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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1d - Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement for Information Technology Manager Service hours DATE: May 1, 2018 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Hue Quach, Administrative Services Director SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SCIENTIA CONSULTING GROUP, INC. TO INCREASE THE WEEKLY CONTRACTED HOURS OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER Recommendation: Approve SUMMARY In September 2017, City Council approved a professional services contract with Scientia Consulting Group, Inc. (“Scientia”) to manage the City’s information technology (“IT”) systems. The approved agreement requires 100 weekly hours of on-site services between three positions assigned to the City: Technician I, Technician II, and an IT Manager. The two Technicians are scheduled to work 40 hours weekly and the IT Manager is assigned the remaining 20 hours. Since awarding the contract, it has been determined that there is a need to increase the contract to bring the IT Manager time to 40 hours per week due to the numerous projects and demands that are in arrears. It is recommended that the City Council approve, and authorize and direct the City Manager to execute an Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Scientia Consulting Group, Inc. to increase the hours of the IT Manager from 20 to 40 hours per week from May through September 2018. The anticipated cost increase is $32,500 for the remaining duration of the contract. Funding is available through savings generated from the vacancy period of the internal IT Manager position. DISCUSSION Prior to awarding an agreement with Scientia Consulting Group, Inc., the City’s prior consultant, ConvergeOne, was under agreement with the City for a three-year period. At its third year, staff choose not to renew the agreement as they did not meet Amendment No.1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Scientia Consulting Group Inc. May 1, 2018 Page 2 of 3 performance standards and staffing terms as agreed to under the agreement. Due to the ongoing staffing issues, IT projects were delayed while those concerns were addressed. Additionally, there were concerns as to whether the company had the City’s best interests in mind when it came to the cost associated with the various proposed projects. Because of this, it was determined that it would be best to delay several projects until a well-suited company was found. In September 2017, City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with Scientia Consulting Group, Inc. (“Scientia”) to manage the City’s information technology systems. While Scientia has been performing satisfactorily, much of their standard contracted time has been taken up addressing a backlog of critical IT issues as well as the daily troubleshooting calls. Some of the backlogged projects that have been completed include network storage issues, firewall replacements and upgrades, and network and anti-virus reconfigurations. Although Scientia has made great progress in completing some of those more critically prioritized projects, a list of projects affecting operations citywide remain that need to be addressed as soon as possible. Some of the remaining backlogged projects are:  Reconfiguration of the Public Facing Web Server  Virtualization Licensing Upgrade  VMware Reconfiguration  Evaluations of All Domain Controllers  GIS Website Public Access  Group Policy Configuration for Microsoft’s Active Directory  Cost Analysis of Microsoft Operating System and Software Licensing  Database Platform Upgrades When the Professional Services Agreement with Scientia was signed, it was intended to complement a new in-house IT Manager position that was approved by City Council in the Fiscal Year 2017-18 Budget. However, that position was put on hold to allow for an assessment of whether Scientia would be able to fill that role, with the goal of budgetary savings. Upon review, it has been determined that more resources are necessary to catch up with the list of projects that remain on hold, as well as managing the day-to-day activities. In order to keep the City’s systems running smoothly and free from security risk, it is recommended that the contract with Scientia be modified to increase the “on- location” hours of the IT Manager from 20 to 40 hours per week. This is in line with past IT consultant agreements, which have always been built with the IT Manager working a 40-hour workweek (in addition to any after hour calls). Scientia has met staff’s expectations and have proven to be an exceptional company in responding to and Amendment No.1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Scientia Consulting Group Inc. May 1, 2018 Page 3 of 3 resolving various issues that have developed within our IT infrastructure. The additional 20 hours of management-level expertise, over a period of at least five months, should enable Scientia to overcome the backlogged projects without negatively impacting the overall budget. After September 2018, the need for the additional hours will be re- evaluated. FISCAL IMPACT The annual cost for providing information systems management is $284,280. The amendment would increase the current contract by $6,500 each month, adding a cumulative cost of $32,500 for the remaining contract period of May through September 2018. No additional budget appropriation is requested at this time as funds are available from savings generated from the internal IT Manager vacancy. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve, and authorize and direct the City Manager to execute an Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Scientia Consulting Group, Inc. to increase the weekly contracted hours of the Information Technology Manage from 20 to 40 hours per week commencing May 1, 2018 through September 19, 2018. Attachment: Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement