TO: LINDA REICH, CITY MANAGER
FROM: KIM SAO, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
SUBJECT
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Award of Contract to InfoSend, Inc. for Utility Billing.
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RECOMMENDATION
Award a five-year professional services contract to InfoSend, Inc. for utility billing and on-line payment services, based on the unit pricing set forth in the vendor’s rate schedule, with the contract estimated to utilize $300,000 annually, and authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents on behalf of the City.
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FISCAL IMPACT
Sufficient funds are included in the FY 2026-27 adopted budget. If approved, funding will be included in future year budgets.
CITY OF CHINO MISSION / VISION / VALUES / STRATEGIC ISSUES
The recommendation detailed above furthers the City’s values and strategic issues that serve as key pillars on which identified priorities, goals, and action plans are built, by fostering:
• Financial Stability
• Responsible Long-Range Planning
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Revenue: Click or tap here to enter text. |
Expenditure: 1003000-43515 |
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BACKGROUND
The City has utilized InfoSend, Inc. for utility billing, mailing services, and online payment services for over fifteen years and has been satisfied with the quality, reliability, and performance of the services provided. These services are for weekly production of the City’s utility bills which includes file transmission, data processing, bill printing, mail preparation, utility bill production, and delivery to the United States Postal Service.
The City incurs the cost of postage for mailing all bills and notices. InfoSend pays this expense upfront and then passes this cost on to the City with no mark up. Therefore, InfoSend only retains a portion of the total amount paid by the City through this contract, with the remainder going to the United States Postal Service. The City is responsible for this postage regardless of the vendor providing the printing and support services.
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
The Finance Department recommends Council approve a new five-year professional services contract with InfoSend, Inc. for utility billing printing, mailing, and online payment services. The contract will be based on the unit pricing set forth in InfoSend’s rate schedule through a piggyback agreement utilizing the City of Indio’s competitively awarded contract.
On an annual basis, InfoSend produces and mails approximately 275,000 utility bills and notices for approximately 23,000 customer accounts on behalf of the City. Without this support, the City would not have the internal capacity to produce, assemble, and mail the current volume of utility bills and notices in-house, which could affect the timely collection of City revenues and the continuity of utility billing operations.
The City of Indio conducted a competitive procurement process for substantially similar services and selected InfoSend as its provider. InfoSend has agreed to extend the same pricing and terms to the City of Chino through a piggyback agreement. Staff reviewed the City of Indio/InfoSend agreement and determined that the procurement process, pricing, and terms are fair, reasonable, and in the best interest of the City.
As part of the analysis, staff compared the City’s current pricing to the pricing proposed under the City of Indio/InfoSend agreement. The comparison is provided below:
|
Description |
Current |
Proposed |
Difference |
|
#10 Envelope |
$0.0242 |
$0.0260 |
$0.0018 |
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#9 Envelope |
$0.0228 |
$0.0230 |
$0.0002 |
|
Outgoing Flat Envelope |
$0.1800 |
$0.1900 |
$0.0100 |
|
Address Change Service |
$0.3000 |
$0.3300 |
$0.0300 |
|
Insert Fee |
$0.0100 |
$0.0100 |
Same |
|
e-Bill Loading & Support |
$0.0200 |
$0.0208 |
$0.0008 |
|
Enrolled User |
$0.0400 |
$0.0417 |
$0.0017 |
|
Initiated Payments |
$0.0400 |
$0.0417 |
$0.0017 |
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Monthly Support Fee |
$155.00 |
$161.665 |
$6.665 |
Approval of the five-year contract will allow the City to maintain uninterrupted utility billing services while utilizing competitively established pricing through the City of Indio’s agreement. Based on the foregoing, staff recommends awarding a five-year professional services contract to InfoSend, Inc. for utility billing printing, mailing, and online payment services.
Attachments: City of Chino Agreement
City of Indio Agreement (Reference)