SR-10-02-2012-3DCity Council Meeting: October 2, 2012
Agenda Item: 31)
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jory Wolf, Chief Information Officer
Subject: Upgrade and Maintenance of NorthStar Utility Billing System
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a sole source contract with Harris Computer Systems (Harris), a Canadian -
based company, in the amount of $107,554 to upgrade the City's NorthStar Utility Billing
System and to provide the first year of maintenance on the new system with four
additional one -year maintenance options, to commence in FY2013 -14 at an estimated
annual expenditure of $45,844, for a total contract amount not to exceed $290,930.
Executive Summary
The City uses the NorthStar utility billing system to establish customer accounts for
municipal services such as water supply, sewage collection, resource recovery and
recycling, fire inspection, and more. NorthStar is also used to maintain service and
consumption records, calculate City charges and fees, produce municipal services bills
and provide information to customers. City utility billing processes have changed over
time and the demand to generate invoices to customers by various City departments
using NorthStar has increased. In order to meet the needs of the City, receive software
updates required by industry regulation, and to realize staff efficiencies from enhanced
product functionality, a system upgrade is required. Implementation of the upgrade from
Harris would provide the City with the current functionality provided by NorthStar while
adding additional features such as process automation capabilities, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) functionality, and workflow management. The
implementation of the system, including training, maintenance and data migration
services would not exceed $290,930 for a five year period.
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Background
On November 8, 2005, Council authorized a contract with Harris Computer Systems to
replace the City's legacy utility billing system with NorthStar. The product has been a
reliable and flexible system that has met the City's evolving requirements with respect to
establishing customer accounts, tracking customer information, and reporting. With
more departments using NorthStar for invoicing charges and fees, however, the need
for greater automation within the system has become apparent.
NorthStar is a computer software system that the City uses in tracking customer
information and issuing bills and invoices for various services. Such services include
water, sewage, resource recovery and recycling, fire inspection, traffic accident cleanup,
industrial waste permitting, Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), and affordable
housing monitoring.
The City has used NorthStar since 2007 when the system was fully implemented.
Significant financial resources and training hours have been invested in this customer
information system. Information management and service order processing capabilities
have been greatly enhanced by its use.
Discussion
Implementation of NorthStar 6.4 Automation would ensure the City's ability to maintain
its current functionality while adding new features such as process automation
capabilities, GIS functionality, and workflow management. NorthStar 6.4 also includes
functionality that meets current industry standards and addresses security vulnerabilities
found in the current software.
Vendor Selection
The software licenses previously purchased by the City for NorthStar are perpetual and
require no renewal. However, in order to receive critical support and regular software
updates to be in compliance with federal and state regulations, the City must continue
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software maintenance with Harris. Harris is the only vendor qualified to provide this
support for its proprietary software. Harris was competitively selected through a request
for proposal (RFP) process the City conducted in 2005.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The contract to be awarded to Harris Computer Systems is not to exceed $290,930 for
the next five years. Funds in the amount of $107,554 for upgrade services, and the first
year of maintenance are available in the corresponding divisions and projects budgets
for FY2012 -13. The contract costs will be charged to the following accounts:
25671.533580
$22,922
31661.533580
$22,922
C250785.589000
$30,855
C310785.589000
$30,855
TOTAL
$107,554
Budget authority for the remaining four years of maintenance will be requested in each
budget cycle for Council approval. Future funding is contingent upon Council approval.
Prepared by: No C. Nkwenji, Lead Systems Analyst — Water Resources
Approved:
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Forwarded to Council:,
Rod Gould
City Manager
Reference Contract No.
9649 (CCS).