HomeMy WebLinkAbout13.E.1. Laserfiche PresentationTO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
DATE:
Carrie Duckett, IT Coordinator
LaserFiche Presentation
December 2, 2010
City of Shakopee
Memorandum
Mayor & City Council
Mark McNeill, City Administrator
Background
The City's use of LaserFiche dates back to the spring of 2005. Attached are staff memos from
December of 2004 and April of 2005, which explain why the City chose to use LaserFiche and
outlines our original plan for the LaserFiche system's growth.
At the December 7 Council meeting, staff will have a presentation on the actual implementation
of LaserFiche thus far, as well as the scope and cost of and alternatives to the proposed upgrade.
Requested Action
The presentation and discussion scheduled for this meeting are for informational purposes only
at this time. Once Councihnembers feel they have all the information they need to make a
decision, staff will return at future meetings seeking authorization to purchase the related
hardware and software.
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Introduction
The City Council previously requested additional information and research regarding the
LaserFiche software system prior to authorizing the purchase of a software upgrade and related
hardware for the Police Department. Staff has completed the requested research and prepared an
informational presentation on the subject for this meeting.
City of Shakopee
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council
Mark McNeill, City Administrator
FROM: Tracy Schaefer, Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC
Judy Cox, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Authorize Digital Imaging RFP
MEETING DATE: December 7, 2004
Introduction
City Council is asked to authorize appropriate city staff and its consultant, Bradley &
Guzzetta, LLC, to send out the digital imaging RFP to LaserFiche digital imaging
vendors.
Background
After City Council authorized funds to purchase a digital imaging system, interviews
were conducted with numerous software and hardware vendors. Background information
was completed coupled with on -site and phone "interviews" with other cities that have
purchased similar systems.
Such information was gathered for Shakopee's digital imaging committee, which
consisted of staff from the Building, City Clerk, IT and Administration Departments.
The committee recommended that RFPs be sent to LaserFiche vendors. Several software
vendors offer digital imaging software; however, LaserFiche's software is geared toward
local government, unlike other software packages that were produced for the private
sector and tried to "fit into a local government model." Currently five LaserFiche
vendors operate in the Twin Cities.
In October, the City Council authorized the hiring of Tracy Schaefer, Bradley &
Guzzetta, LLC, to conduct an internal needs assessment, to work with the appropriate
departments, and to write a digital imaging RFP. The citywide needs assessment was
conducted and the attached RFP completed.
The RFP outlines the responsibilities of the city and of the Responder. Namely, the
Responder is responsible for software, hardware and outsourcing scanning options and
implementation and the City is responsible for project management, indexing and file
management and some technical IT assistance.
The digital imaging system will first be implemented in the Building Department and
City Clerk's Office. The Building Department receives hundreds of documents a week
from building permits to commercial plans and plats and the City Clerk's Office retains
all official City documents. It is staffs goal to initially only scan permanent documents,
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Activity
Time
Date
RFP released
8:00 a.m.
Wed. Dec. 8, 2004
Responders' meeting
10:00 a.m.
Tues. Dec. 14, 2004
Submission of email questions
deadline
10:00 a.m.
Tuesday Dec. 28,
2004
Submission of proposals
9:00 a.m.
Tuesday January
4, 2005
Evaluation of proposals, site visits,
and presentations
January 5 —
February 7, 2005
February 16, 2005
(This date may
change, depending
on City Council
agenda schedule.)
February 17, 2005
Contract award
Contract start date
backup, or documents that need to be used across departments or with other
organizations, county governments and the State.
Although the RFP outlines the first priority to successfully meet the document
management needs of the Building Department and City Clerk's Office, the ability to
easily apply the solution to other departments on a secure long -term wide -area network
will be a significant factor in system selection. It is critical that the system be able to be
deployed securely citywide, at a later date.
Project Schedule
If Council concurs with the recommendation, the below schedule will follow, with a
completion date around April, 2005.
Budget Impact
City Council authorized a total of $100,000 for the purchase of a digital imaging system
and scanning from the 2003/2004 city budgets, which will be transferred for use in 2005
by a budget amendment.
In addition, the proposed 2005 budget includes upgrading a half - time position in the City
Clerk's office to full - time to assist with the scanning and indexing of the city files.
Action Requested
City Council is asked to authorize appropriate city staff and city consultant, Bradley &
Guzzetta, LLC, to send out digital imaging RFP to LaserFiche digital imaging vendors.
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TO: Mayor and City Council
Mark McNeill, City Administrator
FROM: Judith S. Cox, City Clerk
SUBJECT: LaserFiche Digital Imaging System
DATE: April 14, 2005
INTRODUCTION:
City Council is asked to consider authorizing the purchase of a LaserFiche digital
imaging software system.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council authorized a contract with Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC on October 19,
2004 to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) and to work with staff on the acquisition
and implementation of a digital imaging system. Attached is a copy of the memorandum
from Ms. Tracy Schaefer, Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC, outlining the steps that have been
taken thus far, the benefits of a digital imaging system, information on the vendors who
responded to the RFP, phases for implementing the system, budget impact, and
recommended actions for Council consideration (Action Requested on page 4).
Hand in hand with the acquisition of the imaging system is the recommendation to
increase the part-time Records Clerk position to full -time. The Records Clerk will be the
person who will be scanning and indexing the city's records. See separate memo
regarding the Records Clerk position elsewhere on the April 19, 2005 agenda.
RECOMMENDATION:
CITY OF SHAKOPEE
Memorandum
It is recommended that City Council hear the presentation by Ms. Schaefer on the
imaging system, obtain answers from her on any questions that might arise, and, if
Council concurs, take action on her recommendations, as outlined in her memo on page 4
under Action Requested.
g:lcicrkljudy\digital imaging
TO:
City of Shakopee
Memorandum
Telecommunications Commission
Mayor, City Council
Mark McNeill, City Administrator
FROM: Tracy Schaefer, Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC
SUBJECT: Purchase LaserFiche Digital Imaging System
MEETING DATE: April 19, 2005
Introduction
It is recommended that the City Council enter into an agreement with Crabtree
Companies, Inc. ( "Crabtree ") Twin Cities LaserFiche vendor to implement a digital
imaging scanning system to store and manage city records electronically.
Background
As the City continues to grow, so have the number of City documents. By purchasing a
digital imaging system, rather than relying on paper documents and expensive storage
cabinets, the City will be able to realize workplace efficiencies, cost savings, increased
access to records for the public and city staff and improved document security.
The digital imaging committee (Tracy Schaefer, Bradley & Gnzzetta, LLC, Judy Cox,
City Clerk, Lori Hensen, Records Clerk, Bonnie Mauritz, Building Department Secretary
and Kim Henke, MIS Coordinator) reviewed and interview numerous vendors and digital
imaging software providers before determining it was in the City's best interest to send
RFPs to LaserFiche vendors.
A few city benefits realized from purchasing a new LaserFiche digital imaging system:
1. Increased records security. Protect record integrity with comprehensive security
measures.
2. Disaster recovery features. Unlike paper documents that can be destroyed in a
natural disaster, LaserFiche imaging software will allow for disaster recovery and
off -site backup protection.
3. Ensure long -term records preservation with digital archiving. LaserFiche is a
non-proprietary file storage format that maintains future accessibility.
4. Open architectures. This simplifies integration with standard municipal
applications such as GIS and other municipal software.
5. Decreased time - consuming document searches. Currently, city staff must
navigate between multiple floors and buildings to gain access to a document for
internal or external needs.
6. Decrease storage space costs. The City has been spending thousands of dollars
annually purchasing storage cabinets and is running out of space at City Hall for
more document storage.
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7. Improved public and staff access to information. After the launch of the new city
website, the city will have the capability (Phase II) to make documents such as
plats available online for public viewing.
8. Decrease expensive document reproduction and distribution methods.
9. Reduce or eliminate misfiling.
10. Scalability. LaserFiche allows the City to budget for future installations and
expand organization wide, minimizing implementation risks.
Vendor Background
After City Council approved sending out the digital imaging RFP to LaserFiche vendors,
the RFPs were sent to five (5) LaserFiche providers in the Twin Cities. Three (3)
proposals were received; however, one proposal was received after the deadline. After
consulting with the City's legal counsel, the decision was made to reject that proposal
and to only open the two (2) remaining on - time proposals, Crabtree Companies, Inc. and
TBS Automations.
Although both proposals were of high quality, Crabtree's proposal a) had a lower overall
price b) was much more experienced in deploying LaserFiche systems than the other
proposer. Crabtree has successfully installed LaserFiche systems into over 50
organizations and over 1000 workstations within those organizations. A few city clients
include the cities of Savage, Prior Lake and Apple Valley c) Crabtree also worked with
Savage to be the first LaserFiche vendor in the country to integrate GIS and LaserFiche
applications d) Crabtree has a thorough knowledge and working relationship with staff at
LOGIS.
After B &G completed a thorough review of the proposals, price and reference checks, the
digital imaging committee met to review the information and felt very comfortable
recommending Crabtree to the City Council to implement and maintain Shakopee's
digital imaging system.
Phases
Due to the cost, staffing resources and the time to implement the numerous products that
LaserFiche has to offer, it is recommended that the City not purchase all applications
during Phase I, but to implement the full system in phases.
Phase
1. Work with Crabtree to install and setup software and configure the LaserFiche
server and workstations.
2. Purchase "base" LaserFiche software with licenses for four full viewers. This
will allow the City to implement the system in the Building and City Clerk's
Departments. As additional departments are added, the City can purchase more
Iicenses to add more users.
3. City will purchase one 11 x 17 scanner and one desktop scanner to begin scanning
backlog and current city 11 x 17 and 8' /z x 11 documents. (The scanners do not
have the capability to scan large format documents.)
4. Crabtree will provide end user and following up training.
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5. Purchase a one -year Crabtree support/maintenance service agreement. The
agreement will give the City 10 hours of prepaid on -site support and on -going
maintenance of the software, upgrades and patches for the LaserFiche system.
6. City will purchase digital imaging server and appropriate Microsoft Sequel Server
software. The City will install and set -up the Microsoft Sequel Server.
7. Work with Crabtree to determine the best option for scanning backlogged large
format documents such as plats, maps, etc.
Phase H
1. Purchase Weblink Plug -in, $7995 one time cost plus $1590 annual support
costs. This option allows users to view stored image files over the Internet.
This will allow more city staff to view selected documents over the Internet,
without having to purchase additional licenses. This needs to be completed,
after the City's new website is launched.
2. Purchase Agenda Manager, $15,000 one time cost plus $3,000 annual support
costs. The cities of Chanhassen and Savage are currently using the Agenda
Manager to help post their city meeting packets online for the public to view.
This needs to be completed, after the City's new website is launched.
3. Purchase additional user licenses, $1,100 /work station, to allow more city
staff to access the system.
Phase III
1. Deploy to other city departments. Deployment will be contingent on internal
and external resources and department needs. Most communities deploy their
police departments as the last department, due to the sensitive and unique
nature of their documents.
2. Purchase Workflow Plug -in from LaserFiche, $15,000 one time cost and on-
going costs, which are included in the annual support agreement. Workflow is
a power tool that is setup to emulate a path of records, so that they can be sent
for distribution or approval to a set group of users.
Budget Impact
Although the City Council budgeted $100,000 for this project, due to the recommended
department budget cuts the project budget has been "reduced" to the requested Finance
Department amount of $80,000 from the General Fund. It is recommended to enter into
an agreement with Crabtree for an amount not to exceed $32,738, allocate roughly
$26,300 for the City to purchase needed hardware /software and use the remaining
$20,962 to scan backlogged documents. The City will need to budget roughly $5,434
annually for the annual support agreement ($3934) and server software ($1,500).
Phase I Costs (Recommended 2005 Purchases)
Crabtree Provide:
1. Implementation of the LaserFiche software - $6,500
2. LaswerFiche Software - $16,804
3. Training - $5,500
4. 1 -year Maintenance Support Contract - $3,934
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TOTAL $32,738
City of Shakopee Purchase:
1. Digital Imaging Server- $15,000
2. Microsoft Sequel Server Software - $1,500
3. 11 x 17 Scanner - $6,500
4. Desktop Scanner - $3,500
TOTAL $26,300
Optional Phase I Purchase:
It is recommended to use the remaining $20,962 to outsource the scanning of large
format documents. The City currently has thousands of backlogged documents such
as plat maps that need to be scanned and entered into the system. Currently, the
Community Development and Engineering Departments have been paying for the
scanning of such documents out of their operational budgets, as funds are available.
It is highly recommended that the City Council authorize funds to allow city staff to
work with Crabtree to select a scanning vendor that can assist Shakopee with its large
format document scanning needs.
B &G did research the cost of purchasing a plat scanner for scanning Iarge format
documents and the costs were upwards of $20,000. The scanners normally need to be
replaced every few years, require costly maintenance agreements and need additional
staff to scan the documents. Outsourcing such documents, at this time, is most cost
effective method.
On -Going Support Costs of Phase I
1. Support/Maintenance Service - $3,934
2. Microsoft Sequel Server Software - $1,500
TOTAL $5,434
Phase II Costs
To deploy the additional LaserFiche functions of Phase II, as outlined above, the City
needs to budget roughly $28,685 (2005 prices) for the additional functions. The
deployment of these functions is contingent upon available city resources and readiness
of the city departments to utilize the new tools.
Phase III Costs
The City should budget at least $15,000 for Phase III and potentially more, depending on
the new resources that have been developed by LaserFiche or the City's desire to deploy
high level functions to work with other city software like GIS.
Action Requested
With the assistance of the City's consultant, Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC:
1) authorize the appropriate city staff to enter into an agreement with
Crabtree Companies, Inc ( "Crabtree ") to purchase, implement, install,
and train users on a LaserFiche digital imaging software system
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2) enter into a separate a one -year software service maintenance
agreement
3) authorize the appropriate city staff to purchase the necessary hardware
and software to complete the digital imaging system
4) work with Crabtree to find an appropriate method to scan backlog city
documents
5) the total project should not exceed $80,000.
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