HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-28 - AGENDA REPORTS - ACCELA LAND MGMT CONTRO
Agenda Item: 7
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Li
'
DATE: January 28, 2025
SUBJECT: LAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CONTRACT
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
PRESENTER: Ryan Drake
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Award a three-year contract to Accela, Inc., for the continued use of Accela, Inc.'s Land
Management/Permitting system, in the amount of $828,465, and authorize a five percent
contingency of $41,424 for potential new user licenses, for a total contract amount not to
exceed $869,889.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute up to two additional one-year renewal
options, inclusive of a five percent contingency, not to exceed a total of $654,834, contingent
upon the appropriation of funds by the City Council in the annual budget for such fiscal year.
3. Appropriate ongoing funding for user licensing, annual support, hosting, and maintenance,
including upgrades, from the General Fund (100) to Technology Services expenditure
account 1002200-516101 in the amount of $24,456 in Fiscal Year 2024-25; $10,139 in Fiscal
Year 2025-26; $13,359 in Fiscal Year 2026-27; and $9,351 in Fiscal Year 2027-28
contingent upon the appropriation of funds in the annual budget for such fiscal years.
Contingent upon the execution of the renewal options, appropriate $4,676 in Fiscal Year
2027-28, and $14,728 in Fiscal Year 2028-29.
4. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all contracts and associated documents,
subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
On a daily basis, City of Santa Clarita (City) staff issue permits to local businesses and residents
for a wide -variety of land and building use -related activities throughout the City. The land -
management system, also referred to as the permitting system, utilized to manage these permits
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is a hosted software solution known as Accela, Inc. (Accela). In 2015, the City Council approved
a five-year contract valued at $2.1 million with Accela to facilitate the issuance of permits for all
parcels, buildings, land -use, and other development/building activity in the City. The contract
included one-time costs associated with implementation and data migration, project contingency,
and three years of annual support, hosting, and maintenance. Subsequently in March 2020, the
City Council approved a five-year contract valued at $1,064,495 for annual licensing and
support, which is set to expire March 2025.
This item seeks City Council's authorization to enter into a new contract with Accela for a three-
year term, with two optional one-year renewals which, if exercised, shall bring the contract total
to an amount not to exceed $1,524,723, inclusive of the total five percent contingency. The total
cost includes user licensing and hosting fees, support and maintenance, and upgrades and feature
enhancements throughout the term of the agreement. Continuing with Accela for the City's land
management system ensures uninterrupted service continuity, avoids costly data migration and
retraining, and eliminates potential disruptions to critical operations. The recommendation to
remain with Accela is the most practical and cost-effective decision for a new contract at this
time.
Since the system went live in November 2017, the City has issued more than 44,000 permits with
construction valued at over $2.9 million and resulted in more than 240,000 inspections. Major
features of Accela include:
• Ability for citizens to create, apply, and pay for permits online without the need to visit
City Hall in person;
• Automated workflows provide streamlined experience for citizens, contractors, and daily
internal users when performing plan checks, assessing and collecting fees, and issuing
permits and certificates of occupancy;
• Integrated electronic document review tied to parcel information;
• Web -based system allowing for remote management from any location/device with
internet connectivity;
• Inspector mobile application for signing off inspections onsite; and
• Ability to integrate Community Preservation cases to keep track of any issues that need to
be addressed prior to any new permitting.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Upon approval of the recommended actions, the annual cost to support this contract will be
amended with additional ongoing budget appropriations in expenditure account 1002200-516101
(General Fund — Technology Services) as follows: $24,456 in Fiscal Year 2024-25; $10,139 in
Fiscal Year 2025-26; $13,359 in Fiscal Year 2026-27; and $9,351 in Fiscal Year 2027-28.
Contingent upon the execution of the renewal options, appropriate $4,676 in Fiscal Year 2027-
28, and $14,728 in Fiscal Year 2028-29.
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Upon approval of the recommended action, the budget will be adjusted accordingly. Funds for
future fiscal years are contingent upon appropriation of monies by the City Council during the
annual budget process.
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