COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Information Services Department

 

DATE:

September 20, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

October 8, 2002

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Luther Perry - Director of Information Services Department

SUBJECT:

Execution of an Amendment to an Agreement with Dhiren Gandhi & Associates, Inc.

 

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution executing an amendment that increases the amount and extends the term of the agreement with Dhiren Gandhi & Associates, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $285,600.

 

Background

In May of 2001 ISD completed a research project, the Internet Services Delivery Project, which focused on providing direct services to the public through the use of Web technology. In support of the findings of this project, your Board approved and funded the eGov project, which was to deliver a wide variety of County services to the public via the Web. This first segment of the project, establishing the new eGov infrastructure, has been completed. This segment of the project was delayed due to software vendor shipping delays. During the delay Mr. Gandhi's skills were utilized on other projects, such as the IFAS upgrade project and the Court's network upgrade project and Mr. Ghandi's time on these projects was charged to the respective departments. The second segment of this project, the conversion of the existing County site to a user-friendlier format, did not begin until the new e-Gov infrastructure was in place. The first phase of conversions is complete, with the next phase underway and due to be completed by the end of December. The final conversion phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of February 03.

 

Discussion

ISD recommends that your Board extend the contract by six months and increase the dollar amount by $95,000 in order to complete the conversion effort. This would conclude the first and second segments of the eGov project. Subsequent segments of this project will begin if and when funding is available. For his level of expertise and project management skills, Mr. Gandhi's rates of $80 at the contractor's site and $90 at the County site are very competitive.

Therefore ISD recommends that we retain Mr. Gandhi's services until the second segment of the eGov project is complete.

 

Vision Alignment

Extending the contract with Dhiren Gandhi & Associates, Inc. keeps the commitment to responsive, effective, and collaborative government, specifically goal number 22: County and local governments effectively communicate and collaborate in order to develop strategic approaches on issues affecting the entire County. This contract contributes to this goal because Dhiren Gandhi is assisting in the eGov projects which facilitate effective communication and collaboration between County departments.

 

Fiscal Impact

Funding for this project is incorporated into ISD's proposed budget for fiscal year 2002-2003.