DATE: January 23, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: James A. Kus, County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT: Agreement with DFM Associates, Inc. for Election Information Management System
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Make a finding that it is in the best interest of the County to waive the competitive bidding process consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 for unusual or extraordinary circumstances for continued licensing, maintenance, and support of the Elections Information Management System; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with DFM Associates, Inc. for continued licensing, maintenance, and support of the Elections Information Management System, retroactive to July 1, 2023, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $913,460.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions, which will enable the Department to continue using the current voter registration system for up to five more years. The Department has used the Elections Information Management System (EIMS) system since 2002, and DFM Associates, Inc. (DFM) is the only vendor that can provide the licensing, maintenance, and support for this proprietary system. This item is Countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended Agreement is not approved, a two-year agreement would be requested to allow time for a Request for Proposal (RFP) to be completed, and for implementation of a potential successor system to occur in 2025 to not coincide with a major election cycle. The EIMS is the foundation of all election functions. A transition to a new system prior to the 2024 Presidential Primary and General Elections would compromise the Department’s ability to conduct a successful election.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended action is retroactive to July 1, 2023. Contract negotiations continued past the end of the previous contract period to incorporate additional insurance requirements requested by the Human Resources Department, Risk Management Division.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is recommended that the County suspend competition consistent with Administrative Policy No. 34 under the unusual and extraordinary circumstances exception as DFM is the only vendor that can support the EIMS, which is a proprietary system. This system has been in place since 2002, and a change in systems would impose significant expense and disruption to the Department. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing Division concurs with this recommendation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County cost associated with the recommended actions. The total cost of this Agreement is $913,460. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues were included in the County Clerk-Elections Org 2850 FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budget requests for the contract term.
DISCUSSION:
During FY 2000-01, the County prepared RFP No. 208-3335 for the solicitation of an elections management system. DFM was selected to provide the system software. On February 5, 2002, your Board approved Agreement No. A-02-046 with DFM. Installation of the EIMS was accepted on June 30, 2002.
On August 14, 2007, your Board approved Agreement No. 07-314 with DFM which expired on March 31, 2008. Prior to the expiration of Agreement No. 07-314, the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters worked with the Purchasing Division to develop an RFP for this service. The scope of the RFP included the licensing, installation, and training in the use of, maintenance, and support of a voter registration and election management system. Upon review of the requirements to implement a comparable system to the EIMS, it was determined that the RFP process could result in additional costs associated with the introduction and start-up of a new system and would be disruptive to the election process. Therefore, the RFP was not released, and on March 25, 2008, your Board approved Agreement No. 08-133 with DFM, which expired on March 31, 2013.
On March 19, 2013, your Board approved Agreement No. 13-136 to establish a three-year agreement with two optional one-year extensions with DFM for continued licensing, maintenance, and support of the EIMS with no interruption of services. On March 20, 2018, your Board approved Agreement No. 18-107 to establish a three-year Agreement with two optional one-year extensions with DFM for continued licensing, maintenance, and support of the EIMS with no interruption of services.
The EIMS is the foundation of all elections office responsibilities with its core function being the maintenance of voter registration data. Additionally, the use of this system for candidate filing, petition checking, and voter check-in makes the EIMS critical to the successful administration of the approaching presidential primary and general elections. Any change to the system would be detrimental to the Department’s ability to conduct elections. DFM is the only vendor that can provide the licensing, maintenance, and support for this proprietary system. For this reason, a suspension of competition to ensure continuity of services with DFM is recommended.
Approval of the recommended Agreement will enable the Department to establish another three-year Agreement with two optional one-year extensions with DFM for continued licensing, maintenance, and support of the EIMS. The rate of $182,692 for each 12-month period reflects a 17% increase from the prior contract cycle. There will be no additional fee increases over the five-year period covered by the proposed Agreement.
The recommended Agreement does not contain technological professional liability insurance language that is a part of the County’s standard contract requirements because DFM refused to include these terms. DFM had acquired technological liability insurance that meets the County’s requirements but does not agree to the inclusion of the contractual language. Additionally, this agreement does not include complete data security language requested by County Risk Management that is now part of the County’s model agreement template. However, the agreement does include several data security safeguards that the Department has deemed pertinent to the EIMS software license and maintenance services provided by DFM. The County’s Risk Management does not agree with the decision to omit the complete data security language, but the Department has determined that the benefits of entering into this agreement outweigh any associated risks.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #27, March 20, 2018
BAI #13, March 19, 2013
BAI #27, March 25, 2008
BAI #21, August 14, 2007
BAI #15, February 5, 2002
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition
On file with Clerk - Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
Ahla Yang