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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN PHASE II AND ROADMAP FOR THE CITY OF COSTA MESA
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DEPARTMENT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
PRESENTED BY: STEVE ELY, I.T. DIRECTOR
CONTACT INFORMATION: STEVE ELY, I.T. DIRECTOR, (714) 754-4891
RECOMMENDATION:
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Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Authorize the use of the County of Marin’s cooperative service agreement with Third Wave Corporation.
2. Approve a Professional Services Agreement with ThirdWave Corporation in the amount of $125,014, for consulting services for the Information Technology Strategic Plan and Roadmap Phase II, effective March 4, 2025 - December 31, 2025.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to approve an additional 10% contingency in the amount of $12,501, if required, to deliver the scope of work identified in the Statement of Work.
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BACKGROUND:
Rapid changes in technology are transforming how government can interact with customers, analyze data, manage resources, and enhance services. The Information Technology Strategic Plan is intended to communicate the direction for technology services and how the City will invest in strategic technologies.
The City of Costa Mesa’s 2019 Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP) highlighted the City’s investments in information technology (IT) and provided a five-year technical forecast. Each ITSP supports the City’s immediate technology needs and defines strategic priorities to maintain operational viability, increase efficiency, and promote innovation. The ITSP reflects the latest technology trends and ensures responsiveness to customer needs.
The first Five-Year Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP), prepared by ThirdWave Corporation in 2019, included a comprehensive and thorough assessment of the City’s existing technologies, operational requirements, and service delivery needs. The plan documented a business and technology strategy that addressed the unique requirements of the mission-critical business needs of the City and its constituents, visitors, and business community. During this first phase, the ITSP invested in innovative solutions that enhanced services and increased efficiencies citywide.
The ITSP projects either fulfilled an immediate business need or replaced aging software and the City’s technology infrastructure. Over the last five years of Phase 1, the ITSP helped achieve significant accomplishments in increasing efficiency and enhancing services. Below is an overview of the projects completed and progress from the first phase of the ITSP:
Phase I Accomplishments & Progress
Completed - The following thirteen (13) ITSP projects are complete as of February 2025:
• Development Services Land Management System (LMS) EnerGov (TESSA)
• Code Enforcement Complaint Application (TESSA)
• AssetWorks Fleet Management System
• Email Retention Policy
• Desktop Replacement Program (Year 1)
• Desktop Replacement Program (Year 2)
• Desktop Replacement Program (Year 3)
• City Clerk Agenda Management System (completed with ITRF Reserve Funds)
• Police Department In-Car-Video (General Fund Reserve Funds)
• Police Department Mobile Data Computers
• Fire & Rescue Department Mobile Data Computers
• Information Technology Department Physical Security Improvement
• Office 365 Assessment and Implementation
In Process - The following seven (7) ITSP projects are underway:
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software includes the following:
o General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank Reconciliation, Asset Management, and Inventory
o Purchasing
o Budget
o Human Resources
• Print Management System: Purchase, delivery, and installation of copiers
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plan
• Computer Replacement Program (Year 1 - Restart of replacement of computers based on a 3-year cycle))
To be Initiated - The following four (4) ITSP projects will be initiated soon:
• Enterprise Content Management System - Laserfiche
• Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management System for Police and Fire
• Enterprise Geographical Information System Master Plan
• Telephone System Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): Equipment, Phone, Ethernet
o Cabling is a pre-requisite for the project. The cabling procurement process started in 2024 and is not part of the original ITSP.
In addition, in order to support the City’s infrastructure, software applications and business needs, the following nine (9) Information Technology Department staff recruitments were completed per the ITSP:
• IT Manager (2020/2021)
• Programmer Analyst II Laserfiche (2020/2021)
• Programmer Analyst II Department Application Support (2021/2022)
• Network Administrator Office 365 (2021/2022)
• Senior Programmer Analyst Safety Systems (2022/2023)
• Network Administrator (2022/2023)
• Programmer Analyst II GIS (2023/2024)
• Cyber Security Analyst (2023/2024)
• IT Manager Projects (2023/2024)
Out of a total of 35 ITSP projects, 24 are complete (68.57%) and include 9 staff recruitments; 7 projects are in progress (20%); and 4 projects will be initiated soon (11.43%). Subsequently, staff has also started identifying projects for the next phase of the ITSP to mitigate risk and fulfill business needs.
ANALYSIS:
ITSP Phase II - Roadmap
The ITSP Phase II, termed the “Roadmap”, will focus on addressing management, operational, and technology challenges that could be mitigated with strategic investments in emerging technologies over the next five years. The Roadmap will identify priority projects for development and implementation over the next five years along with associated costs. This phase will include an initiative prioritization to address the City’s business strategies and objectives and potential public benefits.
The cornerstone of the ITSP Phase II Roadmap is to ensure that investments in the City’s major business systems are sound and deliver the highest possible value to the City and its constituents. Moreover, the ITSP document provides a wealth of data that can be leveraged over the next five years to facilitate excellence in municipal services, civic participation, and community well-being.
The ITSP Phase II Roadmap will be the result of a comprehensive Citywide assessment of the City’s IT needs. The ITSP Phase II will include a collaborative effort with City management and staff from all departments who made valuable contributions throughout Phase I. The ITSP Phase II will be a living document that can be reviewed and adjusted on a yearly basis, as needed.
The ITSP Phase II Roadmap will address the following:
• Prioritized ITSP Initiatives
• ITSP 5-Year Budget Estimate by year (total cost of ownerships of one-time professional services costs, one-time systems costs, one-time software costs and ongoing software maintenance costs)
o Cost amortization for future projects
• ITSP Implementation Timeline
• ITSP Benefits
The ITSP Phase II Roadmap objectives are to:
• Connect technology resources, innovation, and initiatives to the City’s core values and mission critical services;
• Serve as an effective framework for how IT services are delivered throughout the City; and
• Define a clear set of goals, guiding principles, and strategic priorities for accomplishing the City’s ITSP, principles, and implementation.
Phase II of the ITSP will include project management tasks, project coordination and reports, an assessment of Phase I projects, and a post implementation assessment. The Phase II work will include data gathering via department Focus Groups, Staff Surveys, and Management Interviews to assess system workflows and department needs, develop business requirements, and future process mapping, including a strategic plan and roadmap.
The ITSP provides an opportunity for new, more efficient ways of providing services, coupled with strategic investments in technology. The ITSP Phase II Roadmap will be technologically strategic, financially responsible, and sustainable.
ThirdWave Corporation
To identify a contract that meets the needs of the City, staff compared contracts between ThirdWave Corporation and other government agencies using a competitive pricing arrangement. Subsequently, staff identified a cooperative agreement between the County of Marin and ThirdWave Corporation (Attachment 1) for delivery of ITSP Phase II, which included a well-defined proposal with a known and qualified contractor that addressed all of staff concerns and criteria (Attachment 2).
The term of the agreement is for nine (9) months. This agreement with ThirdWave Corporation meets all of the City of Costa Mesa’s purchasing requirements and those of the State of California, in regard to regional cooperative purchasing agreements. This assures that the City receives the lowest available pricing and meets the competitive bidding process requirements, which have been utilized successfully to procure services in the past.
Staff recommends the City Council award the ITSP Phase II to ThirdWave Corporation in the amount of $137,515, which includes 10% contingency, over the contract period. This will provide assessment and implementation recommendations for the City’s future business process enhancements and software needs.
The County of Marin recently renewed their contract with ThirdWave Corporation via the First Addendum (Attachment 3), with a start date of February 7, 2024, and end date of December 31, 2025. To ensure competitive pricing, the City of Costa Mesa is leveraging the recently approved ThirdWave Corporation contract with Marin County.
ALTERNATIVES:
If the Council decides not to approve the contract with ThirdWave Corporation, City staff will need to advertise its own separate Invitation for Bid and not utilize an existing eligible, competitive agreement. However, this alternative would not result in locating a higher-rated company with more competitive pricing than received through the cooperative agreement with ThirdWave Corporation. This would also delay Phase II of the ITSP as this contract will result in development of the next 5-year ITSP.
FISCAL REVIEW:
The funding for the Information Technology Strategic Plan is available in the Department’s Fiscal Year 2024-25 Operating Budget in the IT Replacement Fund (Fund 603). Project 250008 has an available budget of $160,000 to fund the contract amount of $125,014 and the 10% contingency in the amount of $12,501.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s office has prepared and reviewed the Professional Services Agreement and approved it as to form.
CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES:
This item supports the following City Council Goal:
• Maintain and Enhance the City’s Infrastructure, Facilities, Equipment and Technology
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Authorize the use of the County of Marin’s cooperative service agreement with Third Wave Corporation.
2. Approve a Professional Services Agreement with ThirdWave Corporation in the amount of $125,014, for consulting services for the Information Technology Strategic Plan and Roadmap Phase II, effective March 4, 2025 - December 31, 2025.
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to approve an additional 10% contingency in the amount of $12,501, if required, to deliver the scope of work identified in the Statement of Work.