DATE: January 27, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: John Zanoni, Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator
SUBJECT: Retroactive Agreement with Versaterm Public Safety US, Inc. for Professional Software
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Under Administrative Policy No. 34 for competitive bids or requests for proposals (AP 34) determine that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement under AP 34 is satisfied and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances as Versaterm Public Safety US, Inc. is the only vendor that meets all of the needs required by the Sheriff’s Office for professional services and that the best interests of the County would be served by entering into an Agreement with Versaterm Public Safety US, Inc. as Versaterm Public Safety US, Inc. has demonstrated they can meet the scopes of services outlined in the County’s request; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Agreement with Versaterm Public Safety US, Inc. for professional software, effective December 1, 2025, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $250,600.
REPORT
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions for the first year of the Agreement. Approval of the Agreement with Versaterm Public Safety US, Inc. (Versaterm) will allow the Sheriff’s Office to purchase the professional software required for streamlined case management, enhanced supervision of investigations, and improved employee performance tracking via dual system access. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. Should your Board not approve the recommended actions, the Sheriff’s Office would not be able to streamline case management files under supervision for all Sheriff’s employees. Relying on the current paper system, that is inadequate for associated tasks, would lead to inefficiencies and may expose the County of Fresno to liability.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is requested that the County find under AP 34 that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied, and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances as the Sheriff’s Office scheduled demos with 4 different companies from August 14, 2025, through September 3, 2025 including Versaterm (IAPro and BlueTeam), Benchmark Analytics, Lexipol (LEFTA IA), and NeoGov (PowerDMS) and determined Versaterm was the only vendor that met all of the needs required by the Sheriff’s Office for professional services. In the Department’s research, it was determined that Versaterm was the only vendor that could provide streamlined case management and investigation/employee tracking, via proprietary software, to provide oversight to (3) divisions, (7) bureaus, over 1,200 employees, and over 125 supervisors. Based on this, a letter of interest was not necessary. The General Services Department - Purchasing concurs with the Department’s assessment that this satisfies the exception to the competitive bidding process required by AP 34.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended agreement is retroactive to December 1, 2025 at the request of the vendor. Delays in negotiations prevented the recommended agreement from being completed and is being brought before your Board in accordance with the agenda item processing timelines.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues have been included in the Sheriff’s Org 3111 FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budget requests for the remaining term of the agreement.
DISCUSSION:
Approval of the recommended retroactive agreement will provide the Department with access to two systems, which would provide a streamlined approach for case management, better supervision and oversight of employee investigations and better tracking of employee performance. Currently, the Department logs and tracks all Supervisor Incident Reports (SIR) and IA cases and investigations manually with two (2) separate Microsoft excel spreadsheets and physical paper IA binders that are provided to supervisors and is submitted up the chain of command for review and recommended actions. IAPro System is software that provides a comprehensive case management feature that would assist with monitoring and reporting of complaints and other incidents that may indicate patterns of employee misconduct, behavior or performance shortfalls. The program tracks aspects of a professional standard investigation, from the initial report to the final disposition.
BlueTeam system allows the Department to send and receive information to and from supervisors throughout the agency while maintaining confidentiality of all cases. Under California Law, peace officers’ and custodial officers’ personnel records require strict level of confidentiality. BlueTeam is integrated within IAPro to streamline workflows throughout the agency, enabling supervisors, command staff and internal investigators to quickly gather all relevant performance information for review in real-time. Both products offer the ability to integrate with Mark43, the Department’s computer-aided dispatch system, and Axon, the Department’s body-worn camera system.
This agreement differs from the County’s model contract in that it contains non-standard language on the limitation of damages to twelve (12) months fees paid and a non-standard indemnity provision, which requires that the County defend Versaterm for any claims alleging that the County’s employee data infringes any Intellectual Property Right of a third party, or that the County’s use of the software violates applicable law. Risk Management has reviewed the agreement and agrees that the limitation of damages and the non-standard indemnity provision is adequate. The Sheriff’s Office believes that the benefits of entering into the non-standard agreement outweigh any potential risks and recommend approval as a prudent business decision.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition Acquisition Request
On file with Clerk - Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
Fine Nai