Okaloosa County BOCC — August 24, 2013 — Action Item Printout — reading text

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: August 20, 2013 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Jeff Littrell SUBJECT: Severn Trent - Contract Renewal for Bill Printing DEPARTMENT: Water and Sewer BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: OCWS staff requests BCC approval of a 1-year contract renewal (County Contract C09-1767-WS) with Severn Trent Environmental Services Inc. For utility bill printing services. BACKGROUND: OCWS' current billing service contract with Severn Trent expires 9/30/2013. This contract has already been renewed once for a year (FY2013), and allows for one final additional year, which staff is now requesting (through FY2014). The current contract began in 2009, when the contract was last bid out; however, Severn Trent (& the previously-named company) has been doing our utility bill printing since the late 1990s. They have provided excellent service to OCWS for approximately 15 years. OCWS spends approximately $170,000 per year on this contract with Severn Trent. This is a critical element of our operations and results in about $23M of annual revenue. Although Severn Trent has provided excellent service, staff would ultimately like to go out to bid to obtain a new contract with competitive pricing that best fits our current and long-term needs. Unfortunately, it would not be possible to evaluate our current customer service/billing features, write specifications/bid documents, go through the bidding process, and transition from one company to the next - all of that - by 9/30/2013. Therefore, we would like to utilize the final renewal year of the current Severn Trent contract. This contract allows for a CPI increase each year. For FY2014, the CPI increase is 1.99%. If approved by the BCC, Severn Trent would do bill printing through 9/30/2014; however, staff would soon begin the process of evaluating our current features and writing specifications. The bidding process and possible transition process would be during FY2014. A 1-year contract renewal with Severn Trent will give staff time to proceed thoroughly and cautiously with the bidding process to secure a new contract because of the large amount of revenue derived from our utility billing, as well as lessons learned from previous experience. OPTIONS: Approve or deny. RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends BCC approval for the Chairman to execute the Contract/Lease Renewal Form for a 1-year renewal with Severn Trent for utility bill printing services. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: Ernie Padgett, County Administrator