Title
a. Approve an Amendment to Agreement No. A-14563 between the County of Monterey, by and through the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector, and RELX INC, to increase the annual amount of the agreement by $10,500, for a new total not to exceed $13,000, for Accurint for Government Transactional debtor location and research services to be performed under the terms of the State of California negotiated Standard Agreement No. 5-17-70-12, for the period of December 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020; and
b. Authorize the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector to execute the Amendment; and
c. Authorize the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector to extend the agreement for up to two one-year contract extensions with RELX INC, where the Amendments do not significantly change the scope of work and do not exceed ten percent of the amended Agreement amount of $13,000 per annual extension.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve an Amendment to Agreement No. A-14563 between the County of Monterey, by and through the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector, and RELX INC, to increase the annual amount of the agreement by $10,500, for a new total not to exceed $13,000, for Accurint for Government Transactional debtor location and research services to be performed under the terms of the State of California negotiated Standard Agreement No. 5-17-70-12, for the period of December 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020; and
b. Authorize the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector to execute the Amendment; and
c. Authorize the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector to extend the agreement for up to two one-year contract extensions with RELX INC, where the Amendments do not significantly change the scope of work and do not exceed ten percent of the amended Agreement amount of $13,000 per annual extension.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector (TTC) - Revenue Division completes demographic research to successfully collect court-ordered debt. On November 19, 2019, the Board of Supervisors approved a non-standard agreement with RELX INC for Transactional Services for the Revenue Division for an initial 13-month term beginning December 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020. This agreement included a cost estimate of $2,500 for manual transactional searches (i.e., “skip tracing”). The Board also approved a separate agreement with the same vendor for automated batch searches at an estimated cost not to exceed $20,000. Before the automated batch search requirements and process could be fully implemented, the shelter-in-place order for the COVID-19 pandemic was issued. This event significantly delayed the automated batch search project requirements, development, and testing between RELX INC, the Revenue Division, and the division’s case management vendor as all parties redirected attention to higher priority health and safety-related operational adjustments. Additionally, court-ordered debt referrals to the Revenue Division immediately decreased as the local Courts also responded to new pandemic-related requirements. The Revenue Division focused efforts on researching and collecting on existing older accounts, which typically include outdated demographic information and require increased reliance on manual transactional searches. As a result, costs increased for manual transactional searches, but estimated costs for the automated batch search agreement decreased due to delayed implementation. Board approval of the recommended amendment will allow the TTC - Revenue Division to redirect funds originally budgeted for the automated batch search agreement to cover the increased costs for the manual transactional search agreement and to execute up to two one-year extensions under similar terms, in amounts not to exceed the revised base year Agreement total of $13,000, plus up to 10% annual cost increases, maintaining this essential service and seamless continuity of collections activities.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The State of California and RELX INC entered into agreement for RELX INC to provide Electronic Information Library Services (EILS) to California State Agencies including the Judicial and Legislative branches, and all California political subdivisions/local governments (hereinafter collectively referred to as “User Agencies”) to access proprietary legal research, information and news databases, and print products for the period of December 13, 2017 through December 31, 2020, with option for the State to extend the Agreement for two one-year terms.
FINANCING:
Agreement costs are included in the TTC - Revenue Division FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget, which also includes offsetting funding for collections through the Comprehensive Collection Program (CCP) per PC 1463.007. Approval of the recommended Amendment has no impact on the County’s General Fund.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
The request to increase the Transactional Services agreement supports the County’s Administration policy because it allows the department to operate in an efficient and cost-effective manner by having reliable access to debtor research and location services.
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
ü Administration
Prepared by: Sean Gomes, Finance Systems Manager, x5436
Approved by: Mary A. Zeeb, Treasurer-Tax Collector, x5474
Attachments: State of California Standard Agreement 5-17-70-12
Executed Agreement No. A-14563 11.19.19
Proposed Amendment