Questions and Answers Utility Billing Software RFP 012126 Revised.pdf
PDF 167 KB Posted
- Attached to
- RFP Utility Billing Software
- Solicitation number
- S-KA0010-00015673
- Issued by
- Jackson County, Amity City, Oregon
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document issued by the City of Ashland, Oregon on January 21, 2026, in response to inquiries from plan holders regarding the Utility Billing Software RFP. The City seeks a comprehensive cloud-based utility billing software solution to serve approximately 15,000 customer accounts across Water, Wastewater, Stormwater, Electric, and Telecommunications services. Proposals were due by 2:00 PM PST on February 2, 2026, and may be submitted either electronically via OregonBuys or by mail. The City anticipates go-live within one year following contract execution and reserves the right to make a single vendor award or multiple awards evaluated separately by functional area, including billing, customer portal, and integrations. The evaluation period runs from February 3-20, 2026, with final City Council approval anticipated on March 3, 2026.
Key technical requirements clarified in this document include integration with ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise version 11.1 (with anticipated upgrade to 12.x within 6-12 months) with nightly data synchronization of the master service address list; general ledger integration with MUNIS by Tyler Technologies; and current Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technology with future Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) capability requiring bi-directional integration. The City requires conversion of eight years of historical data including billing history, payments, adjustments, service orders, and customer communications; cloud-based access with tablet capability; SOC and PCI-DSS compliance; data hosting within the United States; and concurrent user support for approximately ten internal users. Training will employ a combination of train-the-trainer, role-based, remote, and blended delivery methods. No exceptions to contractual terms are permitted post-award, though vendors may submit sample agreements for legal review. The City does not require additional cybersecurity standards beyond SOC and PCI-DSS compliance and has indicated that bilingual customer portal support may be implemented as a future phase rather than at go-live.
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ASHLAND | OREGON www.Ashlandoregon.gov
Purchasing
Questions and Answers Utility
Billing Software RFP
To: Plan Holders
Date: January 21, 2026
Clarifications to the Request for Proposals:
20 East Main Street Ashland, Oregon 97520 541.552.2009
1. Question: Please confirm whether proposals may be submitted either electronically via OregonBuys or in hard copy, and whether one submission method is preferred over the other.
Answer: Proposals can be submitted via OregonBuys or by mail per the RFP. Whichever works best for the vendor works for us, if everything is received by the due date and time.
2. Question: As noted in the Scope of Services, the City reserves the right to evaluate modules independently. Please confirm whether the City intends to make a single vendor award or multiple awards by functional area (e.g., billing, customer portal, integrations).
Answer: Please see most recent Q&A and Addendum. They will be evaluated separately.
3. Question: Would the City consider a customer payment portal and payment processing solution that is implemented in parallel with the selected utility billing system, provided all stated integration and security requirements are met?
Answer: Yes
4. Question: Please confirm whether exceptions or proposed alternatives to contractual terms may be submitted with the proposal and whether such terms may be negotiated post-award. Answer: No exceptions post award. You are welcome to submit sample agreements with your proposal, but these will be subject to review and approval by our legal team.
5. Question: The RFP references integration with ESRI ArcGIS. Please confirm the current ArcGIS environment/version in use and whether GIS data migration or synchronization is expected as part of implementation.
Answer: The current GIS environment utilizes ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise (Portal), version 11.1. An upgrade to ArcGIS Enterprise version 12.x is anticipated within the next 6–12 months, and the organization expects to continue applying future ESRI ArcGIS Enterprise updates and releases as http://www.ashlandoregon.gov/
Purchasing 20 East Main Street Ashland, Oregon 97520 541.552.2009 part of its normal system lifecycle. The proposed solution will be expected to maintain compatibility with and support integration across these version updates.
Integration with ArcGIS will include ongoing data synchronization. The master service address list, which serves as the authoritative GIS join layer, will be maintained within the GIS environment and synchronized to the Utility Billing system on a nightly basis. Specific synchronization methods and technical approaches will be confirmed during implementation.
A data migration effort is required as part of implementation, including the initial matching of the two existing datasets and schema updates to establish a consistent baseline. The data migration activities will be performed collaboratively between the organization and the selected vendor during the implementation phase.
6. Question: Approximately how many customer accounts, meters, and service locations are currently maintained and expected to be converted into the new system?
Answer: 15,000
7. Question: The RFP states that eight (8) years of historical data must be converted. Please confirm whether this includes billing history, payments, adjustments, service orders, and customer communications.
Answer: Yes, all of the above.
8. Question: The RFP specifies integration with MUNIS by Tyler Technologies. Please confirm whether this integration is required for general ledger, accounts receivable, or other financial functions.
Answer: General ledger
9. Question: Approximately how many concurrent internal users are expected at go-live and at full deployment?
Answer: 10
10. Question: Will City staff primarily access the system via desktop browsers, or are there requirements for mobile or tablet access for field or administrative users?
Answer: Primarily desktop, but we would like to be able to use on a tablet as well.
11. Question: Does the City require any offline functionality for system access, or will all access be online/cloud-based?
Answer: All access needs to be cloud based.
Purchasing 20 East Main Street Ashland, Oregon 97520 541.552.2009
12. Question: The Scope references customer communication via text and robocalling services. Please confirm whether the City expects these capabilities to be native to the billing system or integrated with third-party services.
Answer: Can be integrated through third-party.
13. Question: Are there specific billing, delinquency, or customer service KPIs that the system must track and report?
Answer: Yes, all statistics related to the above. Amounts, number of delinquency, number of payment plans, number of disconnections, number of notations on accounts for specific alerts.
14. Question: Please confirm the current meter reading technology in use (AMI vs. AMR) and whether integration with Itron is one-way or bi-directional Answer: We currently use AMR but will be moving toward AMI. Currently integration is one-way but needs to be available bi-directional in the future.
15. Question: Is bilingual or multilingual customer portal support required at go-live or planned as a future phase?
Answer: For the future is fine.
16. Question: The RFP references SOC and PCI-DSS compliance. Are there any additional cybersecurity standards (e.g., NIST) that must be met?
Answer: We do not require additional cybersecurity standards.
17. Question: Does the City require that data hosting be located within a specific geographic region, such as the United States or government cloud infrastructure?
Answer: Data hosting must be within the United States.
18. Question: Is there a target go-live timeframe the City is aiming for following contract execution?
Answer: We would like to be live within one year.
19. Question: What are the City’s expectations regarding penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, or third-party security audits?
Answer: Please refer to the Specification Checklist spreadsheet, under the Security section.
20. Question: Does the City prefer train-the-trainer, role-based training, remote training, or blended delivery methods?
Answer: A combination of all.
Keanna Khlafallah, Procurement Specialist City of Ashland
Answer: 10
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