Title
Clerk of the Board recommending the Board:
1) Make findings pursuant to Section 3.13.030 (C) of the El Dorado County Ordinance, Contracting Out, that contracting out for document scanning services is in the public’s best interest due to the temporary or occasional nature and the schedule for the project or scope of work to be performed is not sufficient to warrant addition of permanent staff;
2) Approve and authorize the Chair to sign competitively bid Agreement 9430 with MetaSource to provide as-needed Document Scanning services for an initial term of three years with a compensation amount not to exceed $800,000; and
3) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to execute any necessary amendments relating to Agreement 9430, excluding term extensions and increases to compensation, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and Risk Management.
FUNDING: Various.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In July 2024, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors initiated Request for Proposal (RFP) 24-0032 for an Electronic Document Management System and Document Scanning. Some records, according to statute, must be retained in perpetuity while others have projected destruction schedules extending several years. These records are currently stored in Placerville, California, in the County’s Records Center, which is under the administrative purview of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. In September 2024 MetaSource was the successful proposer for both categories of the RFP. As a result, the Records Center Manager began negotiating for service with MetaSource.
Currently, the document management component of the digitization process is being covered under the County Information Technologies (IT) department AppXtender solution through Caltronics. It is anticipated that the electronic document management system will be merged under MetaSource in the future.
Under proposed Agreement 9430, MetaSource will provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, and services necessary to perform the services and tasks required under this Agreement, including those services and tasks that are identified in RFP 24-0032 and Exhibit A of the agreement, and those services and tasks that are reasonably necessary for the completion of the work identified in the Scope of Work.
The County currently struggles with the lack of physical storage space needed for the preservation, organization, and accessibility of approximately ten thousand (10,000) file boxes of paper documents. Please note that the County does not have an exact count of documents, as some file boxes are full, with over 2,000 pages, while others contain far fewer pages.
The Countywide Electronic Document Management System and Document Scanning solution will allow the County to provide a central cohesive repository for this function, increase accessibility to critical records, and provide:
• Resiliency in the event of fire or other natural disaster. Within the last five years, two major wildfires have burned within 10 miles of the Records Center, and most, if not all, of the thousands of paper records currently in storage are irreplaceable.
• Relieving overcrowding in the Records Center. While adherence to destruction schedules has improved recently compared to years past, thereby clearing space, the Center is still at capacity, which limits the intake in of new records.
• Allowing departments to retrieve their documents electronically as needed, rather than wait for them to be physically transported.
• Increased efficiency by departments in responding to Public Records requests.
Multiple departments may utilize and benefit from this agreement.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could direct the Clerk of the Board to initiate a new competitive process or amend the proposed contract; however, this would significantly delay the implementation of the Document Scanning project.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Procurement and Contracts
Information Technologies (IT) Department will be required to interface with the contractor to integrate the digitized records with current County IT document management solutions.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Document Scanning Project was approved by the Board with the FY 2024-25 Recommended Budget, with $40,000 planned for the Human Resources/Risk Management and the Chief Administrative Office digitization efforts. Future year scanning costs will be budgeted appropriately, if funding allows, or through carry-over if FY 2024-25 projects are not completed before the end of the fiscal year. In FY 2025-26, the Clerk of the Board plans on digitizing documents for non-General Fund departments who may use outside funding when utilizing this contract. These departments will include appropriations for document scanning in their respective budgets.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board to obtain Board Chair signature on two copies of Agreement 9430.
One copy should be forwarded to Central Fiscal, Attention: Scott Flint, and one copy should remain in the Board’s permanent file.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Kim Dawson, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
Clay Russell, Records Center Manager