R2020-133 Resolution Authorizing Purchase of Tyler Technologies, Inc. Citizen Self Service Module

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1n Information Technology DATE: 9/21/2020 MEMO: 2020-08 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: James Edwards,Director,Information Technology SUBJECT: Purchase of Tyler Technologies Citizen Self Service Module for MUNIS SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends City Council approve the attached resolution,authorizing the City Manager to purchase the Tyler Technologies Citizen Service Module for MUNIS. Attached quote totaling$23,290 will be paid by the State of Illinois Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency(CURE)Support program. BACKGROUND: Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic,the City Information Technology(IT)Department is identifying solutions to provide Citizens more on-line access and support for City of Decatur transactions in an effort to reduce the need to leave their homes and businesses to conduct business with the City. Staff is recommending this purchase to expand the city's ERP system capabilities with a Tyler software module called Citizen Self Service(CSS)which provides web-based Citizen access to municipal services and information. Citizens who use CSS can view or pay various bills and invoices online.Settings within the module determines which CSS areas a Citizen can navigate. The city currently uses the following MUNIS modules which can be accessed via CSS:Business Licensing,General Billing,and Utility Billing. To bring immediate value to this module,City staff will implement CSS for Utility Billing first. CSS provides Citizens with utility account and billing information by account number,address,owner name,parcel ID or customer ID. With the appropriate account settings,Citizens can also manage and pay bills online. The purchase of this module is intended to reduce 300+daily telephone calls and 100+daily billing window visits handled by the Utility Customer Service division. The CSS manage bills page displays all outstanding bills for an account,and it provides options for viewing specific bill details, viewing past bills,or paying outstanding bills. This page also displays details for an individual bill and includes information such as bill number,billing and due dates and a description of the charges. Citizens can also link accounts to a user or customer ID to manage multiple accounts. This feature will be valuable to landlords and large industrial customers with multiple Utility Billing accounts. The Business Licenses module provides the ability to apply for licenses online and allows lookup of details for business accounts and processes payments of outstanding bills. Business Licensing is used for liquor licenses,boat permits,pier permits,duck blinds,video gaming licenses,second-hand stores,mobile home park,and various other miscellaneous licenses. One of the features of CSS that will be implemented shortly after the next MUNIS application upgrade scheduled for May,2021 is the ability for businesses to auto submit self-reported municipal taxes such as Food&Beverage,Hotel/Motel and Local Motor Fuel. Currently the submission of these taxes require businesses to download a fillable.pdf form from the city's website,complete the form,and submit it with proper payment via mail or in-person at the 2nd floor cashier window at the Civic Center. Once payments are received,they are processed in MUNIS to update the general ledger and then manually entered into a City developed application. CSS will automate most of this current process. IT negotiated a 50%discount on the initial purchase cost of this software and a 100%discount for the software's first year maintenance. The attached quote also includes 56 hours of implementation costs for Tyler Technologies to install and configure the CSS application. Beyond the first year,there will be an on-going annual maintenance cost of$3,950 plus an approximate 4% annual increase that will be included in future IT budgets. PRIOR COUNCIL ACTION: Council approved the purchase of the MUNIS product from Tyler Technologies in 2003 and has annually approved the maintenance for this product. The purchase of this module will enhance our ERP system already in place. POTENTIAL OBJECTIONS: As directed by City Council over a year ago,the IT Department has been evaluating replacement opportunities for the Tyler MUNIS system and City Council may question why we are still investing in a solution we are evaluating replacing.It's been determined that in the near term,working with their existing offerings to flatten our IT environment