Title
District Attorney’s Office recommending the Board:
1) Make findings in accordance with Procurement Policy C-17, Section 3.4.2 (a), single source procurement due to a technological, specialized, unique character of the good, as well as Section 3.4.3, competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the County;
2) Approve and authorize the Board Chair to sign Agreement 7455 with West Publishing Corporation, dba Thomson Reuters West, to provide public and commercial database searches and on-line jury instructions for a term of April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2026, in the amount of $138,581 for the three-year period; and
3) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to execute any necessary amendments relating to Agreement 7455, excluding term extensions and increases to the not-to-exceed amount, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and Risk Management.
FUNDING: General Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
West Coast Publishing Corporation (dba Thomson Reuters West), provides a legal database product to allow prosecutors to conduct in-depth case law research, including case histories, rulings and statutes with relevant case law and on-line jury instructions with the option for Karpel interface components for a lower price than our existing contracted vendor, RELX Inc. This Karpel interface feature was requested by the District Attorney’s Office (DA) to allow for prosecutors to view all case-related information in one screen, enabling them to build the strongest possible arguments.
The DA has been contracting with RELX Inc. to provide these services since 2012. The department reached out to RELX Inc. to obtain a quote for a three-year renewal. The quote included Lexis+ and add-on tools with initial year pricing quoted at $3,732/month, which equates to $44,784 annually. This amount is a significant increase from the previous contracted cost. Therefore, the department decided to reach out to another vendor, West Coast Publishing Corporation for a quote for similar database research product. West Coast Publishing Corporation was able to provide a quote in the amount of $3,663/month, which equates to $43,959 annually. Additionally, the West Coast Publishing Corporation product offers the DA a Karpel tool, which will allow for efficiency since the DA currently uses Karpel as their Case Management System. RELX Inc. does not offer this specialized tool. Over the course of three years, the department will save a total of $1,216 by choosing to acquire the database research product through West Coast Publishing Corporation.
The proposed Agreement 7455 will allow West Coast Publishing Corporation to provide public and commercial database searches and on-line jury instructions for a term of April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2026, in the total amount of $138,581 for the three-year period.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose to not approve Agreement 7455, however, disapproval of this Agreement would result in the District Attorney’s office having to find a new provider for public and commercial database searches or resort to paying higher fees for a lesser value of product.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
N/A
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item has been included in the Department’s Fiscal Year 2023/2024 recommended budget. There is adequate funding in the current fiscal year to cover renewal costs. The following is a breakdown of the annual costs, which includes an approximate 5% annual increase for services:
April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024: $43,959.00
April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025: $46,157.04
April 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026: $48,464.88
Total: $138,580.92
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board to obtain Board Chair’s signature on Agreement 7455 and forward to CAO Fiscal, attention Kelley Lawrie.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Public Safety
CONTACT
Vern Pierson, District Attorney