DATE: September 25, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Elizabeth Diaz, Public Defender
Robert W. Bash, Director of Internal Services/Chief Information Officer
SUBJECT: First Amendment to the Agreement with Canyon Solutions, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute First Amendment to Agreement No. A-16-371 with Canyon Solutions, Inc. for software support, maintenance, and customization, effective upon execution with no change in term to June 30, 2021 and increasing the maximum by $80,000 to a total of $420,000.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will increase the five-year maximum agreement cost from $340,000 to $420,000. The additional cost comes exclusively from additional custom programming needs to coordinate the Public Defender’s Case Management System, Judicial Case Activity Tracking System - Defender Version (JCATS NG) with the other Justice partners in the County and provide additional functionality to the JCATS NG system.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Not approving the recommended action would prevent the Public Defender from acquiring needed customizations to incorporate into a common digital framework with other County justice departments and provide additional functionality; however, normal use and maintenance of the JCATS would be uninterrupted.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with this item. Appropriations are included in the Public Defender’s FY 2018-19 Adopted Budget Org 2880 and will be included in subsequent Requested Budgets.
DISCUSSION:
Canyon Solutions, Inc. has provided the Public Defender’s case management system since 2004. The San Diego Public Defender implemented a new JCATS NG to upgrade and improve the capabilities and productivity of the software. In 2016, the Board approved an agreement with Canyon Solutions, Inc. to provide Fresno County with San Diego’s latest software upgrade in addition to customizing it to Fresno County’s needs. Since the labor and programming for the upgrade was largely completed for San Diego, Fresno County was able to implement the same system with minor changes at a discounted rate resulting in substantial savings for the County. This agreement is for two years with an option for three one-year renewals to allow the Department more flexibility should a more efficient and cost-effective solution be found. A Suspension of Competition was also approved by the Purchasing Department based on cost-effectiveness and the proprietary nature of Canyon Solutions’ software.
The additional funding is intended to cover the costs of needed system modifications over the remaining term of the contract, such as a module for the Department’s new Social Worker positions to utilize while assisting clients, modification and full implementation of a case weighting system to better measure and track the workload per case, an expanded case closing page with more options for notes, and the engineering of additional reports. The funds will also cover some or all of the costs of interfacing the case management system with justice partner systems to be able to receive data directly from the Probation Department, the District Attorney, the Sheriff, and the Superior Court. It is currently unknown what the costs of interfacing with the justice partners will be as this project is still in an early stage of collecting information. If the costs exceed the current recommended increase, the Public Defender will return to your Board.
Section XII of the agreement contains the County’s prior approved insurance language and coverage limits. Risk Management has recently proposed that the insurance coverage and language in the County’s model contract be revised. County Counsel and Risk Management will be working on these changes over the next several months. However, the Department has a need to move forward with this contract to address service needs. Additionally, the Department believes the insurance coverage required in Section XII of the agreement, with the addition of Subsection E, Cyber Liability, adequately protects the interests of the County in this contract and County Counsel is comfortable signing the agreement as to legal form. Therefore, it is recommended your Board approve the recommended amendment in its current form.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #43, June 21, 2016
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Amendment to Agreement with Canyon Solutions, Inc.
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck