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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.F.9. Transfer of Funds & Authorize to Purchase Electronic Plan Review Sorftware 111111611 Consent Business 6. F. 9. SHAKOPEE~ TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator DATE: 12/01/2015 SUBJECT: Transfer of Funds & Authorization to Purchase Electronic Plan Review Software (B,E) Action Sought The Council is asked to authorize the transfer of$150,000 in building permit revenue to the IT Fund and to authorize the purchase of Avolve ProjectDox at a first-year cost of$113,000 from the IT Fund. Background In an effort to enhance efficiency and improve customer service, city staff has been researching ways to allow for online submission of building permit applications. Currently, the city accepts online permit applications for a limited number of permit types, but the vast majority of permit submissions are still done using paper. Multiple paper copies of large-scale plan sets must be submitted to the city and are routed to staff in multiple departments via inter-office mail. Extra staff time is also consumed tracking which departments have returned their comments and whether everyone is reviewing the most recent version of a specific plan. Benefits of an online plan submittal and review system include: •Moving to an electronic plan submittal and review software will allow builders and developers of all sizes to submit electronically, without having to drive to City Hall. •Reviewers at SPUC and Scott County will be able to login, review plans and provide their comments online. •When a plan set is amended, the program will ensure all staff are reviewing the most recent version. • Staff from various departments will have the ability to view one another's comments rather than all comments going only to the lead planner or inspector. To research various software alternatives, staff worked with the LOGIS consortium, who provides our current permit software, known as PIMS. After reviewing several options, staff is recommending the city purchase Avolve's ProjectDox. The City of Edina recently moved to ProjectDox and the City of Minneapolis is also a user. LOGIS is willing to host and support the software and to store approximately one year's worth of data on their servers. Older data would be transferred to the city's Laserfiche document library for long-term storage. LOGIS will also ensure the compatibility of ProjectDox and PIMS and provide a mechanism for the city to accept credit card payments. The transition to online plan submissions will be a gradual one, most likely starting with commercial / industrial applications. The individual homeowner will still be able to submit for remodeling projects, decks and other smaller jobs by bringing paper documents into City Hall. Existing and historical building permit information will be retained during and after the transition to ProjectDox. In addition to the software, this project would require the purchase of larger monitors for staff who would be reviewing plans electronically, new scanners to service walk-in customers, and enhancements to the memory of staffs existing computers. After purchase of the software, $37,000 of the $150,000 transferred to the IT Fund would be available to support these hardware purchases over the coming year. Timeline Implementation of this software will be a significant undertaking, requiring the involvement of staff from Building, Planning, Engineering, Finance and IT. Given the current level of development activity and current staff vacancies, full implementation may take up to one year. However, staff is recommending purchasing the software now because Avolve is offering it to LOGIS customers at a discounted price through the end of 2015. Budget Due to the high levels of commercial / industrial development in the city, building permit revenue for 2015 is expected to exceed the budgeted amount by more than $600,000. By law, this revenue must be used to offset the cost of providing the related service. Therefore, staff is recommending that a portion of this revenue ($150,000) be transferred to the IT Fund and allocated for hardware, software and training costs associated with moving to an online plan submittal and review system. The cost of purchasing this system is $112,901 for the first-year, followed by an annual cost of$42,000. This is a large sum of money, but not out of line with the annual cost of the City's other enterprise software packages. A five-year contract is required. Relationship to Vision This item relates to Goal B: Positively manage the challenges and opportunities presented by growth, development and change; and Goal E: Deliver effective and efficient public services by a staff of well-trained, caring and professional employees. Requested Action The Council is asked to authorize the transfer of$150,000 in building permit revenue to the IT Fund and to authorize the purchase of Avolve ProjectDox at a first-year cost of$113,000 from the IT Fund.