CITY OF LEBANON, OHIO

Community Development Department

RFP #19-1831

Request for Proposals

Building and Zoning Permit Software

I. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of Lebanon is soliciting a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified firms to provide a comprehensive, fully integrated, permit tracking software system for the City of Lebanon's Community Development Department. It is the City's desire to enter into an agreement with a vendor that can provide a range of services including software, installation, conversion, implementation, and training services. The new software system would manage workflow, record keeping, inspections, and reporting for all Community Development functions. The final product will result in faster, more accurate, and user-friendly software that increases staff productivity while enriching the public experience. This Request for Proposal (RFP) states the overall scope of products and services desired, specific software functionality, technology foundation as well as desired vendor qualifications.

II. BACKGROUND

The City of Lebanon (population 21,000) is a growing suburban community located in Southwest Ohio midway between the Cincinnati and Dayton metro areas along I-71. The Community Development Department provides a number of different permits for our residents including zoning, code enforcement, engineering, utility, and building. In 2018 the city processed around 1,000 permits and 700 Code Enforcement Cases. Permitting fluctuates year to year with an increase in recent years as the economy has improved.

The Planning Division within the Community Development Department oversees the permit administration functions of the city. The Planning Division currently subcontracts the building permit services with Warren County, however, the city would like the ability to utilize a new system in the future to administer building permit should the situation change. This includes processing, inspecting, and reporting all building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and demolition permits. In addition to processing permit requests, the Community Development Department reports on various benchmarks on a quarterly and yearly basis and provides permitting information for public records requests.

Franklin Information Systems BDS Software Package has been utilized for permitting since 2000. VIP software by SSI has been used for processing payments.

Community Development Department also utilizes Microsoft Office products for a variety of tasks such as issuing letters, logging permits, scheduling inspections, etc. Issues the Community Development Department has encountered using BDS include difficulty with search functionality; tracking/reporting; permit entry/review; field population and general functionality. The software also lacks an interface for public use, the capability to be used in the field on mobile devices, and integration with Geographic Information System (GIS).

III. PROJECT SCOPE

The intent of this RFP is to enable the City to acquire the most appropriate, financially attractive solution from a qualified vendor. The general capabilities of the software solution chosen not only needs to replace the functionality of our current system, but is also expected to offer us new capabilities. The City is open to suggestions other than those listed in this request, which consultants believe would be of value to producing the desired outcomes.

The Project Scope, as may be modified through negotiation and/or by written addendum, will be made a part of the Agreement. The software shall contain the following functions:

1. The core functions that meet the requirements of this RFP are:

• Permitting
• Inspections
• Reporting

2. Capabilities needed include but are not limited to the following:

• Importation of past permitting data with search capabilities
• Integration with the existing financial system
• Integration with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) GIS map services.
• Integration with Microsoft Office programs and email applications for enhanced communications.
• Electronic processing capabilities for reduced paper flow.
• Electronic document management.
• Web or browser-based system for internal and external browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11 is the primary web browser for staff use
  • External browsers supported by the software should include Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox
• Virtualization of application preferred
• Ability to provide a public portal for applicant/public to view permit information
  • Application submittal
  • Check the status of permits
  • Compute fees
  • Request inspections
  • View inspection results
  • Ability to easily link and search permits
• Variety of reporting functions
  • Query by review status, fee status, reviewer, inspector, permit type, year, parcel, address, inspection type, date range, construction type, etc.
• "To do" or status list.
• Work Flow to follow each specific process
• Ability to generate orders, letters, and other forms
  • Auto-population with known data
  • Ability to create preformatted responses to activities
• Fee computation
• Mobile/field use
  • Access to permit data and related property information
  • Ability to add/update data remotely
  • Ability to approve and issue permits
  • Ability to expand the application of the software to other city divisions permits.

IV. PROPOSAL OUTLINE

All proposals should be organized based on the following outline. Before submitting a proposal, vendors shall examine the specifications in order to understand all existing conditions and limitations.

1. Cover Letter: A one-page cover letter.
2. Table of Contents: Clearly defined sections and pages numbered.
3. Executive Summary: A summary of the proposal stating the proposer's understanding of the request and highlights of the proposed solution.
4. Personnel and Experience: The personnel to participate on this project, including roles and responsibilities, summary qualifications, and related experience.
5. Vendor Experience: Provide a description of local government experience and experience completing similar projects.
6. Project Understanding: Please summarize the team's understanding of the project.
7. Scope of Service: Please provide the proposed scope of services and approach in response to this RFP. At a minimum, this should include a description of the software, technical requirements, training options, Importation of past permitting data, support and maintenance.
8. Schedule: The timeframe for the scope should be included with a calendar showing the projected timeframe for completion of phases.
9. Fee: Vendor should propose a Not-to-Exceed Fee. The fee should be broken down by phases, tasks, or deliverables. Recurring Maintenance costs should also be provided.
10. Statement of the team's capacity to perform the required work competently and expeditiously to meet the proposed schedule, as indicated by the firm's size and the availability of necessary personnel, sub-consultant(s) availability, team's current workload, and equipment and facilities.
11. Professional references (five minimum) of recent work, including name, affiliation, address, phone number, and email.

V. SELECTION CRITERIA

Following the submission deadline, a selection committee will evaluate all responses and short-list the proposing vendors. Responders will be notified and finalists will be invited to present demonstrations. After all demonstrations and presentations are completed, a vendor will be selected or further information will be requested.

Staff will evaluate the proposals according to the following criteria:

1. Past Experience: Past experience includes working on projects of a similar nature and working with public sector users with similar needs as Lebanon.
2. Technical Understand and Approach: Lebanon will evaluate the vendor's ability to understand what Lebanon is seeking, to present a sound plan for completing the project, and identify innovative ideas for use of the software.
3. Project Management and Schedule: The ability to provide an effective management plan that demonstrates appropriate control, quality assurance, and effective client communications will be evaluated.
4. Project Budget: The cost-effectiveness of the proposal will be evaluated.

The RFP will be awarded to the responsible, responsive bidder whose proposal, conforming to this solicitation, will be most advantageous to the City, qualifications, price and other factors. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, in part or whole, and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in bids received. All awarded proposals are subject to available funding and approval by all necessary executive and legislative authorities of the City.

VI. FEE

A budget has not been established for this project but will be defined based on the proposals received. It is important to note that cost will not be the sole criteria for shortlisting vendors, but the City of Lebanon will strongly consider cost when weighing all other factors in their decision making.

VII. TIMELINE

Below is the timeline of key stages within the proposal selection process.

• February 3, 2019 – Release and distribution of RFP
• February 18, 2019 – Deadline for vendors to submit written questions. Questions should be emailed to Meredith Snyder at msnyder@lebanonohio.gov
• February 27, 2019 – Deadline for submitting proposals
• March 8, 2019 – Finalists notified
• March 18-22, 2019 – Finalists interview
• March 29, 2019 – Decision rendered

VIII. SUBMITTAL

Interested consultants should submit seven (7) copies and one (1) electronic (PDF) version of the proposal by 4:00 PM, February 27, 2019. Late submittals will not be accepted. The proposal should be delivered to:

City of Lebanon, Ohio
c/o Diana Lakes, Contract Administrator
50 S. Broadway
Lebanon, OH 45036

Incomplete submittal will not be considered. The City of Lebanon reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal received. Consultant firms will not be reimbursed for any costs associated with responding to the RFP. All material submitted in accordance with the RFP becomes the property of the City and will be public information.

Questions may be emailed to msnyder@lebanonohio.gov no later than February 18, 2019.