REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RFP DESCRIPTION: UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE – RFP #2025-007

DUE DATE: NO LATER THAN JULY 16, 2025 @ 11:00 A.M. EST

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

INVITATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2

SCOPE OF SERVICES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ---------------------------------------------------------- 3

2.0 OBJECTIVE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

3.0 SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4

4.0 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4-5

5.0 PRODUCT PLATFORM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5-7

6.0 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS --------------------------------------------------------------- 7-23

7.0 UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES ---- 23-29

8.0 UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT ----------------------- 29-30

9.0 COMPANY AND FINANCIAL BACKGROUND ------------------------------------------- 30-33

10.0 PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS -------------------------------34

11.0 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------35

12.0 BILLING FOR SERVICES PROVIDED ----------------------------------------------------------35

13.0 CALENDAR OF EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------36

14.0 TERMS AND CONDITIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 36-39

15.0 UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE PRICING ------------------------------------------------- 40-41

16.0 MANDATORY PROPOSAL FORMS -------------------------------------------------------------42 O CONTRACTOR AFFIDAVIT -------------------------------------------------------------------43 O SUBCONTRACTOR AFFIDAVIT -------------------------------------------------------------44 O NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT ---------------------------------------------------------------45 O ADDENDUM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ------------------------------------------------------46

P . O . B o x 1 5 4 0 • T h o m a s v i l l e , G A 3 1 7 9 9 • 2 2 9 - 2 2 7 - 3 2 5 9 • F A X 2 2 9 - 2 2 7 - 3 2 4 3 • w w w . t h o m a s v i l l e . o r g

INVITATION

TO SUBMIT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR

UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE – RFP #2025-007

Dear Proposer:

The City of Thomasville is inviting all qualified vendors to submit a proposal to provide Utility Billing software solutions. The City of Thomasville desires to contract with a single vendor for all software and software maintenance, installation, conversion and support. However, the City of Thomasville reserves the right to evaluate each software application module on its own standard of performance, regardless of whether other or remaining application modules of the offeror are considered by the City of Thomasville. The City of Thomasville reserves the right to award the system to any one (1) offeror or a combination of offerors.

The City of Thomasville reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive minor irregularities, to consider minor variations of specifications that are clearly detailed, and to accept the most favorable proposal that appears to be in the best interest of the City of Thomasville.

Please submit a written detailed proposal for a comprehensive, fully integrated system, professional services and associated fees to implement, troubleshoot and maintain the system. Please structure your proposal in accordance with the requirements and specifications outlined in this Request for Proposal. Your proposal should address the issues and requirements in order as outlined on the following pages. Any deviations, additions, or deletions should be so noted.

Proposals shall be sealed and plainly marked “RFP #2025-007 UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE” and be received by the City Purchasing Office on or before Wednesday, July 16, 2025 @ 11:00 AM. Proposers shall submit one (1) signed original, three (3) paper copies of the Technical Proposal WITHOUT pricing , one (1) USB Flash drive with a copy of the Technical Proposal WITHOUT pricing, and one (1) separately sealed paper copy of the Proposal Project’s pricing/cost. Please submit your response in a sealed envelope, addressed as follows:

City of Thomasville RFP #2025-007 Utility Billing Software

Attn: Purchasing Administrator, Lori McCardle P.O. Box 1540 or (111 Victoria Place)

Thomasville, GA 31799 (31792)

Bids and all Addendums are available on the internet at www.thomasville.org. Click the WORK link and under the heading labeled “Doing Business with the City” click the link labeled “Bid Opportunities”.

If you have any questions concerning this RFP, please email Lori McCardle, at lori.mccardle@thomasville.org or purchasing@thomasville.org. Contact with City of Thomasville personnel regarding this solicitation, other than inquiries to the specific Procurement Agent noted above may be grounds for elimination from the selection process.

http://www.thomasville.org/ mailto:lori.mccardle@thomasville.org mailto:purchasing@thomasville.org

SCOPE OF SERVICES

1.0 Introduction and Background

The City of Thomasville is seeking to purchase and implement a Utility Billing Software Package to replace our current billing platform, which will allow us to manage customer accounts and bill utility customers.

The City of Thomasville is a member of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and provides utility services to a broad customer base. The Utilities Department serves 17,756 electric customers, 12,536 water customers, 3,909 gas customers, 9,373 sewer customers and 14,323 refuse customers within its service territory.

As we look forward to the future, the City of Thomasville believes we may be better served by partnering with a vendor who can provide billing for current and future services, provide excellent software support, and account for our current and future business rules as our customers’ needs change.

2.0 Objective

The City of Thomasville has the following core objectives in implementing a new utility billing solution:

• Provide dual roles as a billing system and a Customer Information System.

• Provide billing functions for essential utility services such as electricity (including residential and commercial consumption and demand), gas, water, sewer, stormwater, and refuse, with the capability to accommodate various rate types and structures.

• Pull in meter readings from the City of Thomasville’s Meter Data Management provider (Parsons), as well as the ability to pull readings in manual form from a Route Manager solution (Northrop Grumman).

• Provide a mobile customer service work order system to manage all services.

• Implement and integrate various external payment methods by offering a user-friendly online payment system, mobile applications for both Android and iOS and automated pay-by-phone capabilities.

Additionally, utilize Kiosks and Invoice Cloud as our payment processors to ensure secure transactions and seamless user experience across all platforms.

• Provide various interfaces to 3rd party vendors via flat files or API based upon predetermined methods and schedules.

• Provide a solution to create custom reports as requested by users. Automated reporting is also a requirement.

• Provide a means for the collection of bad debt funds for both active and inactive customers.

• Selection of a cost-effective solution that is easy to implement and manage. The solution selected will also provide open access to allow City IT services to provide the Utilities department with the customer support it requires.

• Selection of a Vendor with a proven solution that will provide the “Primary” base functional requirements within the most cost-effective manner, achieving the best Total Cost of Ownership.

3.0 Summary

The utility billing software must provide a comprehensive and complete solution to meet the “Primary” requirements per the functional, performance, information, and technology specifications contained herein. The City of Thomasville’s utility billing system will be implemented as the central platform for customer resource management, monthly billing, and accepting payments. The utility billing software is expected to have a minimum functional operational life of fifteen (15) years with regular updates, which could expand that functional lifespan for many additional years.

The core capabilities of the utility billing system must include the following:

• Support ALL the current City of Thomasville rates for services listed in the functional requirements.

• Must support future rates that may include, but not be limited to, Time-of-Use, Critical Peak Pricing, Real- Time Pricing, Pre-pay, and other rates necessary to support the City of Thomasville’s future goals.

• Provide a common Customer Relationship Management interface for ease of customer management.

• Provide customer-facing application(s) that allow for online or mobile payments.

• Prioritize security for transmitted and at-rest data as well as sensitive customer information that could be displayed on-screen.

• Support integration with the City of Thomasville’s existing and future Information Technology (IT) systems as defined in the functional specifications below.

The information gathered through this RFP process may be used to adjust the project scope, if needed.

Depending upon the costs of implementation and the availability of resources, the City may consider accelerating or postponing the implementation of one or more of the phases listed in the proposal.

4.0 Implementation Plan

It is recognized that an “out-of-box” solution may not meet the City’s needs in all areas. Therefore, the City is willing to evaluate current processes and adjust if/ where practical, or work with the vendor to customize certain aspects of the software. It is the intent of the City to keep any customization to a minimum and to adhere to industry’s best practices, in order to decrease costs and facilitate ongoing support.

In general, the vendor is expected to:

• Deliver a quality and fully integrated Microsoft Windows 365-based software solution, that will meet or exceed the RFP requirements.

• Provide qualified and experienced project management and technical resources to advise stakeholders during the analysis, design, implementation and support phases of the project.

• Provide the appropriate technical expertise to configure all related files to make the system 100% operational.

• Provide comprehensive education and training for system operations and configuration. Education should be provided in a hands-on environment with complete and necessary documentation and training manuals.

• Provide conversion labor to convert existing system data into the new applications. The vendor shall work with the current system vendor to ensure a 100% successful data conversion.

• Ensure all modules are complete, have been tested, and are ready for operation when training is complete.

• Provide follow-up training as needed, as well as dedicated support and customer service after the initial training and implementation of the system.

The City of Thomasville requires that each vendor prepare a detailed implementation plan outlining the required tasks, estimated hours, responsibilities, major deliverables, and timing. At a minimum, the RFP response will cover the following areas:

• Implementation approach

• Environment Installation, including supporting software (OS, DBMS, etc.) and hardware platform installation and configuration, if necessary. The vendor shall be responsible for assisting the City of Thomasville with configuring all required environments, including testing, training, and production.

• Data migration/conversion plan from the City of Thomasville’s existing billing solution to the proposed software solution.

• Application setup (tailoring, configuration, end-user setup)

• Application-level security design and configuration

• Design and development of custom reports

5.0 Product Platform

5.1 Technology Platform

5.1.1 Please provide the name of the vendor (including their address) submitting the proposal that the City of Thomasville will use to enter into a contractual agreement. Additionally, include the name and contact information for a single point of contact, which should encompass their phone number, email address, physical address, and fax number.

Response:

5.1.2 The City of Thomasville requires that the proposed software package maintain confidentiality and adhere to high-security standards. What security measures does the software implement to protect data?

Is the data encrypted while stored on the server, or is it only encrypted during transmission?

Additionally, what level of encryption is utilized?

Response:

5.1.3 Is the proposed software solution cloud-based or hosted on-premises?

5.1.4 Does the software support installation on a VMware host if it is deployed on-premises?

5.1.5 Does the proposed software solution support integration with Active Directory for authentication and permission management?

5.1.6 Outline the methods for accessing the proposed billing software, such as a web browser, custom application, remote desktop protocol (RDP) into the server, or a mobile app.

5.1.7 Runtime Environment: Identify all software present in the solution’s runtime environment, including any external dependencies. Specify any third-party software that Thomasville must acquire to operate the billing solution that is not included in the bundled offering provided by the proposer.

5.1.8 If third-party licenses are necessary to access the proposed software (e.g., Microsoft SQL Client Access Licenses), please specify below. Include any costs associated with third-party licensing in the proposal.

5.1.9 Please include at least five (5) screenshots of the graphical user interface (GUI).

5.1.10 Please specify the operating systems that the proposed billing solution supports.

5.1.11 Please create a hardware architecture diagram that outlines all the major system components necessary to fulfill the City of Thomasville's requirements for the proposed billing solution. Additionally, include recommended architecture designs for non-production environments, such as development, testing, and disaster recovery.

5.1.12 Determine the specific hardware requirements, such as memory, processor quantity, and interconnectivity, needed to support both production and non-production environments, including development, testing, and disaster recovery.

Response:

5.1.13 Provide or describe a typical release plan for new software releases. This plan should address customer communications, code release and transmittal, customer support under a service agreement, typical release implementation and impacted system availability, implementation instructions, and typical back-out recommendations.

6.0 Functional Requirements

The City of Thomasville has established specific processes and business rules for our organization and customers.

The following requirements are essential to maintain standard operations for the City of Thomasville.

6.1.1 The City of Thomasville utilizes Tyler Technologies’ financial management software for bookkeeping and accounting. The proposed software solution must integrate with Tyler Technologies’ Munis system.

Please explain the methods used for this integration.

6.1.2 The City of Thomasville requires printing to email (sending a copy via email attachment), printing to PDF, printing to a single hardware printer (paper copy), printing to multiple hardware printers at once (paper copy), and the capability to print to any of the above methods at the same time.

Response:

6.1.3 Can the proposed software solution generate reports, letters, work orders, and other documents as needed by the City of Thomasville staff? Is it easy to modify the formatting when required?

Response:

6.1.4 The City of Thomasville has collaborated with Milsoft Utility Solutions to offer IVR services for bill payments and account inquiries. Does the proposed software solution integrate with Milsoft’s IVR system?

Response:

6.1.5 The City of Thomasville's current billing software can create, store, and automatically generate correspondence letters for customers based on specific criteria. Does the proposed software solution support this functionality? Additionally, does it allow for the editing of letters and criteria as needed?

Response:

6.1.6 Does the proposed software solution support creating, editing, and managing signatures for automatic letters, in addition to storing the letters?

Response:

6.1.7 The City of Thomasville has partnered with a third-party vendor to create a customer web portal and mobile app. The authentication method for both the web portal and mobile application uses OAuth to access a database stored on the web server's backend system. If the proposed software solution includes its own mobile app or web portal, can it leverage the third-party backend database for authentication via OAuth for customer-accessed services? The aim is to allow customers to use a single set of login credentials for all customer-facing communication channels.

6.1.8 Does the proposed software solution include built-in GIS mapping capabilities? If so, which services can be mapped? Please explain in detail the available GIS capabilities.

Response:

6.1.9 The City of Thomasville utilizes an ArcGIS server to map all the services we provide. Will the proposed software solution be able to integrate with our existing ArcGIS server? What types of data can be exchanged between the software and the current server? Additionally, can the City of Thomasville's server be used as the primary GIS server for the data accessed by the proposed software solution?

Response:

6.1.10 Does the proposed software solution allow the creation of routes for meter readings that can be accessed by staff in the field using mobile devices?

Response:

6.1.11 Does the proposed software solution have the capability to geocode individual services (latitude/longitude)? Can equipment assigned to a customer’s location also be geocoded?

Response:

6.1.12 The City of Thomasville offers refuse services and currently collaborates with Facility Dude Inc. by utilizing their Mobile311 product. This application is designed to create routes for garbage pickup and manage mobile work orders, such as reporting missing, broken, or skipped cans. Can the proposed software solution integrate with the Mobile311 application through an API?

Response:

6.1.13 The City of Thomasville’s current billing software features a screen that displays container numbers, account numbers, service codes, latitude/longitude, and pickup days for the specified refuse container.

Does the proposed software solution have the capability to replicate this functionality?

6.1.14 The City of Thomasville bills customers in cycles, which may include multiple routes within each cycle.

Does the proposed software solution support billing in these cycles?

Response:

6.1.15 Does the proposed software solution support secondary accounts linked to a primary account?

Response:

6.1.16 Detail the search and inquiry functions of the proposed software solution. Specifically, outline how customers, accounts, and services can be located within the software.

Response:

6.2 Customer Relations: The Customer Relations Department of the City of Thomasville assists customers who may have difficulty paying their bills or who require special exemptions, such as penalty exemptions, cutoff exemptions, or medical alerts. The current billing software features dedicated screens for these functions. In contrast, while the proposed solution does not need to replicate the exact workflow, it must achieve the same outcomes.

6.2.1 Customers with delinquent accounts must be able to process all services or select individual services on their account.

6.2.2 When a customer becomes delinquent for the first time in a calendar year, the current system generates a notification order to ensure that a door card is delivered to the customer. Additionally, it grants the customer a three-day extension before the cutoff date. Will the proposed solution be able to achieve this?

6.2.3 The proposed software should be able to generate late fees for delinquent accounts.

6.2.4 When a customer is delinquent, the system must be able to create either a Notify Order, as described above, or a Cutoff Order for a technician to disconnect services at the location.

6.2.5 When an account is marked as delinquent, can the proposed solution create an automatic note on the account identifying it as delinquent for historical purposes?

6.2.6 The City of Thomasville’s current billing platform uses a collections process for processing delinquent accounts. A process is typically run every day to identify delinquent customers. There are days that the City does not run the process; therefore, the process will need the ability to process multiple days on the next run. How does the proposed solution identify delinquent accounts? Is a manual report run, or does the software have a built-in process that flags the delinquent account? If a manual report needs to be run, does the software allow multiple days to be run in a single report, or does each day require its own report to be run?

Response:

6.2.7 As a part of the delinquent process, when an account has not been paid in full by the due date, the City of Thomasville’s current billing software will create a “Friendly Reminder Letter” once every year and it will also place a hold on the account, giving the customer additional time to pay. Letter formatting and content editing are available within the current software. Does the proposed software solution have the capability of creating and modifying letter(s) within the system? Does the proposed software solution have the capability of automatically printing a letter based on criteria specified by the City of Thomasville and placing a hold on the account?

6.2.8 When an account becomes delinquent, does the proposed software package allow for cutting off individual services or all services on the account?

6.2.9 The software solution must be capable of managing holds and alternate due dates.

6.2.10 When a deposit is required for service, whether for a new or existing account, the proposed software solution must be capable of creating a cutoff work order if the deposit is not paid by the due date.

Response:

6.2.11 In certain situations, the City of Thomasville permits customers to establish contract payments for accounts with balances that cannot be settled in full at once. Does the proposed software support contract payments?

Response:

6.2.12 When adding a contract payment to an account, the proposed software should allow for one, multiple, or all services to be included in the contract. It should also enable the user to place either the full bill or a specific amount of the bill for each service on the contract.

Response:

6.2.13 If an account has more than two returned checks each year, it must be designated as a "cash only" account, meaning that cash is the only accepted payment method.

Response:

6.2.14 The software must support multiple hold types: one-time without charge, one-time with charge, and fixed hold (also known as alternate due date).

Response:

6.2.15 A record of bad debt must be maintained for several years, as determined by the City of Thomasville at the time of installation.

Response:

6.2.16 A report must be available listing all customers with bad debt.

6.2.17 If a final billed customer has not paid their account balance in full within 90 days, the current billing software used by the City of Thomasville flags the customer’s Social Security Number (SSN) as indicative of bad debt. As a result, the customer will not be able to open a new account until the outstanding debt is paid or until they agree to transfer the bad debt to the new account under a contractual agreement. Does the proposed software solution meet these requirements?

Response:

6.2.18 Access to customer contact information must be easy and flexible to edit. The City of Thomasville's current software includes fields for primary and secondary account contact information, specifically for email, telephone, and alternate phone numbers. Does the proposed software solution allow for the addition of multiple fields for primary and secondary account contacts? If so, please specify the available contact information fields.

Response:

6.2.19 The City of Thomasville utilizes Milsoft Utility Solutions’ Outage Management System (OMS) for handling customer calls about power outages. Does the proposed software system support integration with Milsoft’s IVR/OMS solution for outage notifications?

Response:

6.2.20 The City of Thomasville utilizes TextPower's texting gateway solution to send and receive messages to customers about delinquent accounts and service outages. Does the proposed software solution support integration with TextPower's SMS gateway for notifications regarding delinquencies and outages?

Response:

6.2.21 The City of Thomasville’s current billing platform can send email notifications to customers about delinquent accounts. Does the proposed software solution enable automatic email notifications for delinquent accounts to customers?

Response:

6.2.22 The software solution must allow customers to choose either a paper or electronic bill.

6.2.23 The City of Thomasville permits accounts to be designated with a medical alert status. This designation must be renewed each year and requires customer notification before services are disconnected due to nonpayment. Upon renewal, a letter is automatically generated for the customer. Does the proposed software solution allow accounts to be marked as Medical Alert (or a similar designation) to prevent electric service cutoffs without prior notification? Additionally, can the proposed software store the renewal letter and link it to the account for easy access? Finally, does the proposed software have the capability to flag the account as the letter renewal date approaches?

Response:

6.2.24 In certain situations, a customer may receive a special exemption, such as a cut-out exemption, tax exemption, or late-fee exemption. The proposed software must have the functionality to designate accounts or services as exempt for various reasons.

6.3 Cashiering: The Cashiering Department of the City of Thomasville handles payment processing for all services. Customers can choose to pay through various methods, including online, via a mobile application, over the phone using IVR (Interactive Voice Response), in person at the office, or by using the after-hours drop box. In our drive-thru, we accept payments in cash, personal checks, business checks, money orders, and credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.

6.3.1 The City of Thomasville accepts Energy Assistance payments for customer accounts. These payments may come from either government or private organizations. When assistance is received, it is received in the form of a single check covering multiple customers and accounts or a check that applies to just one account. The proposed software solution should be capable of accepting Energy Assistance payments and must allow these payments to be allocated to one or multiple specific services, as needed.

Response:

6.3.2 When Energy Assistance is applied to an account, either directly or through a promise to pay, does the proposed software have the capability to automatically create a note on the account?

Response:

6.3.3 In some instances, Energy Assistance is promised to a customer, but the payment may not arrive before the bill’s due date. In such cases, the City of Thomasville requires a “promise to pay” feature so that the customer’s account is not terminated after the due date, but before the Energy Assistance payment is received. Does the proposed software solution allow for the entry of Energy Assistance “Promise to Pay” payments and provide a notation on the account to prevent disconnection?

6.3.4 The City of Thomasville accepts payments in cash, personal checks, business checks, money orders, and credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. Does the proposed solution have the capability to accept all these payment methods?

Response:

6.3.5 The City of Thomasville will continue using Invoice Cloud for credit card processing. Does the proposed software solution support Invoice Cloud as the processor?

Response:

6.3.6 Does the proposed software solution support the automatic processing of bank drafts and credit card transactions?

Response:

6.3.7 If a customer has multiple accounts with the City of Thomasville, does the proposed software solution allow payments for all accounts to be made at once, or can only one account be paid at a time?

Response:

6.3.8 Does the proposed software solution provide a web service or API for integration with third-party mobile or web applications? If so, is there a specific method or call that needs to be used?

Response:

6.3.9 Does the proposed software solution include a mobile app for payments and billing history?

6.3.10 Does the proposed software solution include an integrated web portal for payments and billing usage history?

Response:

6.3.11 The City of Thomasville has a limit on credit card payments each month. Does the proposed software allow for setting this limit?

Response:

6.3.12 The proposed software solution must incorporate credit balances on customer accounts and apply them accordingly in the next billing cycle.

Response:

6.3.13 The software solution must indicate how payment was received, such as via Dropbox, mobile app, web portal, in-person, or IVR.

Response:

6.3.14 As mentioned earlier, accounts may be designated as “cash only.” Is it possible for any account to be marked as accepting only cash payments? Will a notification be displayed on the screen to inform the cashier that the account is cash only? Additionally, will the proposed software update be integrated with the IVR, mobile app, or web portal to prevent customers from making payments through those channels?

Response:

6.3.15 Does the proposed software solution have the ability to print a receipt when a customer pays in person?

Response:

6.3.16 The proposed software solution must print daily reconciliation reports for cashiers.

6.4 Customer Care: The Customer Care department is responsible for setting up new accounts, transferring existing accounts to new locations, and making general account changes. Additionally, Customer Care serves as the front-line call center for the City of Thomasville. In this role, staff members handle calls related to all services offered by the City and troubleshooting or routing inquiries as needed.

6.4.1 Does the proposed software solution allow for marking available services at a location and identifying whether that location falls within city limits? If so, please provide a detailed explanation of how this is achieved.

Response:

6.4.2 When an issue occurs with an account, a work order is created in the current billing system. This work order can be printed on a physical printer and/or sent via email. Does the proposed software solution support the generation and management work orders? If so, can the software print work orders to one or multiple printers, and send electronic copies via email?

Response:

6.4.3 In the current billing system, all customer locations are verified using a USPS-based address verification tool. Does the proposed software solution include an integrated USPS-based address verification tool that can verify all locations as recognized by USPS? If it does, is this tool built into the software, or is it a separate application?

Response:

6.4.4 Does the proposed software solution allow the transfer of unpaid charges and deposits when a customer changes locations?

Response:

6.4.5 Does the proposed software solution keep a detailed record of service and payment history? If so, how long is this information retained?

6.5 Billing: The Billing Department is responsible for all functions related to billing within the organization. This includes tasks such as reading meters, making adjustments, and managing monthly book and cycle processing. The City of Thomasville utilizes AMR (Automated Meter

Reading) meters for electric, water, and gas services. Accounts lacking AMR meters require the billing department to dispatch personnel for manual readings.

6.5.1 As previously stated, most utility accounts in the City of Thomasville utilize AMR meters for automated readings.

Parsons is the vendor responsible for aggregating the readings from all AMR meters. Does the proposed software solution have the capability to extract meter readings from Parsons? If so, how is this integration achieved?

Response:

6.5.2 For manually read meters, the City of Thomasville utilizes Northrop Grumman’s RouteManager for meter readings. Does the proposed software solution have the capability to extract meter readings from RouteManager? If so, what is the process for this integration?

Response:

6.5.3 Does the proposed software solution support Budget Billing? The City of Thomasville currently calculates the monthly charge for the next eleven (11) months by averaging the previous twelve (12) months’ usage. The process should include automated midterm letters. The solutions must also provide a reconciliation process at the end of the customer’s term. If it does not support this feature, how does the software determine the monthly Budget Billing amount?

Response:

6.5.4 Does the proposed software solution support Levelized Billing? Levelized Billing calculates the monthly payment by averaging the current month's usage with that of the previous 12 months. This payment may vary slightly as the system continuously updates each new month’s data, but there is no specific reconciliation month where all adjustments are made at once. The process operates in this cycle until the customer chooses to opt out of the program. This approach helps to distribute seasonal peaks and valleys in usage more evenly throughout the year.

6.5.5 When an account is opened, closed, or transferred during a billing period, it may be necessary to pro-rate the services. Does the software have the capability to pro-rate accounts based on the duration of service during the billing cycle?

6.5.6 The City of Thomasville currently utilizes MuniCode Corporation for bill printing. After each billing cycle, a file is sent to MuniCode, which handles the printing and mailing of the statements. Can the proposed software solution generate a billing file that meets MuniCode's specifications for formatting, printing, and mailing the bills as required? If it cannot, please provide an alternate solution.

Response:

6.5.7 To better serve customers, the City of Thomasville offers “On-Bill Financing” for energy-related upgrades that meet specific criteria. Does the proposed software solution support installment payments for qualifying residential upgrades?

Response:

6.5.8 Does the proposed software solution permit manual account adjustments by applying transactions immediately to the account or billing them on the next statement?

Response:

6.6 Security: Security is a critical concern for the City of Thomasville. The Proposer's utility billing software solution must possess suitable architecture, design, and processes to securely manage the City's information. The City of Thomasville uses Active Directory for its enterprise user authentication, role-based access control, and authorization.

6.6.1 To protect customers from unauthorized account changes, the City of Thomasville assigns each account a unique PIN. Does the proposed software support this? If not, please explain how you safeguard customer accounts.

Response:

6.6.2 Customer data security is a top priority. Does the proposed software solution have the capability to obscure or encrypt sensitive customer information fields, such as Social Security Numbers and bank or credit card details?

6.6.3 Access Control: The proposed software solution must include access control features. Proposers should describe methods for implementing user and role-based access, as well as how they will detect and alert on failed access attempts.

6.6.4 Authentication: Describe the use of Active Directory for the proposed billing software solution, focusing on role and user-based authentication services. Include methods and mechanisms to detect and alert for failed authentication attempts.

6.6.5 Confidentiality: Describe solution methods, processes, or other components available to support solution confidentiality relative to the users and solution resources being used. Include approaches and mechanisms to detect and alert confidentiality compromise attempts.

6.6.6 Audit: Please describe methods, processes, and components available for conducting audit functions related to solution users and resources. This includes, but is not limited to, system logs, database logs, transaction logs, and process logs. Additionally, outline the approaches and mechanisms for detecting and alerting failed auditing compromise attempts.

6.6.7 Outline the security roadmap for the utility billing solution, detailing investment rationale, key objectives, relevant metrics, and priorities about market and regulatory drivers, threat assessments, and testing protocols.

6.6.8 Integrating a Security Development Lifecycle within the overall Development Lifecycle is crucial. This involves methodologies, tools, best practices, and quality gates to ensure security throughout the development process.

6.6.9 Describe the types of security testing/certification, both executed by the Proposer and executed via a 3rd party, that have been performed on the utility billing Software. List any 3rd party certifications achieved.

Include any test reports, vulnerabilities found, remediation conducted, and evidence of re-testing.

Response:

6.6.10 Multifactor Authentication. The utility billing software solution must support multifactor authentication.

Describe solution methods, processes, or other components available to support multifactor authentication frameworks. This may include additional proprietary authentication mechanisms.

6.6.11 Describe approaches and mechanisms for Malware protection within the solution, including but not limited to anti-virus or other anti-malware components. Describe approaches and mechanisms to detect and alert failed Malware protection compromise attempts.

6.6.12 The utility billing software solution must incorporate administrative security measures. Describe the strategies and mechanisms for managing security within the system, including methods to detect and alert attempts to compromise security administration.

Response:

6.6.13 If selected, the City of Thomasville may conduct a third-party security review or penetration test of the Proposer's solution before production implementation. Any identified security issues must be resolved by the Proposer at their expense before implementation. Proposers must acknowledge their understanding and agreement with this requirement.

6.7 Reporting: To effectively utilize the utility billing software, the City of Thomasville requires strong reporting capabilities. The Proposer should detail the software’s reporting features, highlighting out-of-the-box options, user-configurable settings, and any additional reporting packages. The City prefers Crystal Reports, which should allow for report generation at any time. The Proposer must also provide a list of standard reports included with the software solution.

6.7.1 Proposer's solution will enable authorized users to generate ad-hoc reports. Please identify its compatibility with third-party reporting tools such as Crystal Reports and SQL Reports, in detail.

6.7.2 The proposed solution must provide selected reports in digital formats such as PDF, Excel, etc. (Please describe it in detail.)

6.7.3 The solution proposed must allow for scheduling selected reports to be posted in a designated directory or on a website.

6.7.4 The proposed solution must allow for configuring the structure and format of reports in detail.

6.7.5 In the current billing solution, manual queries are executed against the backend database and then formatted using Microsoft Excel. Does the proposed software solution have the capability to run SQL queries directly against the backend database? If it does not, are there other methods available that offer similar functionality?

6.8 Maintenance: Routine maintenance of the utility billing software solution includes regular updates, performance checks, and bug fixes. This maintenance may require the application to be offline during certain periods. Maintenance should be conducted monthly and may take several hours, depending on the scope of work necessary.

6.8.1 Outline the process for certifying the utility billing software application when applying patches or updates to the operating system and third-party software.

6.8.2 Please describe the process for implementing planned and unplanned patches or upgrades to the utility billing software and the host operating systems. Specifically, indicate whether these tasks require the application to be offline and for what duration. Additionally, clarify how the patch or upgrade can be rolled back either during or after the update process is completed.

6.8.3 All software and related release documentation must be provided electronically. This documentation includes release notes, application notes, configuration information, and installation details. The Proposer must explain how it will comply with this requirement.

7.0 Utility Billing Software Project Implementation Services

7.1 Utility Billing Deployment Project Management: The City of Thomasville is requesting baseline service models and pricing for the implementation of project services described below. The City of Thomasville requires a fixed price bid (Not to Exceed) for all services. The City of Thomasville understands that this will depend on the full scope of contracted work.

7.1.1 Provide a comprehensive project plan and approach, which includes the project schedule, resource requirements, task interdependencies, deliverables and their contents, major milestones, and checkpoints.

7.1.2 Summarize the project team proposed by the Proposer. Represent the project team members in an organizational chart and outline each member's roles and responsibilities.

7.1.3 Please provide the City of Thomasville with an estimate of the operational support resources needed to implement and manage the proposed utility billing software solution. The proposer should clearly outline the necessary tasks, as well as the number and skill level of resources required.

7.1.4 The proposer must support the City of Thomasville in creating and maintaining the comprehensive project plan, which includes the project schedule, resource requirements, task interdependencies, major milestones, and checkpoints.

7.1.5 The proposer must conduct an initial project risk assessment and develop a mitigation strategy with input from the City of Thomasville. Proposers are required to provide updates and assist the City of Thomasville in managing risks and dependencies throughout the project lifecycle.

7.1.6 The proposer is required to provide the City of Thomasville with updates on project issues, action items, and resolutions to ensure that the issue/action item log remains current. Additionally, the proposer must attend the regularly scheduled project status meetings as specified by the project team. Attendance at these meetings can be done remotely via conference calls.

7.1.7 Outline the standard internal QA process for handling major and minor releases, patches, and other updates before delivering the code to the City of Thomasville.

7.1.8 Outline the standard change management process for utility billing software in support of communications, transmittals, installation, and validation of major and minor releases for the City of Thomasville.

7.1.9 Identify System Integration companies experienced in providing integration services for the proposer’s utility billing solution. Provide an overview of their experience scope, including product installation, configuration, maintenance support, and more.

7.2 Documentation List

7.2.1 Provide a comprehensive list of all system documentation to be made available, including a Table of Contents and an Index for each document. This includes solution architecture documents, operations manuals, administration manuals, training manuals, integration, and more.

7.3 Training

7.3.1 The proposer must submit an example training plan outlining how they envision delivering training services to the City of Thomasville, such as through webinars or on-site sessions. The City of Thomasville intends to provide a dedicated configuration team, which will consist of representatives from each supporting organization. This team will be responsible for the initial installation, configuration, and testing of the system, as well as delivering training to other members within the organization.

Response:

7.4 Technical Support

7.4.1 Please provide a description of the technical support levels available, including response times, phone support, email support, on-site support, and 24/7 availability. Additionally, detail the number and type of personnel currently available or those who will be available to provide these support services. Include information regarding the implementation and initial configuration support available both on-site and off-site. Lastly, provide a calendar listing the holiday dates typically observed by support personnel.

7.5 Requirements Specifications

7.5.1 The proposer is required to develop and document the system configuration, and customization needs to meet the business requirements of the City of Thomasville. This task encompasses both the mandatory and optional functions outlined in this RFP. Additionally, the proposer must supply the standard product configuration tools and relevant documentation to assist in this process.

7.5.2 The proposer must clearly define and document the requirements for converting essential data from existing data stores to the new utility billing solution.

7.5.3 The proposer must consult with the City of Thomasville to develop and document the overall system integration requirements, including data transformation needs, frequency or invocation mechanisms, latency requirements, exception handling criteria, and more.

7.5.4 The proposer must supply standard system administration and database management manuals and offer consultation services to the City of Thomasville. This consultation will assist in developing the specific requirements for the City’s utility billing software administration and support. This includes aspects such as user account management, security management, database management, backup and restore procedures, and system performance management.

7.6 Hardware and Infrastructure

7.6.1 The proposer must specify the computer hardware, operating systems, LAN/WAN configurations, and other infrastructure requirements necessary to support the technical and performance needs of the utility billing software solution, with input from the City of Thomasville. The specifications should encompass environments for development, testing, production, and disaster recovery. This includes details on database and application servers, user workstations, LAN/WAN requirements, and more.

7.6.2 The proposer must offer on-site support, guidance, and "train-the-trainer" training during the initial installation and configuration of the utility billing software. Proposers are responsible for leading validation and tuning efforts to ensure the proper configuration of the hardware.

7.7 Testing

7.7.1 The proposer must assist with the system's integration, performance, availability, user acceptance, and final site acceptance tests. It is important to note that unit testing is considered a part of the development process and is, therefore, the responsibility of the product suppliers or developers.

7.7.2 The proposer must submit their standard test plan, which will be customized to address the specific needs of the City of Thomasville. At a minimum, the test plan should include the following types of tests: system tests, integration tests, performance tests, stress tests, availability tests, security tests, and final end-to-end process acceptance tests. Additionally, for each test, the plan must outline the required hardware and software, the test data, the necessary resources, and the acceptance criteria.

7.7.3 The proposer is responsible for developing integrated test procedures based on the standard test procedures they provide. This includes all tests specified in the test plan, along with the expected results for each test. At a minimum, the test procedures must encompass functional tests, integration tests, business process operational tests, performance tests, availability tests, scalability and stress tests, as well as security tests.

7.7.4 The City of Thomasville will supply the necessary data for testing. If this test data is not readily available, the proposer must provide a sample of standard test data.

Response:

7.7.5 The proposer must provide on-site assistance during the final system acceptance testing to ensure the system is ready to support end-to-end business processes.

7.8 Configuration/Version Management

7.8.1 With input and participation from the proposer, the City of Thomasville will devise and document the plan and processes for maintaining the configurations and versions of hardware, software, and documents received over the project development and deployment lifecycle. Hardware configurations must include application servers, database servers, user workstations, as well as networking infrastructures.