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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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CONTROLLER
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DATE:
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October 25, 2004
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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November 9, 2004
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Tom Huening, Controller
Chris Flatmoe, Director, ISD
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SUBJECT:
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Request for Approval of a Controller’s Office Agreements, Contracts, Contingency Reserve and Associated Hardware and Software Purchases to Upgrade the County’s Integrated Financial Accounting System (IFAS)
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RECOMMENDATION:
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1. Approve an agreement with Leckey Consulting, LLC in an amount not to exceed $265,500 for project management services relating to the upgrade to the IFAS 7i system.
2. Approve a Second Amendment to Financial Management Systems Agreement and Remote Services Provider Agreement with Bi-Tech Software Inc. in an amount not to exceed $427,136 to purchase software licenses and maintenance agreements, implementation and training services and remote service provider support related to the upgrade of IFAS.
3. Authorize the County Manager, in conjunction with the County's Purchasing Division, the Controller and Information Services Division, to purchase hardware and software related to the upgrade of IFAS not to exceed $210,000 and utilize a contingency reserve not to exceed $97,364 as needed for this project.
4. Waive the Request for Proposal process the Sungard Bi-Tech Inc. and Leckey Consulting, LLP contracts.
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VISION ALIGNMENT:
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Commitment: This action will contribute to the County’s Shared Vision 2010 goal number 20 that government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain. By upgrading our financial accounting system the County continues to provide financial accounting services without incurring the cost of an entirely new system. As a result of this upgrade financial system users will be using browser based technology which will reduce training needs and is preferred by ISD for future County applications.
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BACKGROUND:
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The County purchased proprietary financial accounting software (IFAS) in the 1994/95 fiscal year for use beginning in the 1995/96 fiscal year. Since that time, the software vendor, SunGard Bi-Tech Inc., has provided the County with annual maintenance and support for this proprietary system. The current version of IFAS will not be vendor supported by the end of the 2004 calendar year. Current costs to replace the IFAS software with an alternative enterprise resource planning system have been in the tens of millions of dollars for other local counties (Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco). The Controller wishes to avoid these high costs and extend the useful life of IFAS for as long as possible. This upgrade will enhance the usefulness of the County’ s financial accounting system and provide a user-friendlier interface for IFAS.
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DISCUSSION:
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To ensure the County can continue to perform its accounting functions properly, an upgrade of the vendor's software is required. To run this new software, various hardware and software upgrades are also required. One of the computers currently running the IFAS accounting software is the machine used for the original 1995 implementation. This hardware is no longer serviceable and needs replacement.
SunGard Bi-Tech has developed a new interface that will make IFAS more productive and easier to use. This “browser based” interface allows users to see IFAS using only a Web browser. Information Services Department (ISD) believes they can provide ongoing support to the IFAS environment and that the browser based interface is preferred for future County applications. This upgrade to IFAS will also provide the ability to implement ECommerce processes and electronic workflow which will improve accounting process efficiencies and financial controls. Our goal is to provide a long life to the County’s financial accounting system and to respond to its users’ (currently 500) requests for a system that is easy to learn, use and understand.
Steve Leckey, of Leckey Consulting, LLC, has provided the County with IFAS implementation and analyses services since the implementation of IFAS began in 1993. Mr. Leckey has detailed knowledge of the County's accounting environment and processes as well as vast experience in large system implementations/conversion such as this upgrade requires. Based on past successes on projects of this type with Mr. Leckey, we request the Board waive the RFP process.
IFAS is proprietary software so this upgrade is available only from SunGard Bi-Tech Inc. Therefore we request that the Board waive the RFP process since vendor is sole source. Minor modifications to the County's Non-Discrimination and Equal Benefits clause have been approved by the County Manager.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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Appropriations for this upgrade in the amount not to exceed $1,100,000 have been included in Non-Departmental for the 2004/2005 fiscal year.
The total costs associated with this project are as follows:
Project Management – Lecky Consulting, LLC
$265,500
SunGard Bi-Tech, Inc. Software Upgrade, Implementation, Training and Support
427,136
ISD Implementation Services
100,000
Hardware and Software Purchases
210,000
Contingency Reserve
97,364
TOTAL PROJECT COSTS
$1,100,000
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