HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-06-07; City Council; 7402; Approve Purchase of Computer Software0
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CIT'. OF CARLSBAD -AGEND,..~ BILL
AB# 7({o,R
MTG. 1::,7 tQ-:i
IJI.LE; APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF COMPUTER
SOFTWARE AND TRANSFER FUNDS
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I CITY ATr(J~t:b DEPT,_..E...,I .... N __ _
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
~ITYMGRY~
Approve Resolution No. 7-<.3~ authorizing the transfer of funds for the purchase
of computer software anabyniTnute motion approve the purchase of QUASAR Systems Power House and Power Plan software packages.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
Power House and Power Plan are software tools designed by QUASAR Systems to assist
Hewlett-Packard computer users in managing their computer and in using data already in existence on the system.
The tools allow the users to create a database, put in data, access data,.create
many reports and do computations and comparisons. In short they let the user
"control" the system rather than the system 11 controling 11 the user.
In the past four weeks, using the QUASAR packages we have been able to create
many reports and fix problems that existed with the present software systems.
Some-examples of the programs and improvements developed using these syste~s are:
o Vacation & sick leave reports
o Payroll file corrections
o Payroll history reports
o Engineering project tracking
o Budget schedules -Revenue expense,
fund balances
O Personnel sched~les for 83-84 budpet
o Total compensation cost computations
for salary proposals
o Emergency contact list of businesses
in Carlsbad -for Police Dept.
o Business License audit list
o Unemployment insurance reporting for
State
o Disability insurance reporting for
State
The "Power Plan" package is a financial forr.castinq, planning, reporting_and
analysis tool which also has the capability t.o interface to the Hewlett Packard
graphics system. The usefulness of this type of tool has been shown in two areas during the past few weeks.
The Personnel department has been able to cre«te a total compensation cost model
which is currently being used to analyze the various compensation proposals
offered by the associations and the city at meet and confer sessions. These models
show the city the full cost of a proposal and allows management to immediately_
analyze any offer. The creation of the models was fast and easy enou9h to learn
in a few sessions. Although the dollar value of this application is
difficult to assess, correct and tiMely information in the meet and confer process is invaluable.
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Approve the Purchase of Computer Software and Transfer Funds
Page 2
The Finance Department has used the system to prepare budget schedules for
revenue estimates and budget requests. These schedules can now be modified or
changed as the Manager or Council review budget requests. The updated numbers
are then immedi3tely available to management for further analysis. Schedules
have been tied together so changes in one schedule can be carried into others
effected by the adjustment; i.e., if expenditures are reduced, final balance
at year ena will increase by the same amount. The ability to create these
inter-locking schedules is particularly valuable when trying to provide accurate,
timely information to the Council and Manager in an application where up-to-date
information is a necessity. The budget, CIP, meet and confer, five year
operating budget forecasts, annual audits and other major projects would use
this type of tool.
The software packages supplied by Quasar Systems, Inc., are unique in that there
is no comparable product offered by other vendors. The Power House and Power Plan
Software can be obtained only from Quasar Systems, Inc., making this a sole
source purchase. The usual bidding procedures called for in the purchasing
ordinance should, therefore, be waived.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for this purchase would be available within several budgets. As shown
in the attached report, Engineering, Sanitation, Water and Streetlighting would
share in the funding for this purchase from savings in other accounts. The use
of these funds will not substantially impact the ending balance of any fund.
No contingency funds are to be used for this purchase. The purchase price 6f
this package totals $36,570.
EXHIBITS:
Resolution No. 7;J3 2 approving the purchase of the Quasar Systems Software
and transfer of funds.
Memo dated May 25, 1983, to the City t'1anager regarding software from Quasar Systems.
RESOLUTION NO. E9_
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF QUASAR SYSTEMS
SOFHIARE AND TRANSFERRING FUNDS
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4 HHEREAS, the City .of Carlsbad has reviewed the functions and capabilities .
5 of the Quasar Systems Software known as Power House and Power Plan; and
6 WHEREAS, these systems have proven their value in increasing the
7, capabilities of the City's computer system; and
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WHEREAS, Quasar Systems, Inc., is the sole provider of the above software; :and .
WHEREAS, there are sufficient funds available in various City budgets to .
10 finance the purchase of these software packages.
ll NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the Cjty of Carlsbad,
12 California, as follows:
13 · 1. The City Manager is hereby authorized to purchase said software
14 packages from Quasar Systems, Inc.; and
15 c. That fund transfer No. 140 · on file with t:1e Finance Director, is
16 hereby approved to finance this purchase.
17 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regu·lar meeting of the City Council of
18 the City of Carlsbad held on the 7th_ day of June
19 fol lowing, vote, to wit:
, 1983, by the
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AYES:
NOES:
Council M:mbers Casler, I.ewis, Kulchin, Chick and Prescott
None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST: LER, Mayor
rU;t:-£
ALETHA L.
(SEAL)
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DATE May 25, 1983
TO City Manager
FROM Finance Director
SUBJECT: Quasar Systems software -"Power House 11 and 11 Power Plan 11
Overview
The attached schedule is a listing of the few simple applications where the staff
has been able to use the Quasar System software in only a few weeks. The system
benefits are primarily time savi'ngs in replacing manual operations with automated
operations. Several applications list benefits that are more difficult to
measure·such as improved emergency response or more accurate ar.d timely data.
The cost savings on these few small applications totals $4,400 ar,,ually. If we
were to apply these systems to large projects the cost savings annually would be
two to three times as high. An annual cost savings of $12,000 in only the payroll,
finance and personnel areas would not be unreasonable when projects such as th 0
CIP, budget, employee relations and ri~k management are considered.
If other departments such as.utilities, engineering, maintenance and parks begin
to have access, an.additional savings would be realized.
Recommendation
Just using the payroll, finance and personnel functions,with a. $12,000 per year
cost savings, th~se software tools would have a payback period of three years.
If other departments are considered; the payback period will be much shorter.
Our recommendation' is that the City acquire the Quasar Systems. Funding is
available from current appropriations as shown in attachment 11 811 to this memo.
The attached agenda bill and resolution approve the purchase and transfer of funds.
ATTACHMENT "A"
Schedule of Quasar System Applications
Systems presently in use
1. Description -Vacation and sick·leave reporting. This system creates three
reports -all employees, all employees by department and employees who have problems
with leave balances, i.P.. too high or too low.
Benefit -Personnel can now identify potential problem areas relating to leave
balances. Employees•with excessive vacation leave balances are identified~ j
notified that balances must be.reduced to the maximum level specified in the M.0.U.
Sick le11ve abuses can be identified and information relayed to departments for action.
Cost savings -Potential problem employees can be identified and encouraged to
improve attendance thereby improving the time on the job vs. non-P,roductive time.
The City can avoid large lump sum vacation leave payoffs at the time of retirement
or termination by monitoring leave balances.
No dollar value has been computed for these benefits.
2. Description -Payroll file corrections. The present payroll system does not
allow for the correction of errors that may be made in the payroll system. The
Quasar system can allow the operator to access the payroll file (after entering
the appropriate passwords) to correct any errors.
Benefit -Under the present system, quarterly reports to the state and federal
government ·generated by the system are wrong. An employee must hand verify and
type all quarterly reports. If data is, corrected, reports could be designed and
run that would prepare these reports a~tomatically.
Cost ~avings -Approximately four days per quarter are used in verifying and
correcting data. This equates to approximately $1,600 of staff time annually.
3. Descriltion -Payroll history reports. These reports allow the operator to
generateistings of earnings history for any r·ange of dates. This allows verifi-
cation of salary data for P.E.R.S. retirement requests and separation forms, and
for quarterly and annual payroll files.
Benefit -Without this type of report, payroll data fot· retirement and separation
forms were generated by searching payroll records covering a three to six month
period. This can now be gathered by the computer and reported in a concise manner
to the payrolJ clerk.
Cost savings -A minor dollar savings of about $500 annually would be realized
in better use of staff time. This is based on about three hours per month or 36
hours per year of manual labor being replaced by a few minutes of computer labor.
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These programs access the corrected payroll data and create the quarterly and
annual reports for the state unemployment and disability systems.
Benefit -This is currently a manual effort done by typing a11·employee data
onto state forms. The data is first corrected, values are computed and the report
is typed. This has been replaced by a computer generated system. Thereby freeing
the employee for other duties.
Cost savings -The present manual system requires two days per quarter or
about 64 hours per year to complete. This time could be replaced by a computer
system freei,ng $800 worth of employee's time for other tasks.
5. Description -Emergency phone contact for all Carlsbad businesses. This report
has been requested by the police department for some time. The data has been
available but was never accessable in this manner before. (This report was created
by a clerk steno after only a few minutes of instruction which indicates that
the system is simple enough for a non-programmer to use effectively).
Benefit -The Police Department can now determine who should be contacted in the
event of a emergency involving a Carlsbad business.
Cost savings -The cost savings of the ability to provide this service is
particularly difficult to assess. The primary cost savings may accrue to the
citizen wh~ can respond to an emergency at a business location as soon as notified
rather than waiting until the next business day.
6. Descri tion -Business license audit list. This report (prepared in about
½ hours time will allow the license auditor to select those businesses to be
audited and verify license amounts paid {or the past two years.
Benefit -The license auditor has available in one place information on bus-mess
license fee~ paid for the past two years, contact name, phone numbers, addresses
etc. When selecting a large number of businesses to contact, all m~nual contact
with business license files is eliminated.
Cost savings -The license auditor would spend about three days selecting
businesse~ to audit, researching files and creating work sheets. 1hi~ system cu~s
the time to less than one day. A savings of only $300 1 however, this 1s a reduction
of 50% in the time to complete the task.
7. Description -Operating budget schedules for revenues, expenditures, fund
6al ances and personnel. Each year the finance department manually prepares schedules
of budget requests, managers allowances, and council adopted budgets. This means
revising schedu1es and retyping at least four times each season.
Benefit -The Quasar system allows the computer to do the manual labor while the
manager gives the system instructions. One revision was cut from a four day process
to only four hours. All schedules are linked so changes in one will be reflected
in all appropriate places in all other schedules. A personnel schedule of five
columns of numbers complete with sub-totals was created in 20 minutes, rather than
the typical two to ·chree hours.
Cost Savings -Substantial time has been saved in the past four weeks. Almost
eight man/days of manual scheduling has been eliminated through the use of this
system. A savings of over $1,200 has been realizes.
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8. Description: Totu1 compen~at1on cost pians for all employee groups, The
personnel department has generated total comp.cost plans for each group which will
allow the quick and accurate evaluqtion of any salary proposal from either side of the table.
Benefit -Accuracy and timeliness are a key to credibility when working with
employee groups. This system improves the accuracy and proves the credibility of
cost calculations. The system also replaces the manual system previously in place
thereby freeing the finance department and personnel staff for other duties.
Cost savings -The only obvious cost savings are those associated with time
saved by city staff. Although an exact dollar estimate is not available, personnel
indicates that the computer system has cut the time necessary to do compensation computations to 1/3 of the original amount necessary.
Future Applications
The following applications could be developed ra~idly and at a fraction of ~he
cost of conventional programming if the Quasar packages are available. (This is
not intended to be an entire list of possible applications. It should be used as
a guide for the types of applications Quasar systems ShQuld easily handle).
1. Five year C.I.P. funding program and docufuent preparation.
2. Five ye&r revenue and operating expense forecasts.
3. Fixed asset inventory systems for water, sanitation and general fund. 4. Investment monitoring,
5. Project cost accounting and contract management. (The recording of engineers
and planners time spent on capital projects or developers projects). 6. Water and sewer rate analysis.
7. Fleet management statistical reporting.
8. Soecial district assessments (lighting, improvement, maintenance, etc.).
9. Parks program registration and activity sch~duling.
10. Geo base data file.
11. Risk management statistical reporting.
12. Parts inventory for fleet maintenance.
13. Employee history files.
14. Employee insurance plan monitoring.
15. Ambulance billing and collection.
16. Building department statistical reporting.
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Funding is available as follows:
Funding Source
General Fund (Engineering)
Sanitation
Water
-Street Lighting
TOTAL
Total Price is based on:
Total
Amount
$ 5,000
10,000
24,570
2,000
36,570
ATTACHMENT 11 811
··· Amount to
Power House Power Plan
$ 3,000
6,000
10,170
1,500
20,670
Power Housa $19,500
Power Plan 152000
Sub Total 34,500
Tax@ 6% 2,070
TOTAL $36,570
$ 2,000
4,000
9,400
500