ITEM: 12.1 ADMINISTRATION- Robert Therres, Public Services Manager
Title
APPROVAL OF PROPOSAL TO CONFIGURE AND HOST CITY OF BLAINE'S UTILITY BILLING DATA
Background
At their September 6, 2012 meeting, Council postponed action on this item and requested staff to provide additional information regarding the staff recommendation.
Staff is requesting Council approval to accept a proposal from Sensus, the City's Automated Meter Reading (AMR) provider, to host the City's utility billing data.
In 2004, the City implemented the Sensus Fixed-Net Automated Meter Reading (AMR) System for Utility Billing. Per their bid, Sensus installed a system that employs unlicensed variable frequency radio technology to transmit water consumption information and consists of radios (attached at the water meter); signal boosters located at various points throughout the City; a receiving station located at City Hall; and a Data Operations Center (DOC) server, also located at City Hall. The DOC serves as the repository for water consumption data for all Blaine utility accounts. According to the agreement, this system carries a 20-year warranty on all hardware components, except the DOC. Thus, Sensus is responsible for maintaining all equipment that transmits data, while the City is responsible for maintaining all equipment that stores and processes data.
Sensus is in the process of migrating to new technology that will provide superior performance to that of the system originally purchased in 2004. The new system will provide a licensed radio frequency and a stronger radio signal - from the current one watt to two watts. The boost in the radio signal will help solve some recurring problems that the City has experienced in getting timely consumption readings on a number of utility accounts. Sensus will continue to support the original system and honor the 20-year warranty - any components for which Sensus is responsible, including radios, which fail while still under the 20-year warranty, will be replaced with new technology components at no cost to the City. The new technology should also allow for the reduction of the number of signal boosters used to transmit data. In addition to continuing to honor the original 20-year warranty, Sensus will also provide all of the transmitting hardware components required to move to the new system.
As part of their proposal, Sensus has also offered a "cloud" solution for off-site storage, or hosting, of utility data. Under the proposal, Sensus would host the City's utility billing data. The city-owned data would be housed on Sensus-owned servers and accessed by Blaine staff through a secure internet connection. A hosted solution provides cost savings for the City, including capital expenses for the purchase of servers and other computer hardware, annual maintenance costs for data storage and processing hardware, and software support for the programs that operate the storage and processing hardware.
One drawback to moving to the new technology would be the need to maintain two data bases, since the data originating from the two separate systems is not compatible. The resulting inefficiency is most significant in the billing area where separate processes, one for the old technology and one for the new technology, would be required in order to produce utility bills. Because of this drawback and the inefficiencies associated with it, staff has approached Sensus about the possibility of Sensus hosting all of the City's data, including the data that from the original system. This all-in-one solution would be more expensive, but would also result in additional cost savings. Additionally, the system would free up a number of staff hours in both the Utility Billing and IS divisions. A net present value analysis from the Finance Department indicates that when staff time is included as part of the City's costs, the hosted solution is a less expensive alternative than maintaining the system in-house.
In addition to being the less expensive alternative, the Sensus-hosted solution would not require: future investment in additional hardware; the need to invest in technology upgrades; continuous 24/7 maintenance and support of the system; and built-in redundancy, ensuring continued operations.
Recommendation
By motion, approve proposal by Sensus to host City's utility billing data.