DATE: April 23, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Oscar J. Garcia, CPA, Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement No. 21-133 with InfoSend, Inc. for adding Address Change Services and updating pricing on Data processing, printing and Mailing Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 21-133 (“Amendment”) with InfoSend, Inc. for the purpose of extending the base term of the original agreement for one year with an option for a further 12-month extension, adding Address Change Services (“ACS”), and updating pricing on Data Processing, Printing and Mailing Services (“DPPM Services”), effective April 23, 2024, with no change to the maximum compensation of $700,000 during the two years provided in the Amendment.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action would authorize the Tax Collection Division of the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector Department (Tax Collector) to add Address Change Services from InfoSend, Inc. Prices are updated for data processing, printing and mailing services and ACS. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Not approving the recommended action will result in the responsibility of printing and mailing the statutorily required tax bills and statements returning to the Tax Collector, which does not have adequate internal resources to perform that work timely.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum amount payable to InfoSend under the agreement as proposed to be amended remains $1,800,000 as originally agreed. Sufficient appropriations are included in the FY 2023-24 Org 0410 Adopted Budget to cover the cost related to these services. Ongoing annual costs will be included in future budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
Revenue and Taxation Code section 2610.5 requires the Tax Collector to mail a County tax bill or a copy thereof for every property on the secured roll. On April 27, 2021, your Board approved the Agreement with InfoSend, Inc. to provide print and mail services that are needed to fulfill the statutory requirement. The existing agreement with InfoSend, Inc. will expire on April 26, 2024. The original agreement provides for two optional one-year extensions upon written approval of both parties. The original agreement authorized the Tax Collector to execute that written approval on behalf of the County. Upon evaluation, the Tax Collector determined that that InfoSend, Inc. has provided satisfactory services within the last three years, but wishes to add additional services and to update pricing accordingly. Adding services and updating pricing are not included in the Tax Collector’s authorization to extend the term of the original agreement, so the Tax Collector is bringing an amendment to your Board to accomplish these changes.
The tax bill printing and mailing includes annual and monthly printing of the secured and assessee copies, monthly unsecured and supplemental tax bills, along with multiple notices during the year for statutorily required delinquency notifications. Currently any mail that the USPS cannot deliver is returned to the Tax Collector’s office. The Tax Collector has an established procedure for staff to sort returned mail, see if there is a forwarding address provided by the USPS on the returned mail, and re-mail to the new address. In addition, the envelope with the forwarding address will be forwarded to the Assessor’s office for review and to update its information, if applicable. This procedure requires significant internal resources and time to complete, especially during the annual mailing of the unsecured and secured property tax bills.
Adding ACS services from InfoSend, Inc., would minimize significant demands on Tax Collection resources in addition to ensuring that the mail is timely forwarded to the intended recipient and reducing the lag time to provide address change information to the Assessor’s office.
The cost for ACS service is $0.25 per update for USPS Address Change Service. The maximum amount payable to InfoSend, Inc., under the agreement as proposed to be amended would not change because prices of other services would be reduced.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #23, April 27, 2021
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 21-133 with InfoSend, Inc.
CAO ANALYST:
Paige Benavides