REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
September 15, 2020
FROM
LAURIE ROZKO, Director, Purchasing Department
SUBJECT
Title
Agreement with Grant Street Group for Electronic Payment Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Grant Street Group to provide credit card, debit card, and electronic check acceptance and processing services, collectively referred to as “Electronic Payment Services,” to San Bernardino County departments and special districts at fixed rates of 2.25% per credit card transaction ($1.95 minimum), $3.95 per debit card transaction, $0 for electronic check processing; and an annual not-to-exceed amount of $335,000 for electronic payment services related to debt collection by the Central Collections Division of the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector, for the period of November 1, 2020, through October 31, 2025.
(Presenter: Laurie Rozko, Director of Purchasing, 387-2074)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this agreement will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Credit and debit card processing fees for payments other than debt collection will be paid to Grant Street Group (GSG) directly by County customers in the form of a convenience fee and electronic checks will be processed free of charge; therefore, no additional costs to County departments related to payment processing fees will be incurred under this contract except for the Central Collections Division of the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (ATC).
The Central Collections Division of the ATC will utilize GSG for credit/debit card processing specific to debt collection, and will pay GSG an annual amount not-to-exceed $335,000 for electronic payment services based on transaction volumes. Central Collections initially assumes these pass-through costs which will be withheld from collected amounts prior to distribution to Central Collections’ clients. Sufficient appropriation and revenue have been included in ATC’s 2020-21 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Electronic Payment Services allow departments to offer County residents and business owners a streamlined and convenient option to remit payment for services and costs, including but not limited to, ambulance transports, hazardous material permits, fire prevention permits, printed information materials, merchandise sold to County employees and reservations. Multiple forms of payment acceptance result in more efficient and fiscally responsible County operations.
PROCUREMENT
ATC prepared Request for Proposals (RFP) No. ACT120-ACTT-3423 for Electronic Payment Services, and it was released on June 28, 2019. Based on requests from other departments for payment processing services, the Purchasing Department determined it would be in the County’s best interest to establish a countywide agreement. In coordination with ATC, four addendums were issued to extend the proposal deadline and expand the scope of work to incorporate the needs of other County departments.
Eleven proposals were received by the proposal deadline of November 29, 2019:
|
Vendor |
Location |
|
CityBase |
Chicago, IL |
|
CSG Forte Payment Systems |
Allen, TX |
|
DivDat Kiosk |
Ferndale, MI |
|
FIS Global |
Jacksonville, FL |
|
Grant Street Group |
Pittsburgh, PA |
|
Gila LLC dba Municipal Services Bureau |
Austin, TX |
|
MUFG Union Bank |
Los Angeles, CA |
|
NCR Payment Solutions |
Addison, TX |
|
PayIt, LLC |
Kansas, MO |
|
Point & Pay |
Oldsmar, FL |
|
Value Payment Systems |
Nashville, TN |
An evaluation panel comprised of representatives from the departments of Land Use Services, Information Services, Human Resources and ATC evaluated the proposals based on qualifications and experience, technical review, references, and oral presentation. The Purchasing Department evaluated cost, and ATC’s Controller Division evaluated financials. The four highest rated proposers were short-listed and invited to give presentations: Gila LLC dba Municipal Services Bureau, GSG, NCR Payment Solutions, and Point & Pay. Upon completion of the evaluation process, the evaluation panel recommends an award to GSG to provide electronic payment services. No protests were received.
The recommended agreement requires GSG to remain Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant throughout the life of the contract to protect cardholders’ personal identifiable information from unauthorized access. The agreement additionally transfers the risk of storing personal identifying information from the County to GSG.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel; 387-5455) on July 29, 2020; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Diana Atkeson, Chief Deputy Tax Collector, 382-3040 and Sonia Hermosillo, Chief Deputy, Central Collections, 382-3078) on August 3, 2020 and July 31, 2020, respectively; Human Resources, (Amy Coughlin, Division Chief, 387-9676) on July 31, 2020; Land Use Services (Terri Rahhal, Director, 387-4431) on July 31, 2020; Information Services Department (Larry Ainsworth, Chief Information Officer, 388-5501) on July 31, 2020; Finance (Carl Lofton, Administrative Analyst and 387-5404 and Joon Cho, Administrative Analyst, 387-5402) on August 7, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Kelly Welty, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4376) on August 10, 2020.