The existing parking citation processing agreement expired on June 30, 2019, and was extended to September 30, 2019, to complete the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.  RFP S-1254 was issued and advertised on May 22, 2019, by the City’s Finance Department.  A mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held on June 3, 2019.

Three proposals were received and opened on June 24, 2019.  The Source Selection Committee (SSC) reviewed and scored all proposals.  Meetings were conducted with members of the SSC and the three companies that included a product demonstration, software overview, and a question and answer session. 

The SSC Scores were not changed based on the interviews and the final scores were established on August 1, 2019. The SSC committee selected TDSI, since they demonstrated an understanding of the project, offered a work plan that best fit the needs of the City, received positive references, will provide software and equipment that exceeds the RFP requirements, and competitive pricing. Their database was user friendly and offered options that the other proposers were not able to provide.

The two-year contract amount shall not exceed $270,000.  The new agreement is approximately $105,000 higher in cost than in previous years as it includes the placing of Franchise Tax Board (FTB) holds to intercept any state tax refunds to pay for outstanding parking citations tied to an individual.  Over the past two decades, the FTB program has redirected over $3 billion to various state agencies, cities, and counties. In 2017, the FTB program collected $344 million for over 500 agencies.  In Orange County, the cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Tustin, San Clemente and Stanton currently participate in the FTB program.  

It is estimated the City will collect an additional $138,000 per year for unpaid parking citations through this program at a yearly cost of approximately $50,000. Past experience has shown that more parking citations can be paid through extra collection methods than what is anticipated.  The additional first year cost of the contract will be absorbed within the FY 2019-2020 City budget and will be offset by anticipated increased revenue.  The remaining cost increases will be addressed during the annual budget process, and will also be offset by increased citation revenue.  

All parking citation funds collected are deposited into the General Fund.  The costs for this contract will be split by Public Works, Police Department and Code Enforcement.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Award a contract to Turbo Data Systems, Inc., to provide parking citation processing services, in the amount of $270,000, for an initial term of two years from October 1, 2019, through September 20, 2021, with the option to extend the term for up to two additional two year terms through September 30, 2025; and

• Authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement and make any minor modifications as appropriate thereto.

By:  Mark Ladney, Public Works Supervisor