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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-86 Resolution No. 11-86 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AN AGREEMENT WITH INFOSEND FOR WATER BILL PRINTING AND MAILING BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS,that Sean R. Stegall,City Manager,be and is hereby authorized and directed to execute an agreement on behalf of the City of Elgin with InfoSend for water bill printing and mailing, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof by reference. s/David J. Kaptain David J. Kaptain, Mayor Presented: May 11, 2011 Adopted: May 11, 2011 Omnibus Vote: Yeas: 7 Nays: 0 Attest: s/Jennifer Quinton Jennifer Quinton, Acting City Clerk CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, AGREEMENT FOR RFP #11-012 Water Bill Printing and Mailing This Agreement is made and entered into this_ 11 day of May , 2011, by and between the City of Elgin ("the CITY"), a municipal corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Illinois, and Infosend, incorporated in the state of California and having a principal place of business at 1406 Centre Circle Drive,Downers Grove, IL 60515("the CONTRACTOR"). ARTICLE I. DEFINITION. "THIS CONTRACT" as used herein shall mean this Agreement, the Request for Proposals (RFP) including all documents referenced therein and the Contractor's bid response (bid) thereto incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof. The CONTRACTOR agrees to provide the goods and/or services all in accordance with the IFB and CONTRACTOR'S Bid. In the event there is a conflict between this Agreement and the bid documents,the bid documents shall supersede this Agreement. ARTICLE II. DURATION. The CONTRACTOR shall commence the performance of THIS CONTRACT upon receipt of a fully executed CONTRACT from the City. The CONTRACT shall expire April 13, 2013, with two(2) one-year options to renew. ARTICLE III. TERMINATION. The following shall constitute events of default under THIS CONTRACT: a) any material misrepresentation made by the CONTRACTOR to the CITY,b) any failure by the CONTRACTOR to perform any of its obligations under THIS CONTRACT including, but not limited to, the following: (i) failure to commence performance of THIS CONTRACT at the time specified in THIS CONTRACT due to a reason or circumstance within the CONTRACTOR'S reasonable control, (ii) failure to perform THIS CONTRACT with sufficient personnel and equipment or with sufficient material to ensure the completion of THIS CONTRACT within the specified time due to a reason or circumstance within the CONTRACTOR'S reasonable control, (iii) failure to perform THIS CONTRACT in a manner reasonably satisfactory to the CITY, (iv) failure to promptly re- perform within reasonable time the services that were rejected by the CITY as erroneous or unsatisfactory, (v) failure to comply with a material term of THIS CONTRACT, including, but not limited to the Affirmative Action requirements, and(vi) any other acts specifically and expressly stated in THIS CONTRACT as constituting a basis for termination for cause. The CITY may terminate THIS CONTRACT for its convenience upon fourteen(14)days prior written notice. ARTICLE IV . DAMAGES. From any sums due to the CONTRACTOR for goods or services, the CITY may keep for its own the whole or any part of the amount for expenses, losses, and damages as directed by the Purchasing Director, incurred by the CITY as a consequence of procuring goods or services as a result of any failure, omission, or mistake of the CONTRACTOR in providing goods or services as provided in THIS CONTRACT. ARTICLE V. GOVERNING LAWS AND ORDINANCES. This CONTRACT is made subject to all the laws of the State of Illinois and the ordinances of the CITY and if any such clause herein does not conform to such laws or ordinances,such clause shall be void(the remainder of the contract shall not be affected)and the laws or ordinances shall be operative in lieu thereof. ARTICLE VI. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. The CONTRACTOR will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, age or physical handicap which would not interfere with the efficient performance of the job in question. The CONTRACTOR will take affirmative action to comply with the provisions of Elgin Municipal Code Section 3.12.100 and will require any subcontractor to submit to the CITY a written commitment to comply with those provisions. The CONTRACTOR will distribute copies of this commitment to all persons who participate in recruitment, screening,referral and selection of job applicants and prospective subcontractors. The CONTRACTOR agrees that the provisions of Chapter 3.12 of the Elgin Municipal Code, 1976, is hereby incorporated by reference, as if set out verbatim. ARTICLE VII. ASSIGNABILITY. The CONTRACTOR shall not assign, sell or transfer any interest in THIS CONTRACT without prior written consent of the CITY. acts or negligent acts or omissions of Contractor or Contractor's officers, employees, agents or subcontractors in the performance of this agreement, including but not limited to, all goods delivered or services or work performed hereunder. In the event of any action against the City, its officers,employees,agents,boards or commissions covered by the foregoing duty to indemnify,defend and hold harmless,such action shall be defended by legal counsel of the City's choosing. ARTICLE XI. PUBLICITY. The CONTRACTOR may not use, in any form or medium,the name of the City of Elgin for public advertising unless prior written permission is granted by the CITY. ARTICLE XII. APPROPRIATIONS.The fiscal year of the CITY is the 12 month period ending December 31. The obligations of the CITY under any contract for any fiscal year are subject to and contingent upon the appropriation of funds sufficient to discharge the obligations which accrue in that fiscal year and authorization to spend such funds for the purposes of the contract. If, for any fiscal year during the term of the CONTRACT, sufficient funds for the discharge of the CITY'S obligations under the contract are not appropriated and authorized,then the CONTRACT shall terminate as of the last day of the preceding fiscal year, or when such appropriated and authorized funds are exhausted,whichever is later,without liability to the CITY for damages,penalties or other charges on account of such termination. ARTICLE XIII. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This CONTRACT embodies the whole agreement of the parties. There shall be no promises, terms, conditions or obligations other than those contained therein; and this agreement shall supersede all previous communications,representations,or agreements,either verbal or written,between the parties. ARTICLE XIV. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS. Notwithstanding any other provision of this CONTRACT it is expressly agreed and understood that in connection with the performance of this CONTRACT that the CONTRACTOR shall comply with all applicable Federal, State, City and other requirements of law, including, but not limited to, any applicable requirements regarding prevailing wages,minimum wage,workplace safety and legal status of employees. Without limiting the foregoing, CONTRACTOR hereby certifies, represents and warrants to the CITY that all CONTRACTOR'S employees and/or agents who will be providing products and/or services with respect to this CONTRACT shall be legal residents of the United States. CONTRACTOR shall also at its expense secure all permits and licenses,pay all charges and fees and give all notices necessary and incident to the due and lawful prosecution of the work,and/or the products and/or services to be provided for in this CONTRACT. The CITY shall have the right to audit any records in the possession or control of the CONTRACTOR to determine CONTRACTOR'S compliance with the provisions of this section. In the event the CITY proceeds with such an audit the CONTRACTOR shall make available to the CITY the CONTRACTOR'S relevant records atno cost to the CITY. CONTRACTOR shall pay any and all costs associated with any such audit. The person signing THIS CONTRACT certifies that s/he has been authorized by the CONTRACTOR to commit the CONTRACTOR contractual and has been authorized to execute THIS CONTRACT on its behalf. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have hereto set their hands the day and year first above written. CONTRACTOR CITY OF GIN Name in Se. F Stegall City Manager Chief Operating Officer Title 33-0748516 FEIN 8 1 E 44) LGIN THE CITY IN THE SUBURBS- AGENDA ITEM: G MEETING DATE: April 27, 2011 ITEM: Contract with InfoSend, Inc. for the Printing and Mailing of Water Bills and Delinquency Notices ($22,000) OBJECTIVE: Reduce the time demand placed on customer service, ITS user support and central service staff and reduce postage expenditures through the use of outsourcing RECOMMENDATION: Award a contract to InfoSend, Inc. for the printing and mailing of water bills and delinquency notices in the amount of$22,000 BACKGROUND On an annual basis, the city distributes approximately 200,000 utility bills and 57,000 delinquency notices. The processes of reviewing meter reads, calculating charges and creating delinquency notices are performed by a customer service representative. For efficiency and economic reasons, the printing, inserting and mailing of weekly water bills and delinquency notices was outsourced in 2002. Outsourcing these tasks substantially reduced the time demand placed on customer service, ITS user support and central service staff. In addition, outsourcing enables the city to take advantage of bulk postal mailing rates thereby reducing postage expenditures. Four years ago the city entered into a contract with Third Millennium ("TM") for the printing, inserting and mailing of the city's water bill's and delinquency notices. This contract expires in June 2011. OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS To ensure that the city receives the most comprehensive scope of services at the most competitive price, staff issued a Request for Proposal ("RFP"). The RFP included requests for service offerings beyond the basic printing, inserting and mailing of water bills. Specifically, staff requested that the vendor be able to email water bills, bundle bills issued to the same customer for single envelope mailing, scan and archive water bill images and provide an alternate water bill format for annual budget billing settlements. The intent of adding these supplemental services is to reduce the economic and environmental costs associated with producing and physically distributing a paper product. The eight proposals received were reviewed by the finance department and narrowed to three finalists based on their experience, service offerings and completeness of responses. The finalists were each interviewed by the Customer Service Supervisor, Assistant Purchasing Director and ITS Data Administrator. A synopsis of the finalists' strengths and weaknesses are summarized below. InfoSend, Inc. InfoSend, Inc. (InfoSend) stated that they currently provide service to seven clients that utilize the Naviline CIS module used by the city to generate utility bills. Experience and knowledge of the city's utility billing program should make the transition to a new vendor less difficult. This service provider is the only respondent with an operating facility located in the State of Illinois and more specifically the Chicagoland area.The advantage of utilizing an Illinois based vendor is that the customers receive their mailings one to two days earlier than if mailed from out of state. As part of the RFP response and during the interview, InfoSend offered products and solutions beyond those requested. An example of a product which might be of future interest is an online enrollment portal for customer emailing. Locally, InfoSend provides water bill printing and mailing services to the villages of Downers Grove, Orland Park and Westmont, and is currently transitioning the village of Schaumburg and the city of Joliet. InfoSend proposed the lowest price for the services requested. LevelOne LevelOne stated that they have extensive knowledge of all major CIS software programs including Naviline. Their offices are located in Pennsylvania but they represent that the water bills would be brought to the local airport for immediate dispatch and therefore mailings would only require one additional day to reach its destination. This is concerning because adding a day to the process may not provide delinquent customers sufficient time to submit payment before further action is taken. The ordinance states that the water service disconnection date shall not be sooner than five days after date of mailing the notice. Current practice is to mail the delinquency notice on Thursday and disconnect water service the following Wednesday unless payment is received. The RFP requested that the responder provide five references from customers with similar services and, at a minimum, include three governmental agencies. In response, LevelOne included references from Suffolk County, Bucks County, Aqua America, Allied Barton and Vectren Source. This provider's proposed cost of service is slightly greater than those proposed by InfoSend. Datamatx Datamatx provides products and solutions beyond those requested. These products detect undeliverable addresses to prevent wasted postage and identify addresses which do not qualify for discounted postage. Both solutions would reduce postal expenditures. The city's water bills 41.) would be processed in the company's Atlanta, Georgia facility which would increase the time it took for a bill to reach the customer. Datamatx included Cobb, Douglasville, Fairfax and Hanover counties, as well as the city of Prescott as references. The proposed cost for printing and mailing water bills was the highest of the three finalists. InfoSend is better able to adhere to the city's mailing timeline and the proposed cost of providing these services is the lowest of the three vendors being considered. The references cited were superior to the other finalists with respect to municipalities. In addition, staff performed reference checks which confirmed that InfoSend is capable of providing the high quality of service being requested. INTERESTED PERSONS CONTACTED None. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS For the six month period beginning July 1, 2011 and ending December 31, 2011, fees for the printing and mailing of water bills is estimated to be $22,000. Assuming current billing levels are maintained, the fees for a twelve month period will approximate $40,000. The ability to email water bills and bundle bills issued to the same customer for single envelope mailing will reduce 411) the costs related to the production and distribution of water bills. Customers will be notified and encouraged to employ the email option once it becomes available. BUDGET IMPACT FUND(S) ACCOUNT(S) PROJECT#(S) AMOUNT AMOUNT BUDGETED AVAILABLE General Fund 010-2005-718.45-99 $41,760 $32,710 LEGAL IMPACT The RFP for printing, folding and mailing of water bills and delinquency notices was mailed to 17 companies, published in the February 11, 2011 edition of the Courier News and posted on the city's web site www.cityofelgin.org. A total of eight proposals were received on or before the submission due date of March 7, 2011. ALTERNATIVES The city council may choose not to award the contract to InfoSend. NEXT STEPS 1. Execute agreement with InfoSend. 2. Develop and test a file format for the transmission of water bills and delinquency notices. Originators: Colleen Lavery, Chief Financial Officer Final Review: William A. Cogley, Corporation Counsel/Chief Development Officer Richard G. Kozal, Assistant City Manager/Chief Operating Officer Approved: Sean R. Stegall, City Manager ATTACHMENTS A: Tab Sheet CITY OF ELGIN WATER BILL PRINTING & MAILING SERVICES Strahm Automation and Direct Response Advantage Marketing DATAMATX InfoSend Downers Level One, Mailing Svcs Resource Northbrook, Creekside Printing, Peregrine Services Group,Ltd. Elk Grove Atlanta,GA Grove,IL Malvern,PA Kansas City,MO IL Elgin,IL Inc. Olathe,KS Village,IL Next day mailing X X X X X X X Weekly scanning X X X X X X X X Alternate statement for budget billng X X X X X X X Additional inserts X X X X X X X Warehousing billing stock X X X X X X X Not available until E-mailing statements X X X X X 2012 Grouping bills for same customer X X X X X X X Governmental references X X X X X X X File format requirement **See below Accepts our format Accepts our format Accepts our format Accepts our format Accepts our format Accepts our format Accepts our format WATER BILL(per item cost) Cost(ready to mail)per item $0.1389 $0.0940 $0.1085 $0.1591 $0.2217 $0.1360 $0.0870 $0.0150 Anticipated mailing cost per item $0.3650 $0.3350 $0.3570 best possible rate $0.3400 $0.3350 $0.3380 $0.0500 Emailing cost per item $0.0900 $0.0090 $0.0250 $0.1000 $0.2500 $60 per wk Avail.2012 $0.3000 Additional inserts 1 additional insert per item $0.0020 $0.0050 $0.0070 $0.0000 Free $50 flat fee $0.0000 $0.0020 2 additional inserts per item $0.0020 $0.0050 $0.0070 $0.0000 $70 flat fee $80 flat fee $0.0000 $0.0020 DELINQUENCY NOTICE(per item cost) Cost(ready to mail)per item $0.1289 $0.0970 $0.1045 $0.1591 $0.2517 $0.20 $0.09 $0.0150 Anticipated mailing cost per item $0.3650 $0.3350 $0.3570 best possible rate $0.3400 $0.34 $0.34 $0.0500 Emailing cost per item $0.0900 $0.0090 $0.0250 $0.1000 $0.2500 $60/wk Avail.2012 $0.3000 X-service provided **DATAMATX-FTP,SFTP(FTP over SSH),FTPS(FTP over SSL). Files sent via standart unsecured FTP must be pre-encrypted using PGP or other encrypting software,like WinZip version 9.0 or higher. Secure FTP protocols use full 128 bit encryption. j j *. E LG IN THE CITY IN THE SUB1JP SS" DATE: May 16, 2011 TO: Colleen Lavery, Chief Financial Officer FROM: Jennifer Quinton, Deputy City Clerk SUBJECT: Resolution No. 11-86, Adopted at the May 11, 2011, Council Meeting Enclosed you will find the agreement listed below. Please distribute this agreement to the other party and keep a copy for your records if you wish. If you have any questions please feel free to contact our office 847-931-5660 and we will do our best to assist you. Thank you. • Agreement with InfoSend for Water Bill Printing and Mailing