Title
Utility Bill Outsourcing - Approval
History
On January 20, 2009, a Request for Proposals was sent to eleven companies that provide the service of printing, inserting and mailing utility bills. An advertisement was also placed in the local newspaper. Five companies responded to the Request for Proposals. Two companies were selected for the interview process.
During the interview process, staff determined that Infosend, Inc. was the most qualified company to provide utility printing services. Infosend has over 200 clients, 90 of which are municipal clients. Many of their municipal clients utilize the Village’s utility billing software vendor, Sungard HTE. Village bills will be printed at Infosend’s newest production site in Downers Grove, Illinois, a state of the art facility. Village staff plans to work in cooperation with Infosend to redesign the utility bill to include a water usage graph that many Village customers have requested.
Staff also recommends implementing Infosend’s electronic bill presentment service that allows Infosend to email an exact replica of the Village’s utility bill to customers. The email will include a link to the Village’s website for online payment using the new Click2Gov software. The Village will save on postage costs by offering this new service to Village customers. It is estimated that if 5% of the Village’s customers enroll in this service, the Village will save approximately $2,100 annually on postage.
It is recommended that Infosend Inc. be awarded the contract for a period of three (3) years. Initial set-up fees for bill print are being waived and the set-up fee for the email bill service is $1,500. The annual price for each printed utility bill for the next 3 years is $0.111, $0.115, and $0.117, respectively. Based on printing 137,000 utility bills per year, the annual cost equates to $15,207, $15,755, and $16,029. The annual price for each emailed utility bill for the next 3 years is $0.130, $0.134, and $0.138, respectively. Additional inserts into the utility bill would cost $.060, $.063, and $.066 for the next three years.
The contract will be at the prices stated above for each of the three years, unless 30 days written notice is given prior to the annual anniversary date of the executed contract.
On February 23, 2009, this item was reviewed and approved by the Finance Committee and referred to the Board for approval.
Financial Impact
The original budget for the utility bill printing service was $38,000. Payments to our current vendor will total $10,529 at the completion of their contract. The remaining $27,471 is sufficient to cover the costs of the email set up and the printing/emailing of the utility bills through the end of the fiscal year. Budget savings are estimated at approximately $14,000.
Recommended Action/Motion
I move to approve accepting the proposal by Infosend, Inc. for the printing, inserting, emailing, and mailing of utility bills,
and
to award Infosend the three year contract for $0.111 per printed utility bill for the first year, $0.115 for the second year, and $0.117 for the third year; and $0.130 per emailed utility bill for the first year, $0.134 for the second year, and $0.138 for the third year plus the cost of the email set up fee, and the cost of printing and inserting letters as stated.