REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Chair and Board Members
SUBMITTED BY: Oliver Chi, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Dahle Bulosan, Chief Financial Officer
Subject:
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Approve and authorize execution of a contract with Data Ticket, Inc., for the provision of Parking Citation Payment Processing and Parking Permit Services
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Statement of Issue:
City Council approval is requested for an agreement between the City of Huntington Beach and Data Ticket, Inc. to provide parking citation processing, collection services and parking permit services.
Financial Impact:
The FY21/22 Adopted Budget for the Finance Department contains sufficient funding in the General Fund to support the annual cost of this contract of approximately $360,000 annually. This proposed contract is necessary for the processing of approximately 80,000 parking citations and fines annually that generate about $3.4 million in General Fund revenue each year.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
A) Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute “Service Agreement Between the City of Huntington Beach and Data Ticket, Inc. for Parking Citation Processing and Parking Permit Solution” in an amount not to exceed $360,000 for a 3-year term with two additional one year extensions; and,
B) Authorize the City Manager to execute all documents in furtherance of this Agreement.
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Alternative Action(s):
Do not approve the recommendation and bring this function in-house to be performed by City staff. The estimated personnel cost of bringing this function in-house would be approximately $354,000 for four Accounting Tech II positions. These position would perform all citation processing, invoicing, payment collection, out-of-state collection, late notice mailing, late-notice payment processing, adjudications, Franchise Tax Board payment recoupment, Department of Motor Vehicle hold letters, and investigating appeals.
Moreover, parking citation processing software, web portals and electronic interfaces would need to be purchased and created to facilitate a City takeover of this function. Data Ticket owns proprietary software that allows for automated, real-time transfer of data from hand held devices used by the Police Department that the City does not currently own, leading to additional significant costs.
Analysis:
The City of Huntington Beach has maintained an external contractor to perform Citywide processing of all parking citations since 1992 due to the high costs of performing these functions in-house.
The City of Huntington Beach conducted a competitive bid in July 2021 where it was determined that Data Ticket Systems offered both the lowest cost and best customer service along with the most advanced technology. Data Ticket also offers technological and customer service capabilities in the area of online permit sales, and future License Plate Recognition (LPR) capability to further enhance our Police and Parking Enforcement efficiencies.
City Council authorization is requested to award the contract to Data Ticket Systems, Inc. for a new contract for a 3-year term not to exceed $360,000 per year. This amount also provides for Franchise Tax Board delinquent collection processing fees, supplies and postage increases. Additionally, Data Ticket Systems has the ability to collect in all 50 states in the U.S., resulting in higher collection rates on the diverse population of visitors coming to Huntington Beach as a destination city from throughout the country. The cost of this contract is offset by $3.4 million in projected General Fund revenue annually from parking citations.
Environmental Status:
Not applicable.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non Applicable - Administrative Item
Attachment(s):
1. “Service Agreement Between the City of Huntington Beach and Data Ticket, Inc. for Parking Citation Processing and Parking Permit Solution” and Exhibit A.
2. Exhibit B, Request for Proposal for Parking Citation Processing
3. Exhibit C, Data Ticket Proposals for Parking Citation Processing and Parking Permit Services
4. Exhibit D, Data Ticket Payment Schedule