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Item E07i i • 1 '11 1 1 i i •- 1 ' Meeting Date: 11/16/05 Bulk Item: Yes X No Division: Public Works Department: Solid Waste Management Staff Contact Person: Carol A. Cobb AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval to waive purchasing policies and procedures, and to accept a proposal from Government Services Group, Inc. (GSG) dated 10/7/05, as a sole source, to provide specialized assistance to the Solid Waste Management Department. ITEM BACKGROUND: Government Services Group, Inc. assisted the Solid Waste Management Department in bringing the City of Marathon back into the County's solid waste system; produced an accurate roll for presentation to the Tax Collector each year since; and met all statutory deadlines in accomplishing these tasks. The current database used by the Solid Waste Management office was created by Government Services Group, Inc. This action seeks to continue the updates and maintenance of that database to enable the presentation of an accurate roll for 2006- 2007 to the Tax Collector, in addition to creating a website such as currently employed by the Property Appraiser and the Tax Collector. The website would be available to the Public for informational purposes, and would be updated directly by Solid Waste Management personnel. Information required by GSG to complete future rolls would be immediately available via the website. In the alternative, GSG would continue the current services without the establishment of the website. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: Approval to accept Government Services Group, Inc.'s proposal dated 5/6/03 on 5/21/03. CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: N/A STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Approval of proposal outlined in Appendix B, attached. TOTAL COST: $46,500.00 COST TO COUNTY: $46,500.00 BUDGETED: Yes X No SOURCE OF FUNDS: Account 40000-530310 REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes X No _ AMOUNT PER MONTH_ Year $9,000,000.00 (approximately) APPROVED BY: County Atty N/A OMB/Purchasing N/A Risk Management _N/A ._ 1, DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL: 4/ „ , Dent Pierce 11 i Revised 2/05 Included X Not Required AGENDA ITEM # GSG GOVERNMENT SERVICES GROUP, INC. October 7, 2005 Via Federal Express Carol A. Cobb, CPM, Sr. Administrator Solid Waste Management 1100 Simonton Street, Room 2-284 Key West, FL 33040 pub/lic sector solutions Re: Solid Waste Assessment Program: Continuing Services Dear Carol: This correspondence is written to present a proposal for Government Services Group, Inc. (GSG) to continue to provide specialized assistance to Monroe County (County) and its staff in the billing and collection of residential solid waste assessments in the unincorporated area of the County and the City of Marathon using the tax bill collection method based on the County's existing assessment methodology and solid waste assessment rates. In order to continue this relationship and the achievements realized thus far, I have enclosed as Appendix A, a proposed scope of services, fees, deliverables and payment schedule to assist Monroe County in the annual maintenance of the solid waste assessment program for Fiscal Year 2006-07. This scope of services mirrors the scope of services in prior years and provides the minimum level of assistance to the County in the annual maintenance of the solid waste assessment roll. I have also enclosed as Appendix B, an additional scope of services that includes the development and implementation of a system that will provide the management and retrieval of data specific to the solid waste assessments administered by Monroe County. This scope is based from GSG's years of experience assisting Monroe County with the solid waste assessments. It will provide County staff with the tools necessary to answer inquiries regarding the solid waste assessment database from both the public and the elected officials. Please review both attached scopes of service. These scopes are mutually exclusive and each serves as a complete scope of service. We would appreciate your prompt reply. This will help us to accommodate your requests and provide you with deliberate attention to ensure the development of a system that will meet the County's needs. The execution of this letter agreement indicates acceptance of this proposal and notice to proceed. Upon execution of this agreement, please provide us with one signed copy for our files and include the scope of services the County wants to undertake in Fiscal Year 2006-07. ,lfl<xs 1 T 1 F ,Y ,() .. , ,t :ip rr .S ?(3.� vn�,>�u T < .0 �(t-, < Ms. Carol Cobb October 7, 2005 Page 2 If you have any questions about these proposals, please do not hesitate to contact me. We look forward to working with Monroe County again this year. Sincerely, Mark Brown /mrb Attachments ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO AS TO APPENDIX A ONLY: F-D Monroe County Date ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO AS TO APPENDIX B ONLY: M Monroe County Date Annual Maintenance of Assessment Program Task 1: Prepare Fiscal Year 2006-07 Assessment Roll GSG will obtain information from several sources of data to update solid waste assessment roll for Fiscal Year 2.006-07 as follows: Fiscal Year 2005-06 assessment roll certified to the Monroe County Tax Collector for the unincorporated area and the City of Marathon Most current working files from the ad valorem tax roll from the Monroe County Property Appraiser Current list of Monroe County taxing authority codes from the Monroe County Property Appraiser GSG will use these files to perform the following tasks: Import the ad valorem tax roll to develop a preliminary electronic database of properties that fall within the assessment area, based on the taxing authority and categorized by their assignments of use by the Property Appraiser. Programmatically apply the business rules of the assessment program to the database, assigning billing units and extending charges to the individual tax parcels. Determine the total number of billing units based on the apportionment methodology and determine revenue generation. Apply corrections and fieldwork overrides to the database and add new residential COs as they are provided to GSG. Task 2: Determine Scope of Additional Fieldwork Following two active hurricane seasons and the merging of the Marathon solid waste assessment into the unincorporated County solid waste program, the possibility of uncertainties in unit counts exists. While performing the data analyses necessary to create the annual roll, GSG will programmatically determine the amount of fieldwork required to improve the accuracy of the assessment. If the County decides to perform fieldwork, GSG can provide assistance, as needed, on a work -order basis. Task 3: Provide Information to Property Appraiser for Use on the TRIM Notice Using the preliminary assessment roll, GSG will prepare a file on compatible electronic medium capable of merger with the ad valorem tax roll files for purposes of the TRIM notice. Task 4: Certify Final Assessment Roll in Conformance with Uniform Method Using the final assessment roll, after applying any changes or modifications provided by the County, GSG will prepare a file on compatible electronic medium capable of merger with the ad valorem tax roll files. GSG will create test merge files and provide to the Tax Collector's Government Services Group, Inc. I A-1 data management provider to ensure an accurate merge. GSG will also provide a CD containing the annual roll to the Monroe County Tax Collector. Task 5: Post -Certification Documentation / Roll Finalization Following the certification of the annual roll, GSG will provide to the County an updated Customer Service database, a report of assessed government parcels for manual billing, as well as detail and summary reports for each hauler district. GSG will work as needed with the Monroe County Tax Collector's office to make roll modifications due to parcel splits and combinations after the rolls have been submitted. For the services provided by GSG, the lump sum fee for professional services for the proposed scope of services will be $16,500 for the annual assessment program. The lump sum would be due and payable in two installments, assuming notice to proceed occurs by November 2005, as follows: Payment Schedule 50% of lump sum fee July 2006 50% of lump sum fee September 2006 The lump sum fee does not include the costs of producing and mailing the statutorily required first class notices for FY 2006-07. These costs depend on the number of assessable parcels of property within the County. However, mailing and production costs are $1.25 per parcel, due and payable at the time of adoption of the preliminary assessment resolution. The lump sum fee for professional services does not include any on -site visits by representatives of GSG. On - site meetings (together with any actual costs associated therewith) may be arranged at our standard hourly rates. Project status meetings may be arranged through scheduled telephone conferences in lieu of on -site visits. Government Services Group, Inc. I A-2 Event Date GSG obtains updated tax roll information from County June 15, 2006 GSG provides field work to County for verification June 26, 2006 County provides field work information to GSG to update roll July 14, 2006 GSG prepares preliminary assessment roll for entire County and the City of Marathon July 21, 2006 GSG provides preliminary assessment roll to Monroe County Property Appraiser July 24, 2006 Property Appraiser mails TRIM notices for County and City of Marathon properties August 25, 2006 Test export of Non -Ad Valorem Assessment Roll to Tax Collector September 6, 2006 Public Hearing to adopt Annual Assessment Resolution By September 15, 2006 GSG certifies Non -Ad Valorem Assessment Roll to Tax Collector on behalf of the County By September 15, 2006 Government Services Group, Inc. I A-3 ANNUAL MAINTENANCE OF ASSESSMENT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB -BASED ASSESSMENT DATA MANAGEMENT SERVICE Scope of Suvices Task 1: Develop and Implement the Online Assessment Data Management Service Using GSG's familiarity with the County's solid waste assessment program, an online service will be created to provide County staff access to and management of the underlying assessment program data. Users will have the ability to access the service via a standard web -browser over an Internet connection. Detail on this service is included following the Critical Events Schedule in this appendix. Task 2: Prepare Fiscal Year 2006-07 Assessment Roll GSG will obtain information from several sources of data to update solid waste assessment roll for Fiscal Year 2006-07 as follows: Fiscal Year 2005-06 assessment roll certified to the Monroe County Tax Collector for the unincorporated area and the City of Marathon Most current working files from the ad valorem tax roll from the Monroe County Property Appraiser Current list of Monroe County taxing authority codes from the Monroe County Property Appraiser GSG will use these files to perform the following tasks: Import the ad valorem tax roll to develop a preliminary electronic database of properties that fall within the assessment area, based on the taxing authority and categorized by their assignments of use by the Property Appraiser.. Programmatically apply the business rules of the assessment program to the database, assigning billing units and extending charges to the individual tax parcels. Determine the total number of billing units based on the apportionment methodology and determine revenue generation. Apply corrections and fieldwork overrides to the database and add new residential COs as they are provided to GSG. Task 3: Determine Scope of Additional Fieldwork Following two active hurricane seasons and the merging of the Marathon solid waste assessment into the unincorporated County solid waste program, the possibility of uncertainties in unit counts exists. While performing the data analyses necessary to create the annual roll, GSG will programmatically determine the amount of fieldwork required to improve the accuracy of the assessment. If the County decides to perform fieldwork, GSG can provide assistance, as needed, on a work -order basis. Using the preliminary assessment roll, GSG will prepare a file on compatible electronic medium capable of merger with the ad valorem tax roll files for purposes of the TRIM notice. Government Services Group, Inc. I B-1. Task 5: Certify Final Assessment Roll in Conformance with Uniform Method Using the final assessment roll, after applying any changes or modifications provided by the County, GSG will prepare a file on compatible electronic medium capable of merger with the ad valorem tax roll files. GSG will create test merge files and provide to the Tax Collect:or's data management provider to ensure an accurate merge. GSG will also provide a CD containing the annual roll to the Monroe County Tax Collector. Task 6: Post -Certification Documentation / Roll Finalization Following the certification of the annual roll, GSG will provide to the County an updated Customer Service database, a report of assessed government parcels for manual billing, as well as detail and summary reports for each hauler district. GSG will work as needed with the Monroe County Tax Collector's office to make roll modifications due to parcel splits and combinations after the rolls have been submitted. For the services provided by GSG, the lump sum fee for professional services for the proposed scope of services will be $46,500 for the first fiscal year and $30,000 for subsequent years, based on a commitment to a three-year contract. The lump sum would be due and payable on a quarterly basis, assuming notice to proceed occurs by November 1, 2005, as follows: Payment 25% of lump sum fee 25% of lump sum fee 25% of lump sum fee 25% of lump sum fee Schedule January 2006 March 2006 June 2006 September 2006 The lump sum fee does not include the costs of producing and mailing the statutorily required first class notices for FY 2006-07. These costs depend on the number of assessable parcels of property within the County. However, mailing and production costs are $1.25 per parcel, due and payable at the time of adoption of the preliminary assessment resolution. The lump sum fee for professional services does not include any on -site visits by representatives of GSG. On - site meetings (together with any actual costs associated therewith) may be arranged at our standard hourly rates. Project status meetings may be arranged through scheduled telephone conferences in lieu of on -site visits. Government Services Group, Inc. I PQ Event Date Preliminary Online Service Development Complete / Testing and Refinement. Begin March 1, 2006 Implementation of Online Assessment Data Management Service June 1, 2006 GSG obtains updated tax roll information from County June 15, 2006 GSG provides field work to County for verification June 26, 2006 County provides field work information to GSG to update roll July 14, 2006 GSG prepares preliminary assessment roll for July 21, 2006 entire County and the City of Marathon GSG provides preliminary assessment roll to Monroe County Property Appraiser July 24, 2006 Property Appraiser mails TRIM notices for County and City of Marathon properties August 25, 2006 Test export of Non -Ad Valorem Assessment Roll to September 6, 2006 Tax Collector Public Hearing to adopt Annual Assessment By September 15, 2006 Resolution GSG certifies Non -Ad Valorem Assessment Roll to By September 15, 2006 Tax Collector on behalf of the County Government Services Group, Inc. I B-3 I verview: inline Assessment Data Management Service The Online Assessment Data Management Service is a web -based utility, tailored to the County's Solid Waste Assessment, which allows the remote management and viewing of assessment program data. By using this service, County staff can readily access assessment information at the parcel level, without the overhead of dedicated technical staff and data processing hardware, storage and support. Below are key points of the service: • GSG hosts the data on behalf of the County and provides for data storage and archiving on a secure, virus -protected network, behind monitored firewalls • GSG provides the Web and database servers and their associated software and hardware • GSG provides the Internet bandwidth and URL for the Web -based hosting • GSG creates a Web -based interface for users of the service, customized for the County's program • The interface uses secure, SSL encrypted and password -protected access to the data • Users can have varying levels of access to the data, based on group -level security • Only an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher are necessary to use the service • No proprietary software is needed on the client workstation or network The Web -based interface will provide users the ability to: • Look -up assessment information by parcel ID, alternate key or owner name • View assessment amounts, parcel use codes, corrections and unit -counts per parcel • View assessment and unit history per parcel • Edit parcel -level information and enter corrections or overrides • Flag parcels that require first class notices • Flag parcels that need fieldwork inspection • Enter notes and flag for customer service callback • Generate reports on unit -counts, assessment totals, hauler counts, fieldwork, etc. To provide this client -server service, a combination of back -end database and Web browser front-end will be used. The data will be stored in a database on a multi -processor server with redundant disk, power and network subsystems. The user interface for the application will be a Web site built and hosted by GSG that uses ASP to interact with the back -end database. Benefits of this approach include reduction of development time, transparency to the end -user of upgrades and enhancements, as well as ease of implementation to the clients Only an Internet connection and compatible browser (IE6+) will be needed by the client to operate the application. The following diagram illustrates the basic approach. Government Services Group, Inc. I B-4 Government Services Group, Inc. I B-5