HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-23 - AGENDA REPORTS - CRYWOLF FALSE ALARM CONTRO
Agenda Item: 7
1. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: TAA,/�
DATE: January 23, 2024
SUBJECT: CRYWOLF FALSE ALARM AND NOISE DISTURBANCE
MANAGEMENT SERVICES CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
PRESENTER: Brittany Houston
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
Award a three-year contract in an amount of $270,000 with an option for two one-year
renewals in an amount of $90,000 annually, not to exceed a 26 percent net revenue share paid
to CentralSquare Technologies for false alarm and noise disturbance management services.
2. Appropriate an ongoing annual amount of $45,000 to Treasury expenditure account
1002102-516137 (General Fund); increase revenue account 100-451102 (General Fund) by
$140,000.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute contract and all associated documents,
subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) Finance Division is responsible for overseeing activities related
to false alarm and noise disturbance enforcement Citywide, which is needed to uphold provisions
of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code. The City's false alarm function is made up of two distinct
elements: the issuance of false alarms and noise disturbances, and the subsequent processing and
management of those citations. The City contracts with Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department for false alarm and noise disturbance citation issuance, and contracts with a third
party for false alarm and noise disturbance processing and management.
In September 2019, the City awarded a 10-year contract to Superion, LLC/C entral Square
Technologies (Central Square), for the replacement of the City's enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system, also known as its financial system. As part of its proposal, CentralSquare
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proposed the CryWolf solution to service the City's false alarm and noise disturbances. It is now
industry standard for these billings to be handled as a service, and software is no longer available
for City staff to continue to handle these billings in-house. At the time of CentralSquare's
proposal, City staff chose to postpone a decision for a billing solution until it had time to
evaluate CryWolf s billing and reporting capabilities and compare them to its current processes.
Following CentralSquare's demonstration of its high quality of work, focus on customer service,
and expertise in the matter, the City awarded a three-year contract to CentralSquare for its
CryWolf solution in November 2020. During the three-year contract period, staff further
evaluated CentralSquare's false alarm and billing management services and determined its
solution successfully fulfilled the City's billing needs and met the City's customer service
expectations.
Staff recommends the City award a three-year contract with an option for two one-year renewals
to CentralSquare for its CryWolf false alarm and noise disturbance management services.
CentralSquare's CryWolf solution offers several benefits to the City. First, they have the
capability to send bills within days of an event occurring instead of on a monthly basis, enabling
residents to be aware of events as soon as they occur. Residents may also opt to receive their
bills via email, further reducing the time in which they receive a bill. The solution also offers an
online payment option as a convenient payment method. Resident's false alarm accounts can be
viewed online, and their contact information can be updated on an as -needed basis.
As part of this agreement, the processing of false alarm and noise disturbance citations would be
handled by CryWolf staff at the direction and management of the City. This work effort includes
the processing of citations and payments from violators, managing appeals, and handling
customer inquiries.
CentralSquare will be compensated based on a percent share of the program's revenues after
direct costs of approximately $30,000 annually are deducted, including bank fees, credit card
processing fees, and mailing costs. The revenue share to be paid to CentralSquare is 26 percent
or approximately $60,000 annually. The City will retain the remaining 74 percent of net revenues
or approximately $170,000 annually.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Upon approval of the recommended action, the Treasury expenditure budget will be increased by
$45,000 for a total annual expenditure budget of $90,000. Annual gross revenues are estimated
to be $260,000 and annual expenditures are estimated to be $90,000, for a net financial impact to
the City of $170,000 excluding public safety costs.
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