Report to: General Committee Date of Meeting: 2006/04/24

SUBJECT: Paperless Agenda System

PREPARED BY: Sheila Birrell, Ext. 4729

RECOMMENDATION:

That, consistent with Markham’s high tech image and the green initiative, staff be authorized to implement a paperless agenda system for Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole and Council meetings concurrent with the new term of Council;

And that RFP 068-R-05 Electronic Agenda Software Management be awarded to the highest ranked and the lowest priced proponent, IKON, in the amount of $120,239.64 inclusive of disbursements, maintenance and support for four (4) years and exclusive of GST, to be funded from the Life Cycle Replacement and Capital Reserve;

And that the remaining costs associated with this project, not to exceed $100,000, be funded from the Replacement and Capital Reserve;

And that all Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole and Council meetings be held in the Council Chamber and that computer equipment be installed in the Chamber for Members of Council and Senior Management;

And that a Project Manager be contracted to manage the project during the election year.

RECOMMENDED

BY: ________________________ ________________________

Sheila Birrell Andy Taylor

Town Clerk Commissioner, Corporate Services

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This report recommends implementation of a paperless agenda system for all Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole and Council meetings. It represents a culture change and documents the components that require consideration essential to success. It speaks to the review process, the executive summary report format recently adopted by Council, the RFP process and environmental issues. The plan is to phase in the system, commencing with the agenda management portion, coincidental with the term of the new Council. Phase 1 includes the creation of a final agenda with hyper-links, posting it to the web, distributing it electronically to stakeholders and the use of the agenda and attachments during a meeting, together with minute taking and minute preparation.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Staff is recommending that the total costs associated with this project, not to exceed $220,240. be funded from the Life Cycle Replacement and Capital Reserve. The projected costs include $25,000 for a Project Manager, $50,000 for computer equipment

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS: (cont’d.)

and installation, $25,000 to retrofit the Council Chamber, and the $120,240 for the software, training and support. This project was discussed during budget discussions and Members of Council were advised that staff would bring forward a report once the RFP process was concluded. At that time, it was indicated staff would be requesting funds from the Life Cycle Replacement and Capital Reserve.

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial 5. Environmental

6. Accessibility 7^. Engage ^21st 8. Affected Units 9. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

To facilitate the implementation of a paperless agenda system for Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole and Council meetings.

BACKGROUND:

Investigation of a paperless agenda system has been ongoing for in excess of a year. Staff have investigated various software solutions. As well, both staff and Members of Council visited the County of Simcoe to view and discuss their paperless agenda system. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was released and two bonafide proposals were received. At the January 23^rd General Committee meeting both companies demonstrated their products for Members of Council. In addition, Members of Council were invited to participate in a “hands on” session involving both products.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Phasing - A phased in approach is anticipated. Timing between the phases has not been determined.

Phased-In Approach

Phase 1 – Clerk’s Department current processes utilizing the new system and the

electronic preparation and use of electronic agenda at meetings by

Councillors and staff

Phase 2 – Implement an electronic report circulation process with minimal

documentation management – involving all Commissions at the administrative

level only

Phase 3 – Expand the electronic report circulation process to include the approval

process – involving Senior Management– still involving

minimal document management

Phase 4 – Implement a Document Management System involving the whole Town

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION: (cont’d.)

Staff are recommending the Town adopt a paperless agenda system for the Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole and Council meetings. A paperless agenda system is consistent with Markham’s green initiative and its high tech image and fits well with the Town’s objective for organizational excellence. The costs associated with this project are estimated at $220,240. Given that implementation is scheduled during an election year that results in additional workload; an external Project Manager will be required.

In preparation for a paperless agenda system, staff recommended and approval was granted to implement changes to the reporting format. Council approved the use of an executive summary report format and agreed that the detailed information and attachments would be accessible by hyper-links. Members of Council and staff are being encouraged to familiarize themselves with the new format and the agenda electronically. Commencing with the April 18^th Development Services Committee meeting, the new report format has been used. Standing Committee agendas will continue to be produced in hardcopy but the Council agenda will not. Only the Council agenda pages will be printed, with the individual items being cross referenced to the pertinent Standing Committee agenda pages.

Stakeholder Input – This proposal represents a culture change that necessitates consideration of items such as annotation ability, display, phased-in approach (whether hard copies are made available for a period of time), meeting location, training preference, type of equipment and many more. A number of stakeholder meetings have been held and once the system has been approved, the meetings will continue and the communications plan and needs assessment/training will begin.

Following the “hands on” sessions, Members of Council and Senior Management who participated were polled to determine the satisfaction level. Of the twenty participants, eight responded to the survey and of those responding, 62.5 per cent consider training and after-sales service important (See Schedule “A”). The survey results indicate a preference for the IKON product for navigation, annotation, ease of use, and.

Given the results of the survey, and the fact IKON ranked higher during the RFP evaluation process, staff are recommending that the Town proceed with the IKON product and service.

Staff is recommending that all Standing Committee, Committee of the Whole and Council meetings be held in the Council Chamber and that computer equipment be installed for Members of Council, Senior Management and two stations for Members of the Public. Staff will ensure that the items under discussion will be displayed on the large screens and hard copies of the agenda pages will be made available for the public. Staff believe two public stations would be sufficient for the public to view specific reports given that members of the public are not all interested in the same matter. Schedule “B” is comprised of a picture of a work station for Members of Council and a schematic of a work station for Senior Management. Schedule “C” illustrates the

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION: (cont’d.)

proposed use of the Canada Room and the Council Chamber post implementation. Staff is continuing to research different types of technology and installers for the preferred option and a session allowing Members of Council and Senior Management to assess different solutions is being scheduled for June. The proposal is to undertake the necessary renovations to the Chamber in July.

It is necessary for Members of Council to consider the timing of the meetings, particularly with respect to the lunch and dinner breaks and their location. Schedule “D” provides some options in that regard. Staff is recommending Option 1, which basically

is the status quo, with the exception of commencing Committee of the Whole meetings at 4:30 p.m., rather than 5:00 p.m. with dinner in the York Room. This should ensure that Members of Council receive a half-hour dinner break. This is particularly important because In Camera meetings will be held in the Chamber in order to access the agenda.

RFP Electronic Agenda Software, Maintenance and Training

Bid Information:

Advertised, place and date Electronic Tendering Network

Bids closed on October 12, 2005

Number picking up bid documents 5

Number responding to bid 3

One company was disqualified for failing to comply with the RFP requirements.

Detailed Pricing Information: The financial scoring was calculated based on a formula where the lowest price (numerator) is divided by each proposed pricing (denominator) and then multiplied by the assigned weight of 30%. Note that prices are exclusive of GST.

Consultants Proposed Price Denominator Score

IKON $120,239.64 30.00

ClearFrame $137,376.00 26.26

Evaluation Results: The RFP was evaluated in two stages by an Evaluation Team consisting of staff from the Clerks, IT Department, Councillor Bill O’Donnell with Purchasing Department staff acting as the facilitator. Both proponents were invited to an interview for Stage 2 evaluation which was to clarify and demonstrate the technical requirements. The criteria used to evaluate the two submissions were:

• Qualifications, relevant experience and availability of lead consultant and team members
• Stage 1 – Software Requirements
• Stage 2 – Testing
• Service Level
• Price

O[PTIONS/DISCUSSION: (cont’d.

Although both firms met the necessary criteria, Ikon ranked highest at 63.55points.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (Separate Attachment):

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

A paperless agenda system would significantly reduce the amount of paper currently being used in the process. Approximately 65 trees each year or 650 trees over a ten year period would be preserved. The proposal is in line with Markham’s green initiative.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Complete agendas online would provide the general public access to all agendas, together with the detailed information and attachments.

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

Engage 21^st organizational values and service principles include innovation…continually striving to develop and apply new ideas, products and services, technologies and skills.

Engage 21^st also identifies the Town’s corporate goals of organizational excellence…to achieve excellence in managing and delivering quality services through quality people.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Members of Council and all Commissions were included in the demonstrations and hands on sessions.

ATTACHMENTS:

Schedule “A” – Graph on Importance of Training and Service

Schedule “B” – Schematics of Work Stations

Schedule “C” – Proposed Room Usage

Schedule “D” – Meal Break Options