To: Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Christel Querijero, 707-565-2431
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Constituent Relationship Management System Contract
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Authorize the Chair to terminate the Master Customer Agreement (“Agreement”) executed on July 7, 2021, and amended December 12, 2022, between the County and Rock Solid Technology.
end
Executive Summary:
In June 2021, the Board approved a professional services agreement with Rock Solid Technology to provide Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) and Civic Engagement Applications for a five-year term. The CRM solution aimed to integrate and replace constituent communications and service request tools used to interact with residents, whether communications were sent via email, phone, or the former SoCo Report it tool. Subsequently, an amendment on December 12, 2022, for licenses to add a workrequest function to processes standard requests for Sonoma Public Infrastructure and Permit Sonoma, such as potholes and code enforcement, to a constituent relationship manager that would track all constituent inquiries to the Board of Supervisors and select inquiries to Permit Sonoma.
A County CRM Steering Committee was formed comprised of department leadership from Sonoma Public Infrastructure, Permit Sonoma, the Information Systems Department, and the County Administrator’s Office to oversee the project and monitor implementation progress.
After careful consideration of operational factors, the CRM Steering Committee has concluded that the County cannot achieve the intended benefits from selected CRM solution and recommends that the Board exercise its option to terminate the Agreement.
Discussion:
In June 2021, the Board approved a professional services agreement with Rock Solid Technology to provide Constituent Relationship Management and Civic Engagement Applications for a five-year term for $101,380 annually, and a one-time cost of $101,750 for a total maximum five-year value of $639,990. On December 13, 2022, the Board approved an amendment with Rock Solid Technology to increase the contract amount by $22,372 for the cost of additional licenses. The cost of selecting and implementing this system is financed with discretionary General Fund one-time available balance.
A County CRM Steering Committee was formed comprised of department leadership from Sonoma Public Infrastructure (SPI), Permit Sonoma, the Information Systems Department (ISD), and the County Administrator’s Office to oversee the project and monitor implementation progress. In June 2022, Rock Solid and the County launched the first phase of the Constituent Relationship Manager: SoCo Connect.
SoCo Connect replaced and augmented SoCo Report It, allowing constituents to submit work requests to Sonoma Public Infrastructure and Permit Sonoma with enhanced features, including a bilingual platform. Through the second phase of work, Rock Solid and the County coordinated to implement tracking and logging interactions with constituents such as information requests.
After consideration of operational factors, the CRM Steering Committee has concluded that the County cannot achieve the County’s intended benefits from the selected CRM solution and recommends that the Board exercise its option to terminate the Agreement per Section 5.2 of the Agreement. Section 5.2 allows for termination of the agreement for convenience by giving six months’ written notice to Rock Solid. (See Attachments 1 & 2 - Master Customer Agreement and Amendment.) If the Board approves staff’s recommendation, Rock Solid will be notified that the County’s effective termination date will be January 19, 2024.
System Replacement Approach
ISD and SPI will continue to work with Rock Solid through January 19, 2024, as they support the current system. ISD, SPI, and Permit Sonoma will collaborate to identify, preliminarily, a service request system to meet the Board’s, staff’s, and constituents’ needs until the opportunity for a fully integrated system solution can be re-evaluated. Staff are already in the process of assessing options to ensure continuity of service request processing but will continue to assess the feasibility and business case of developing a single platform for all constituent interactions that allows County users to log and track all inquiries and requests. Permit Sonoma and Public Infrastructure will be the primary service request system.
Given the reduction in scope, the cost of the new service request system is expected to be within the appropriations already approved by the Board and financed from discretionary General Funds. Should the cost of a new service request system exceed appropriations, and as necessary and in accordance with County Purchasing guidelines and contract authority, staff will bring the contract to the Board for approval.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
December 13, 2022 - Approved Amendment to Agreement with Rock Solid
July 20, 2021 - Approved Agreement with Rock Solid
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY 25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$171,689.12 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$171,689.12 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$128,437.67 |
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other (Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG)) |
$43,251.45 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$171,689.12 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Given the reduction in scope, the cost of the new service request system is expected to be within the appropriations already approved by the Board and financed from discretionary General Funds.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Rock Solid Master Customer Agreement
Attachment 2 - Rock Solid Amendment
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None