COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council
FROM: Jill Olsen, Administrative Services Director
SUBJECT:Title
Action: Services Contract for Lockbox Services to CDS Global, Inc. (Jill Olsen)
Body
FUNDING SOURCE:
Various Departments
PURPOSE:
To consider award of a Services Contract for lockbox services (Agreement 500543) for processing utility bill payments, in accordance with City Code § 3.10.030.1.
BACKGROUND:
Since 2018, the City has contracted for lockbox services to collect and process customer payments for utility services, false alarms, rents, and other miscellaneous fees due to the City. This service is designed to expedite the collection of paper-based payments and provide timely payment information to update accounts receivable records and increase staff productivity by freeing personnel from the labor-intensive process of manually handling mail, making daily deposits, and posting manual payments. Lockbox services include receiving utility remittances on behalf of the City, processing payments, making daily deposits to the City’s bank account, and creating an electronic file to upload to the City’s utility billing software for credit to the customer’s account.
The City received seven (7) proposals to the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the City for lockbox services. The evaluation committee evaluated the proposals based on the published evaluation process. The proposal submitted by CDS Global, Inc., was determined to meet all requirements specified and received the highest ranking.
The Services Contract is a four-year agreement with two, one-year extensions. Costs each year are dependent on the volume of payments processed. The estimated costs for the first year are $26,000 with annual Consumer Price Index increases for the following years. The maximum payment under this Contract is a not-to-exceed amount of $35,000 for one year.
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Efficient collections and processing of customer payments provides the customers with accurate and timely balances for the customer accounts.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The costs of the lockbox services are allocated to the various departments and funds for which the services are rendered. Funds are allocated and available in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget in the estimated amount of $26,000.
ATTACHMENTS:
Committee Evaluation Tabulation
SUGGESTED MOTION:Recommended action
I move to award and authorize the City Manager to execute the Services Contract for Lockbox Services to CDS Global, Inc., and authorize staff to renew the Contract for two, one-year terms.