1. Does the Town have a budget for community development software and implementation services?

The Town has an approved budget for this project. We have researched the market and other similar sized governments and have budgeted appropriately. We want vendors to propose the best value for the best price.

2. The RFP states that the solution should be in place by April 2021. Is this date flexible?

The Town is prepared to begin implementation as soon as possible. We are looking for a partner that can commit to a schedule that will deliver a complete implementation as close to April 2021 as possible.

3. Do you have a specific technology or application in place to handle your document management needs? If not, are you open to implementing additional software to handle these needs, which will be integrated with the community development software?

The Town does not currently have a document management application. We are open to implementing one if it is integral to your solution.

4. Is the Town anticipating that this solution would allow for digital plan review, to include version tracking?

Yes, we are anticipating a digital plan review capability within the proposed solution. One of our design goals is to enable a completely contactless customer experience.

5. Do you use a digital markup tool like Bluebeam? And if so, would you like to interface with it?

We would consider a digital markup tool in the proposed solution.

6. In Section 2.2 (page 17), the RFP states that "process maps are provided in this section to depict the desired future process. “Blank” or “White” shaped items in the process map are not included in the scope." For example, in Figure 1, the "Pay Fees" and "Receive Payment Confirmation" workflow steps are white. However, the scope of work detailed within section 2.2.1 mentions one of the general goals as "Online options for business transactions such as applications, renewals, and payments". Then again, within Section 2.5, an interface with Paymentus mentioned as an expected deliverable. Are we correct in assuming that the Town is expecting a) online payment capture and b) integration with Paymentus within this proposed scope of work, regardless whether the workflows depict those functional requirements as not in scope?

A general goal for the Town is to handle payments online. If your solution has a payment mechanism, then the Town is requesting that it interface to Paymentus and Central Square. Vendors that have no payment mechanism may also propose for this project but must propose an interface solution to the two financial products.

7. In Figure 1 (Business Tax Receipt — Application) workflow, both the Pay Fees and Receive Payment Confirmation steps are white (i.e., not in scope), however in Figure 5 (Growth Management Application), the Receive Payment Confirmation step is green. Is that a typo, or should that step also be considered out of scope?

The Receive Payment Confirmation in green is correct. Although the proposed solution does not need to handle financial transactions, the Town would like to know that the imposed fees have been paid. Vendors may propose the source of financial data to be their own solution or one of the Town’s financial systems. The Town will also entertain non-financial processes such as record indicators if it is proven that the data reflects information from the source accounting system.

8. Within the RFP there are 12 different business processes (workflows) shown; some of which, although documented separately, complement multiple other workflows (i.e., the application and inspection processes). Are those workflow diagrams detailed in the RFP representative of only those processes that the Town is expecting to be deployed within the solution?

The workflow diagram represents the minimum processes within the proposed solution. Additional capability is encouraged and will be given a higher score if the capability added benefits the Town.

9. There are approximately 42 different permit types mentioned within the RFP; do each of those 42 permit types fit within one of the 12 business process workflows? Or are there permit-specific nuances or steps that are not detailed within those workflow diagrams, that would result in new, permit-specific workflows being developed during the discovery process? (i.e., each of the approximately 42 permit types could have its own unique workflow).

The provided process maps cover all 42 permit types.

10. How many unique reports, letters, and documents does the Town need to generate from the solution? (i.e., occupancy permits, final permits, violations notices, etc.)

Building Report Inventory (hyperlink)

Business License Report Inventory (hyperlink)

Code Enforcement Report Inventory (hyperlink)

Planning Report Inventory (hyperlink)

11. How many fees are within your fee schedule? Can the Town provide the number of flat fees, variable fees, etc.?

Building Permit Fee Schedule (hyperlink)

Land Use Permit Fee Schedule (hyperlink)

Business Tax Receipt Fees (hyperlink)

12. Does the Town have the ability to extract all the necessary data from Central Square, and provide it to the proposer to be migrated into the new solution?

The land file data should be able to be synced with the County’s parcel data on a monthly basis prior to implementation. Historical permit, code, and licensing data would have to be extracted from HTE. The Town does have this capability.

13. What is the “Land File”?

The Land File is the database of land parcels and street addresses in the Town used by the current HTE application. This database is used for the Community Development, as well as the Utility Billing modules of that application.

14.Does the Town have a preferred deployment pattern (i.e., SaaS, on-premise, etc.)?

Although the Town prefers a SaaS or hosted solution, we will consider all options based upon how the proposed solution meets the Town’s needs.

15. Regarding RFP 2020-0001, can the proposal submission be in electronic form only or are you requiring printed and delivered responses?

Your response can be emailed to our Town Clerk ([email protected]). We are also asking that you submit a copy of your response on a USB drive, again to the Town Clerk.

16. The Town is using Central Square for community development and finance. This RFP is for community development only. When will you be shopping the Finance portion?

The Town previously planned to release an RFP that would encompass Finance, Community Development, Utility Billing, and HR. The Town decided instead to split the RFP into two projects. The first will include just the Community Development portion (Planning and Zoning, Building Permits, Business Licensing, and Code Enforcement). A subsequent RFP will be released in 2021 that will include the other modules.

17. Does the Town manage their own instance of ArcGIS or does a third party, county, state or private entity, manage it on behalf of the Town?

We host our own instance of ArcGIS, and anticipate continuing to do so.

18. What version of Esri are you running? What is your Esri Database model?

We are running Version 10.5.1 of Esri ArcGIS. The database model is Esri’s Local Government Information Model.

19. Are you using ArcGIS Pro?

We have ArcGIS Pro, and use it from time to time, but regularly use ArcMap.

20. What type of Esri licensing agreement does the Town have?

We have the Esri Small Government Term Enterprise License Agreement (populations of 0 to 25,000).

21. Are you looking for field worker access for this application?

Yes. We would like our staff to be able to access the solution remotely.

22. Have you been shopping this project around to vendors?

Prior to beginning this project, staff interviewed various municipalities and vendors to determine how we should proceed. Rather than “shopping” our project directly to vendors, the Town decided instead to work with GFOA to create an RFP that represented our specific needs. The Town has limited the scope of this project to Community Development only and has worked to create process maps of our current and desired work models. This effort has enabled us to produce a list of requirements for each module to inform prospective vendors of the capability we are looking for in this solution.

23. Which functional modules within Central Square does the Town anticipate the solution interacting with? Would these interactions be one-way or two-way?

Please propose interface requirements. The Town is expecting Vendors to propose one or two-way interfaces based upon the Vendor’s proposed solution in meeting the process and requirements. Vendors should also propose what external data (e.g. accounting, budget, etc.) would be required in proposed solution.

24. What are the interfaces to the Central Square application?

Cash Receipts. If your solution has a payment mechanism, then the Town is requesting that it interface to Paymentus and Central Square’s Cash Receipts. Vendors that have no payment mechanism may also propose for this project but must propose an interface solution to these financial products.

25. Can you provide more detail on the expectation for a Central Square interface?

If your solution has a payment mechanism, then the Town is requesting that it interface to Paymentus and Central Square’s Cash Receipts. Vendors that have no payment mechanism may also propose for this project but must propose an interface solution to these financial products.

26. What version of Active Directory are you currently using?

Our Active Directory is Windows Server 2019 (Version 1809) Standard. Domain and Forrest functional levels are currently Windows 2012R2. Two domains are in scope for this project.

27. How many different code violation case types have unique process requirements (i.e. building violation, nuisance violation, etc.)?

All the different violation types follow the same process map.

28. What type of database does Central Square utilize (i.e. SQL Server, Oracle etc.)?

The Central Square application runs on an AS/400 and uses DB/2 as its database.

29. How many active permits do you have in Central Square today?

There are 10,000 permits in the system, and 500 of them are active.

30. How many active applications do you have in Central Square today?

There are 800 active businesses, 74 code cases, 2650 contractors, and 78 permit types.

31. Will the data you provide for data conversion only contain active permits and applications? If no, what else will it contain?

Please see the Conversion Scope spreadsheet Exhibit 5 in the RFP. (hyperlink)