authorizing the President of the Board of Supervisors to

a) enter into an agreement with WorldScape, Inc. in the amount of $337,200.00 for the period of April 1, 2002 through June 30, 2004

b) waive the Request for Proposal process

Background

We are currently conducting a joint project with the Controller's Office to move their applications from the mainframe to the Tax Collector's AS/400. The contract programmer will be the principal or lead programmer in the effort to provide the Controller's Office with a new tax accounting/apportionment system. WorldScape will be instrumental in the successful completion of this project and in post implementation maintenance. We may also assign WorldScape similar programming tasks to enhance or fix other software systems that reside on the Tax Collector's AS/400.

The contract programmer supplied by WorldScape Inc. performs application programming on the Tax Collector's IBM AS/400 computer using the RPG/400 language. WorldScape performed the programming for the implementation phase of the Tax Collector's Secured Tax System from March 29, 1999 to January 2001. The second phase of this project began in January 2001. During this phase of the project, our Secured Tax Systems were enhanced with respect to its tax accounting features and its interfaces with other County systems. The next phase of our Secured Tax project will continue to focus on replacing functions that remain on the mainframe such as the extension of the secured tax roll. Such a project will require processes to be developed that interface the Controller's and Assessor's Offices to that of the Tax Collector.

Discussion

WorldScape Inc. has contributed significantly in the development and maintenance of our systems over the past two and one half years, in particular the interfaces between the Tax Collector, the Assessor, and the Controller's functions. For these reasons, we believe a waiver of the request for proposal process would be in the best interest of the County. ISD has no comparable resources. ISD have been notified of these projects.

The Tax Collector's Office is planning a number of programming projects over the next two years that will benefit all three fiscal offices (Assessor, Controller, and Tax Collector). This includes not only new development, but on going maintenance and support. One such project will involve transferring the extension of the secured tax roll process form the IBM mainframe to the Tax Collector's AS/400. Another project will provide for the automated transfer of Board of Supervisor approved property valuation changes from the Assessor's system to the Tax Collector's AS/400. These projects will result in new cost savings and orders of magnitude in process improvements. WorldScape Inc.'s knowledge and experience will be an integral part of the success of these projects.

Vision Alignment

WorldScape, Inc. helps the Tax Collector to meet the following two goals set by the Board of Supervisor's Visioning Project.

1. Government decisions are the result of careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

2. County and local governments effectively communicate, collaborate, and develop strategic approaches to issues affecting the entire County.

Fiscal Impact

The two and one-half year contract with WorldScape Inc. will cost a total of $337,200.00. This is based on an estimated 4496 hours of work at the stated rate of $75.00 per hour. Funding is from the Tax Collector's budget and is included in the Tax Collector's budget for this year and next.