DEPARTMENT: Finance
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Troy Elliott
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Ratification of a Contract for Task Enhancement to the CityFlag, Inc. for the San Antonio 311 Mobile Application
SUMMARY:
An ordinance authorizing the ratification of a contract with CityFlag, Inc. in the amount of $62,980.00, to provide task enhancements for the City of San Antonio 311 mobile application. Funding was provided from the ITSD Operating Fund in the FY 2018 Adopted Budget. This contract was procured citing a Sole Source exemption according to the provisions of Texas Statutes Local Government Code 252.022.07.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In November 2016, the City of San Antonio released a Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals for the development and deployment of a new 311 mobile application as part of the Smart Cities Initiatives program. The 311 mobile application was to provide residents with a self-service portal to report calls for basic and specific City services. Seven (7) proposals were received in response to this solicitation. Interviews were held and the selected respondent provided an offer that was below the required authority for City Council action. An informal contract was awarded on April 4, 2017 to CityFlag, Inc., a local SBE/MBE company, for an initial cost of $22,800.00. Additional support for three (3) years after “Go-Live” in the amount of $6,000.00 annually was also awarded for a total contract value of $40,800.00.
The functionality of the newly developed 311 mobile application included full integration with the City’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, support for twenty-five (25) unique service types with the potential to scale, ability to connect calls directly from application to City’s 311 Call Center, in-app access to device’s camera to allow photo attachments to requests, provide information about recently opened and closed service requests as well as general status updates, gamification elements to promote civic engagement, no cost availability for Android and iPhone users and the ability for City staff to have access to data for performance analytics.
Upon successful development and deployment of the new 311 mobile application, new user perspectives became visible after extensive testing. The testing group provided results to an Executive Committee that represented Animal Care Services, Development Services, Parks & Recreation, Solid Waste Management and the Transportation and Capital Improvements Departments. This group defined the requirements for task enhancements to further improve the mobile application. These included the addition of the Due Date on the flag detail for all cases, changing the flag colors in the map view(s) from red to green, increasing the map view display from 3 days to 7 days for all closed cases, and optimizing the application by removing the comments from each case
These task enhancements required changes to an out of the box mobile application and significant programming was required. The modifications required mobile app code change which is proprietary to CityFlag. It became necessary to begin the services in advance of City Council action in order to allow for a soft launch of the mobile application so as not to delay payment to a local, small business enterprise. Additionally, the functionality of the mobile application would allow the 311 Customer Service Office to better leverage technology and provide an enhanced interactive experience to access City services. The mobile application is now available for download at the iTunes and Google Play store.
Submitted for Council consideration and action is the ratification of a contract with CityFlag, Inc. in the amount of $62,980.00, to provide the above task enhancements for the City of San Antonio 311 mobile application. These services were procured citing a Sole Source exemption to competitive bidding in accordance with the provisions of Texas Statutes Local Government Code 252.022.07.
ISSUE:
This action will ratify a contract with CityFlag, Inc. in the amount of $62,980.00, to provide task enhancements for the City of San Antonio 311 mobile application.
This contract is an exception to the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) and Local Preference Programs.
The Veteran-Owned Small Business Preference Program does not apply to goods/supplies contracts, so no preference was applied to this contract.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should this ratification not be approved, the City of San Antonio would not achieve the goals of enhancing resident engagement through innovative technologies.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes the ratification of a contract with CityFlag, Inc. in the amount of $62,980.00, to provide task enhancements for the City of San Antonio 311 mobile application. Funding in the amount of $62,980.00 was provided from the ITSD Operating Fund in the FY 2018 Adopted Budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of action to ratify the contract with CityFlag, Inc. in the amount of $62,980.00, to provide task enhancements for the City of San Antonio 311 mobile application.
This contract was procured on the basis of Sole Source and a Contracts Disclosure form is not required.