Title
a. Authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer to execute an Agreement with West Publishing Corporation for CLEAR Government Fraud Investigative Software, for the period retroactive to November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2022, in the maximum amount of $36,500.00;
b. Accept non-standard contract provisions as recommended by the Public Defender;
c. Authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer and the Public Defender to sign and execute the appropriate documents and verifications when required;
d. Authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer to issue purchase orders as needed pursuant to this Agreement for the period retroactive to November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2022.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer to execute an Agreement with West Publishing Corporation for CLEAR Government Fraud Investigative Software, for the period retroactive to November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2022, in the maximum amount of $36,500.00;
b. Accept non-standard contract provisions as recommended by the Public Defender;
c. Authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer and the Public Defender to sign and execute the appropriate documents and verifications when required;
d. Authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer to issue purchase orders as needed pursuant to this Agreement for the period retroactive to November 1, 2019 through November 30, 2022.
SUMMARY:
It is requested that the Board authorize the Contracts Purchasing Officer to sign a non-standard Agreement with West Publishing Corporation, and to issue purchase orders as needed, in the aggregate amount not to exceed $36,500.00, over the period of November 1, 2019, through November 30, 2022. The services provided are for the CLEAR investigations advanced online software interface; to provide a dashboard interface, alerting capability, real time gateways, web analytics information; and to provide assistance with investigations by the Investigative Unit of the Public Defender in its mission to provide quality legal service to indigents charged with crimes in the County of Monterey.
DISCUSSION:
CLEAR forensic investigative software provides the following services to the Public Defender’s Office, assisting in legal representation of indigents charged with crimes in Monterey County:
1. Real-time Gateways: CLEAR includes several live gateways that provide real-time access to data, helping to ensure that users can obtain the most up-to-date information available. CLEAR’s real-time access includes gateways to credit header data, vehicle registration data, and phone data - including cell phones.
2. Locator data: Live gateways, mentioned above, are valuable for obtaining the most current address available, but other types of data can be especially useful in this regard too. Utility records can be particularly valuable for obtaining current addresses. The utility data is updated daily and is included in both the Person Search and Phone Search. In addition to the utility data source, utility hookup records are also contained in the New Movers data set.
3. Web Analytics: CLEAR offers the Web Analytics add-on option as a federated data source. This search feature provides access to both deep-Web and surface-Web content from one search interface.
4. Credit Headers: Regularly updated credit information filed from two of the major credit bureaus are included.
5. Other capabilities include: Utility Records / Driver License Data / Death Filings and other relevant capabilities.
6. Premium Alerts: Allows users to create an ongoing alert for a person or business subject. Users are able to set alerts to monitor for changes in information such as new addresses, phone numbers, death/marriage records, etc.
The proposed Agreement is non-standard for the County. It adopts modifications to the County’s standard agreement, set forth in Exhibit A, the Scope of Work, paragraph A.5. Additionally, the proposed agreement is based upon the West Publishing Corporation’s standard agreement, attached as Exhibit B, “Order Form.”
This proposed agreement provides these investigative software services to the Public Defender from November 1, 2019, through November 30, 2022. The Public Defender negotiated a three-year contract to receive a lower rate. This Board previously authorized the Public Defender to contract for CLEAR services from West Publishing on November 21, 2016. As with that contract, WEST Publishing requires the county to execute West Publishing documents, contained in Exhibit B, as well as some changes to the standard contractual language, which are noted below and are in Exhibit A, the Scope of Work.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Agreement was approved by County Counsel only as to form, due to the presence of the following non-standard and unacceptable terms/conditions in the Agreement: limited vendor liability, limited protection under insurance coverage, and restricted ability to exercise termination provisions. The modifications requested by the vendor are detailed in Exhibit A, paragraph A.5. In addition, County Counsel finds terms contained in the Vendor Order Form and Terms and Conditions section of the documents in Exhibit B, to be contrary to the standard contractual terms for the county, including but not limited to the vendor’s ability to unilaterally change monthly charges, evergreen, month-to-month continuation of the agreement upon the end of the contract term, undisclosed charges, foreign venue, applicability of Minnesota rather than California law to contract disputes, unlimited vendor assignment of services, and “as -is” product with limited or no warranty for service performance, and limitations on the type of and amount of damages available to the County in the event of contract breach, and therefore does not approve the substantive terms of the agreement. Risk does not approve non-standard insurance provisions.
The Auditor-Controller find the payment terms contained in the Vendor Order Form to be contrary to the Standard Agreement of the County and does not approve the contrary payment provisions noted in the Order Form (Charges, Payments & Taxes).
FINANCING:
Funding is available within the existing budget for the Public Defender, and future funding is anticipated to continue.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
This contract meets the Board’s strategic initiatives by “Promoting an organization that practices efficient and effective resource management and is recognized for responsiveness, strong customer orientation, accountability and transparency.”
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
__Economic Development
X_Administration
__Health & Human Services
__Infrastructure
__Public Safety
Prepared by: Becky Avila, Management Analyst, Ext. 3048
Approved by: Susan E. Chapman, Public Defender, Ext. 5806
Attachments:
Board Report
Agreement with West Publishing Corporation-CLEAR Government Fraud Investigative Software