To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
SUBJECT:
title
Agreement with Sherpa Government Solutions, LLC for Budget Formulation, Management
and Reporting Software
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors approve the attached software agreement with Sherpa Government Solutions, LLC (Sherpa) to provide budget formulation, management and reporting software for a term of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023 for an amount not to exceed $524,447.35; authorize the Chair of the Board to execute the proposed agreement with Sherpa Government Solutions, LLC; and direct the Clerk of the Board to return two (2) fully executed originals to the County Administrative Office.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Information Technology Fund 3550
DISCUSSION:
The County Administrative Office (CAO) prepares an annual budget that includes a published Proposed and Adopted Budget book. In addition, the CAO provides quarterly updates, as needed, to address any necessary budget adjustments and to provide your Board with information on any emergent issues. The county's current financial system, OneSolution, draws on old technology and lacks the functionality needed to address the increasing demands for financial tracking and reporting. Therefore, in July 2017, the CAO began researching budget formulation and reporting platforms that would not only provide efficiencies but also improve forecasting capabilities. As part of the research, the CAO invited both Sherpa and Questica, Inc., providers of budget formulation and reporting software, to demonstrate their software capabilities to county budget staff.
Staff indicated a clear preference for the platform offered by Sherpa based on familiarity and ease of use. In addition, a demonstration was conducted with Information Technology (IT) staff in both County IT and the Department of Health and Human Services Information Services to ensure compatible functionality with county infrastructure. Staff concurred there were no foreseeable issues with our current financial software interfacing with Sherpa, nor were there any undue strains to the counties infrastructure resources anticipated. Finally, the CAO conducted interviews with the counties of San Mateo, Contra Costa and San Luis Obispo, all currently use Sherpa software. All counties provided positive feedback regarding the implementation process, customer service and usage of the Sherpa platform.
Sherpa can be used to develop, forecast, evaluate and improve all aspects of the county's Proposed and Adopted budgets, including operating, internal service funds. Measure Z and other supplemental budget and appropriation transfer needs. In the development of the budget, the software will be able to perform salary projections for multiple bargaining units and benefit plans; calculate internal service charge cost allocations; and track key performance indicators. Sherpa will be administered by the County Administrative Office - Management and Budget Team. Departments will be involved in most aspects of the system's implementation, including development of the project calendar, process and workflow improvements, system testing, budget book design and reporting, and end user training. Sherpa will interface with OneSolution Finance and Administration System. In addition, Sherpa is capable of publishing the Proposed and Adopted Budget books, including the State-Mandated Controller's Schedules. This will offer an ease and time savings to the formation of the Proposed and Adopted budget books and provide for increased compliance with the State Controller's Office.
In May 2017, the County of San Mateo conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking to acquire a new budget software application. After several months of review and demonstrations from the RFP respondents, the San Mateo County RFP Evaluation Committee selected Sherpa Government Solutions. On October 31, 2017, the County of San Mateo approved an agreement with Sherpa Government Solutions to provide budget formulation and management software for budgeting and performance analysis and reporting. Cooperative Purchasing language was included in San Mateo's RFP process and Sherpa agreed to extend, proposed services to offer local jurisdictions. Therefore, the cooperative purchasing language allows the County of Humboldt to utilize San Mateo's competitively bid selected vendor and reduce the time and expenses associated with conducting an RFP in-house. Accordingly, staff recommends your Board approve the attached agreement with Sherpa Government Solutions, LLC to provide budget formulation, management and reporting software for a term of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The total cost for services under this agreement are not to exceed $524,447.35. The cost for fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 has been included in the proposed budget and shall not exceed $236,540.67 for the purchase, implementation and annual maintenance of the software. On-going expenditures for future fiscal years shall not exceed $71,976.67 annually. All costs associated with Sherpa will be paid for from the County Administrative Office - Information Technology budget (3550-118).
This agreement supports your Board's Strategic Framework Priorities for New Initiatives by managing resources to ensure sustainability of services and providing for and maintaining infrastructure.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may decide not to approve the proposed agreement with Sherpa. However, this alternative is not recommended because the services provided by Sherpa are needed to provide for an enhanced and efficient budget process.
ATTACHMENTS:
Agreement with Sherpa Government Solutions, LLC
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A