MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor Angela Birney
SUBJECT:
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Approval of Consultant Contract with FreeDoc in the Amount of $104,857.12, for Records Management Support Services
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Approval of a consultant agreement with FreeDoc in the Amount of $104,857.12, to support the City Records Program. Council approval is required for contracts over $50,000.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Maxine Whattam, Chief Operating Officer 425-556-2310
Jonny Chambers, Technology and Information Services Director 425-556-2160
Cheryl Xanthos, City Clerk 425-556-2191
Charliann Cross, Records Management Program Coordinator 425-556-2194
Dawn Johnson, Project Management Office Manager 425-556-2179
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
In October 2019 the City Council adopted RMC 1.03, City Records, which established the City Records Program. The City is required to manage records in compliance with laws and rules laid out by the State of Washington and this policy sets a tone of openness and transparency. RCW 40.14.020 states that public records are the property of the State of Washington and do not belong to the individuals who create or receive them. These records must be kept, managed, and disposed of lawfully, in accordance with approved records retention schedules.
In order to achieve the goals of City Records Program, the Clerk’s Office would like to bring in a consultant to work with the City’s Records Management Program Coordinator to create a full inventory and assessment of the City’s records. In December 2019 an RFP was issued for records management services to support the City Records Program. There were two responses and FreeDoc was chosen. The consultants with FreeDoc have strong experience in records management, the Washington State Archives, and records retention schedules.
The Scope of Work:
• Records Assessment: review of the administration and management of public records as it relates to business processes.
• Mid-Level Inventory: identifies the types and volumes of records held by the City.
• Creation of a Crosswalk: a tool that will enable the City to locate and apply applicable retention requirements to all City records. Records retention requirements are determined by the Washington State Archives and can be found here: <https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/recordsmanagement/managing-city-records.aspx>.
• Establish a records program vision and roadmap: organize and structure the City’s records for ease of use in searching and managing the City’s informational assets. This will include records management policies and procedure; training plan; records disaster preparedness and recovery plan
• Develop an audit program framework: measure the effectiveness and levels of compliance of the City’s policies and procedures, records management best practices, and public records legal requirements.
Methodology:
The vast majority of City Records are digital and the work can be accomplished through remote conversations with City staff. FreeDoc’s approach to identifying records is focused on the analysis of business processes and the records they produce. Only 17 percent of the total hours on the FreeDoc contract were originally planned for onsite hours. Ten percent of the contract hours, related to the initial assessment, were planned for conference room type interviews and can be handled remotely with no impact to the expected deliverable. This is a ‘Not-to-Exceed’ contract. FreeDoc understands any work that requires them to be onsite could be delayed at no additional cost to the City. If it is not possible to be onsite, staff will work with FreeDoc remotely to accomplish all tasks in the contract, and travel costs will not be incurred.
While FreeDoc was scheduled to be onsite for the kickoff meeting, this can be done remotely through a GoToMeeting. FreeDoc states that the effectiveness of using GoToMeeting, Teams, Zoom, or Skype will work well in lieu of attending in person. With the video options of theses software applications, it is possible for all participants and the interviewer to effectively engage in the information gathering process.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
Planning and Public Works Committee of the Whole - September 10, 2019
Study Session - September 24, 2019
Business Meeting - October 15, 2019, Ordinance Adoption
Finance, Administration, and Communications Committee of the Whole - May 26, 2020
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
Bring in a consultant to work with the Records Management Program Coordinator to provide for a complete inventory of city records, crosswalk (match records with the retention schedules), essential records and disaster recovery program, and audit program.
B. Fiscal Note:
The cost for the consultant agreement is $104,857.12. This amount will come from the budget-approved ECM project funds.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The Council can choose to not approve this contract. The City’s Records Management Program Coordinator will continue to provide records management advice to City staff and will work on inventory and matching records to the required retention schedules as time permits. The development of a disaster recovery program and any future Enterprise Content Management software system will be significantly delayed.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
Having an effective City Records Program will help with staff efficiency in maintaining records; quicker responses to records requests; lower records storage costs; and providing a program for all essential records and recovery in the case of an emergency or disaster. In addition, this body of work must be completed prior to the development of any citywide Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software tool.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Scope of Work
Attachment B: Timeline
Attachment C: Project Costs
Attachment D: Consultant Agreement