RPVCCA_CC_SR_2015_04_07_04_GIS_Support_ModelCITY OF RANCHO
PALOS VFRDES
MEMORANDUM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR & CINCIL MEMBERS
FROM: DAN LANDON, IT MANAGER
DATE: APRIL 7, 2015
SUBJECT: GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT
MODEL
REVIEWED: DOUG WILLMORE, CITY MANAGERA4/L)
CAROLYNN PETRU, DEPUTY CITY MANAGE
RECOMMENDATION
Direct Staff to create an in-house, full time GIS Coordinator position and include it in the
FY15-16 Budget with a mid-range salary of $85,800 per year.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
During the planning phase of the IT Services RFP Solicitation, the City's consultant,
Nexlevel Information Technology (Nexlevel) recommended and Staff agreed that in order
to have the most possible qualified candidates, the City should separate the IT Services
RFP from the GIS support model decision. In December, 2014, staff recommended and
City Council approved releasing the IT Services without GIS support and subsequently
addressing GIS support. With the culmination of the IT Services RFP, Staff requested an
analysis from Nexlevel regarding our GIS support model.
Nexlevel reviewed the role GIS plays in the City, the integration of GIS processes into daily
operations and management decisions, and the current number of GIS Centric or
integrated systems, as well as our Five (5) Year IT model that includes the addition of an
Infrastructure and Asset Management System as well as a Land Management, Projects
and Permitting system. Nexlevel determined that with the strategic nature of GIS in City
operations, it was important to insure control over the system, the retention of institutional
knowledge and the dedicated support of a City staff person, and that the City should create
a full-time in-house GIS staff position and hire for that position.
1
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 2 of 10
Staff agrees with the Nexlevel assessment to hire a full-time GIS Coordinator position
based on the overall strategic nature GIS plays in the City, particularly due to the varied
and unique terrain in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, the public interest in natural
resource preservation, coastal issues, view restoration activities, and the unique challenges
faced in City land management and infrastructure projects. Understanding the current
heavy volume of GIS work required to maintain and update the City's almost 300 active
data layers in GIS, and the subsequent increase in GIS work that will be required based on
the additional data requirements when the Public Works and Community Development
systems are implemented, Staff is confident that a full-time equivalent (FTE) position will
be required.
A full-time GIS Coordinator provides the city with a dedicated staff person who can deal
with vendors and interns for projects and data collection, will insure City data and
information are robust, coordinated, documented and properly managed. They will be
available to support systems, integrations and other City GIS needs quickly and without
additional services costs and will have a much higher likelihood of remaining consistent,
with a high level of institutional knowledge of historical system changes, data in the system,
and system requirements for future enhancements.
There are two other service model options available to the City, a hybrid service model and
a service provider model. In the hybrid model, a part time GIS Coordinator is contracted
with or hired to work 28 hours per week, supplemented as needed with a GIS services
provider either for high level assistance or for GIS field work that can be completed with
entry level technicians. This model lacks the attention a full time staff member would have
for the GIS system, and has a greater risk of losing that person due to their part time
status, but it does have the advantage of being a conservative approach and the City can
document the actual number of support hours needed for future analysis. In the service
provider model, an RFP would be issued for a services provider to support City GIS. There
are several disadvantages due to the outsourced nature of the position, lack of consistent
staffing and outsourced staff would need to advocate with vendors on the City's behalf, but
there is the advantage of a greater availability of staff to cover the position for vacations or
illness and a deeper level of expertise for advanced projects.
GIS support is a critical professional service for the City and while cost is important, a
poorly performing services provider can cause extensive, even irreparable damage to the
GIS system. GIS management requires extensive communication with outside vendors on
the City's behalf, and an in-depth understanding of the system and retention of institutional
knowledge is critical because of the extensive integrations with GIS Centric business
systems. It is because of the critical nature of GIS to municipalities that Nexlevel
recommended, and most municipalities with fully functional GIS systems have in-house
GIS staff in order to take full advantage of the productivity and informational benefits that
GIS provides into the future.
2
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 3 of 10
BACKGROUND
The City has contracted support for the GIS system with Palos Verdes on the Net (PVNET)
since 2003, using a full-time GIS Manager working out of the PVNET Annex building. Each
year, the City gathers more information from outside governmental sources, contracted
projects, and in-house projects completed by PVNET. Most data is gathered in the field
using a GPS enabled handheld devices to mark coordinates of City assets and other items
of interest, and the GIS Manager geo-locates (attaches GPS coordinates) to "pin" them to
map points inside the GIS System. The GIS activities have over the years resulted in a
large accumulation of Land and Infrastructure data comprising almost 1,000 total layers of
data, with almost 300 layers being used regularly by Staff and decision makers (see Exhibit
B, Page 16).
During the planning phase of the IT Services RFP with Nexlevel Technology (Nexlevel), it
was suggested, and City Council approved, that the City should separate IT Services
components from the GIS components of City technology bid process in order to have the
most choice when it came to services providers for each category of service. With the IT
Services RFP complete, the City should now turn its attention to the critical GIS services
component of technology operations within the City.
INFORMATION
GIS is a critical strategic decision making and planning tool commonly used by
municipalities in day to day operational activities, management decision making processes
and as an enabler for citizen engagement including the submission and tracking of services
requests. GIS is particularly important to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes because of our
varied and unique terrain, the public interest in natural resource preservation, coastal
issues, view restoration activities, and the unique challenges faced in City land
management and infrastructure projects. Recent City Council presentations that have
highlighted the importance GIS plays to our City include:
September 2014 GIS Upgrade request - in which Staff demonstrated the
importance of GIS services to daily operations and decision makers in the City.
Subsequent to that request and presentation, the City Council authorized
expenditures to upgrade and modernize GIS servers and imagery;
November 2014 Public Benefits of GIS - presentation made to City Council in which
staff detailed the many ways GIS is utilized by the City Council, Advisory Boards,
public and Staff in making decisions, thereby enhancing efficiencies and
productivity; and
• March 2015 request to begin negotiations for the Azteca "CityWorks" Infrastructure
and Asset Management System - which will allow Public Works to manage projects,
track work orders and required preventative maintenance activities, and eventually
9
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 4 of 10
enable public input and tracking of service requests.
While the Public Works and Community Development Departments already make
extensive use of the GIS system, the most exciting and transformative improvements in
GIS are still to come as new GIS Centric business systems are being planned that would
revolutionize the way the City interacts with the public. GIS Centric business systems are
systems designed to enhance tracking and reporting and efficiencies within City
government that are integrated directly with GIS map data allowing interested parties to
visualize the activities the business system tracks.
The CityWorks Infrastructure, Asset and Work Order system currently pending negotiation
of an agreement will be a fully GIS Centric system pulling data on infrastructure and asset
components directly from GIS layers and allowing the City to create, track and manage
activities associated to them. This same central GIS data store of information can be used
by Community Development to manage Building and Safety, Code Enforcement and View
Restoration activities.
Activities in both Public Works and Community Development can be linked to parcels or
any other data in GIS, allowing Staff across departments to communicate on different
business system platforms with GIS as the keystone in this system. GIS allows the various
department business systems to use the same common asset dataset, eliminating the
maintenance and inconsistency problems caused when data is duplicated in multiple
systems. The Recreation and Parks Department also has an interest in using GIS in
mapping facilities assets, tracking service requests and in planning activities for the public.
DISCUSSION
GIS systems require a variety of support activities to maintain and update both the system
hardware and software, as well as the data within the system. GIS support requires
personnel with specialized training in GIS functionality that might include degrees or
certifications in GIS. Some of the activities that GIS personnel typically perform are:
• Maintain the library of digital and aerial maps, adding and correcting images;
• Maintain the library of almost 1,000 data layers and integrate new data into the
system. Data layers include all the City's information related to assets,
infrastructure, boundaries, elevation contours, etc.;
• Create, publish and maintain the design of viewers, GIS related systems,
integrations and other data functions;
• Coordinate, reconcile and make corrections to all external acquired and internal
data such as project information, Assessor and County records that reside in the
system;
• Lead teams or interface with vendors or other agencies to plan, gather and digitize
data that will eventually reside in the City GIS system;
• Assist staff with the creation of maps for staff reports, engineering, planning
11
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 5 of 10
projects, training and lead internal and public facing GIS initiative strategies.
As discussions over the strategic direction of GIS support began with Nexlevel, the City
clarified several important aspects related to the City's GIS system.
• GIS is a critical strategic business system in municipalities in general and in the City
of Rancho Palos Verdes in particular because of our unique terrain, nature, costal,
view restoration and the extent of public interest and activity on the topics;
• It is critical that the City maintain a knowledgeable and effective management and
support structure for GIS that understands the City's GIS data and is readily
available onsite because of the many daily interactions with City staff; and
• Work on the GIS system currently requires the full time equivalent (FTE) of a GIS
Manager, augmented by other staff as needed. With the City's acquisition of GIS
Centric Land and Infrastructure Management business systems it is expected the
support requirement will increase further.
The attached Nexlevel report outlines the factors involved in the decision on whether to
outsource GIS support or to use in-house Staff. While there are numerous pro's and con's
for each model, Nexlevel explained their recommendation to create an in-house position
for GIS in the attached Exhibit A, Page 11. Chief among the rationale is the City's focus on
GIS as a long term strategy in the City's overall mission:
✓ The City views GIS as a long-term, ongoing solution for supporting decision making
and information access.
✓ The City is anticipating the need to implement department level applications (i.e.
Community Development — Land Management and Public Works — Work Order
Management) to streamline operations and improve customer service. The ability of
these future systems to integrate to existing and future GIS data repositories is a
major evaluation criteria when selecting a solution.
✓ The City views GIS as an enterprise -wide solution and intends to expand the use of
GIS to aid in the overall tracking, management, and reporting on the City's
distributed assets and resources.
Support Models
GIS support models are either through an in-house position, through a hybrid approach
that includes an in-house position with the additional contracting of an outside GIS service
provider as needed, or by a contracted arrangement with a GIS service provider. The City
is seeking direction on the ongoing GIS support and has compiled the following information
from recent municipality GIS position advertisements, RFP's and from the Nexlevel
analysis for City Council consideration.
5
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 6 of 10
Option 1: In -House Position
In this approach, the City would create the new position of GIS Coordinator and hire a full-
time employee to administer the City's GIS Program. This staff member would report to
the IT Manager.
Pros
✓ Improved ability to plan and ensure strategic alignment to City priorities
✓ Improved ability to set, manage, and adjust priorities according to the City's
changing needs
✓ Maintains critical GIS knowledge and expertise under direct control of the City
✓ Increases resource and service continuity as the City is able to careful manage key
staff resources
✓ Improves overall City technology vendor management. Since key City applications
will be GIS -centric; it will be critical that the City have strong vendor management to
ensure technology investments provide the planned return -on -investment
✓ Ensures a strong alignment with overall vendor management strategies and allows
flexibility to quickly change accordingly
✓ Facilitates a strong relationship between the GIS support and department staff and
provides a clearer line of escalation when issues arise
✓ More cost-effective as long as support requires at least 1 full-time equivalent staffing
✓ Encourages the development and mentoring of department -level expertise
✓ Improved implementation of GIS standards and policies and ability to monitor and
enforce standards
✓ Increases control over documentation of current environment and operating
procedures
Cons
✓ Limited ability to establish a succession plan due to single resource
✓ Lack of coverage and back-up support in event of sickness or vacation
✓ GIS knowledge and expertise is limited by capabilities of in-house resource
✓ GIS success is highly dependent upon a single individual
Option 2: Hybrid Solution
In this option, the City would directly contract with or hire a part-time employee for 28 hours
of GIS support weekly, augmented by additional service provider assistance of up to 12
hours weekly.
The hybrid solution includes pro's and con's of both other options, but takes a slightly
different approach by contracting with or hiring a part time staff person rather than a full
time staff person. While Staff believes GIS management requirements fully support a full
time position, this option will allow the City to quantify the actual amount of time required
Al
•
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 7 of 10
for the support of the GIS system. This option also has the possibility of being the lower
cost option while still allowing the City to maintain tight control over the GIS system, but
does have an increased risk of losing the institutional knowledge because the contracted or
part time staff person may be interested in a position with full time hours and benefits.
Option 3: GIS Services Provider
In this approach, support of the City's GIS Program is provided entirely by an
outside GIS service provider. Pro's and con's assume the City contracts with a
proven GIS service provider that has depth of resources, expertise, and tools vs. a
single "contractor".
Pros
✓ Ensures that GIS services are based on pre -determined service levels with
agreement terms to manage the vendor to established service levels
✓ Increases access to GIS expertise and access to a "GIS bench"
✓ Provides ability to have redundancy as the City will not be constrained by a single
resource
✓ Improves ability to quickly resolve performance issues or replace underperforming
support resources
✓ Provides seamless coverage in the event primary GIS support is sick or takes
vacation
✓ Improves ability to support GIS workload `peaks and valleys' through additional
resources
✓ Provides access to more GIS tools and solutions and access to enhanced services
or solutions that the vendor may be providing to other entities
✓ Provides access to industry research and development
Cons
✓ Increases costs - particularly over time
✓ Relies on outside service provider for GIS strategic planning and leadership
✓ Key GIS knowledge and expertise resides outside of the City which increases
dependency on a service provider
✓ Potential negative impact if provider has financial difficulties, is acquired, changes
business priorities, changes resources, reprioritizes resources to other clients, or
simply goes out of business
✓ Limits ability to ensure alignment of what is in the best interests of the City is also in
the best interests of the outside service provider
✓ Requires outside service provider to interact with other City application providers
(i.e. permitting, planning, work orders, etc.) because of lack of City staff knowledge
7
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 8 of 10
and this may result in vendor management issues, increased cost, and less than
optimum solutions
✓ Reduces ability to ensure consistent resource (named resource) — the City doesn't
have as much ability to manage and retain key resources as they are managed by a
vendor. In addition, vendor may decide to move the City's key resource to another
client or initiative
✓ Requires City staff to provide contract oversight and monitoring because GIS is a
strategic, mission critical technology
✓ Requires the City to incur a "transition" cost when, and if, the outside service
provider is changed
Cost Analysis
Current Cost Using PVNET GIS System Support
Limited support model, requires additional services for projects estimated to take over 20
hours accounting for the $45,000 in special project support costs as needed.
• Ongoing GIS Support (1 Full-time equivalent) - $72,000
• Special project support - $45,000 (based on FY 14/15)
• Total Current Annual GIS Support Cost - $117,000
Option One (1) - In -House GIS Resource
Eight 8 hours per day in house position
• Fully loaded salary - $117,546 (based on $85,800/year salary plus 37% benefits
load)
• Training/Conferences - $5,000
• Tools (software/hardware/etc.) - $5,000
• Total Option One (1) Annual GIS Support Cost - $127,546
Option Two (2) - Hybrid Approach (Contracted part time person supplemented by a
services provider)
28 hour per week contracted GIS Coordinator, supplemented by a twelve (12) hour
average per week GIS service provider.
• Contracted GIS Coordinator @ 1,456 hours annually x $45/hr = $65,520
• Supplemental Services Provider @ 624 hours annually x $56/hr = $34,944
• Training/Conferences - $5,000
• Tools (software/hardware/etc.) - $5,000
• Total Option Two (2) Annual GIS Support Cost = $110,464
Option Three (3) Full Service Provider
Based on the results from an Orange County Sanitation District RFP for 8 hour per day
service provider support for a GIS Coordinator.
�
•
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 9 of 10
Sapphire* Project Psomas Getter Darnell Xtron Software,
Partners** Engineering Technical
$35/hr $56/hr $58/hr $110/hr $59.80/hr $49.98/hr
* Sapphire - did not meet RFP qualifications
** Selected vendor (based on combined GIS experience, qualifications and cost)
• Base contract cost ($56/hr x 2080 hours) _ $116,480
• Total Option Three (3) Annual GIS Support Cost - $116,480
CONCLUSION
GIS support is a professional service and while cost is important, a poorly performing
services provider can cause numerous problems including extensive damage to the GIS
system, problems with documentation, improper data acquisition methodologies, and with
the integration with other business systems, potential failure of the Infrastructure and Asset
Management system and planned Land Management and Permitting System. It is
because of the critical nature of the GIS system that most municipalities have in-house
staffed positions.
After taking into account all the associated cost factors, GIS system costs are relatively
close across all the options. Therefore, Staff supports Nexlevel's recommendation to
create and hire an in-house GIS Coordinator position primarily for the following reasons:
• Critical nature GIS now plays in City operations and expansion in the future;
• Greater retention/less turnover of GIS staff;
• Clear direction and focus on the City's needs; and
• A GIS staff person can serve as a backup in the IT Department for other technology
related functionality.
Alternative Two (2), a hybrid solution satisfies a measured, more conservative approach in
order to test the amount of GIS support needs, but carries with it a greater risk of the loss
of support and institutional knowledge of the GIS system. This approach contracts out
those services with an individual contractor for fewer hours than a full time in-house staff
person and, if it turns out that the number of hours is actually lower than full time, will be a
substantial savings to the City.
Alternative Three (3) is an approach in which the market is tested with a full RFP. For
comparison sake, the RFP is produced for an FTE, but the RFP can also be produced for
less than full time but the hourly rate will likely go up. This alternative does not have the
positive aspects of the other approaches, but does have some advantages:
• Services providers typically have a broader base of knowledge; and
• Additional staff are available as backup to cover for illness and vacations.
01
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) SUPPORT MODEL
APRIL 7, 2015
Page 10 of 10
FISCAL IMPACT
The current average cost of GIS support services annually is $117,000. Option one (1), to
create a GIS Coordinator position and hire an in-house staff person at 40 hours per week
is estimated to cost $127,546. Not included in this option is the long term pension
obligation associated with adding a new full-time position. Option two (2), the hybrid
approach with a 28 hour contracted person and additional available resources as needed
would cost between $65,520 and $110,464 annually. The cost of Option Three (3) is
unknown but is estimated to cost $116,480 annually. The GIS budget will be presented to
the City Council for approval each year during the annual budgeting process and would be
funded by the General Fund, the Information Technology — Data Program.
10
City of RPV — GIS Support Model Analysis 11 P a g e
GIS Support Model
Prepared for
'-74. -• 103
March 23, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
11
City of RPV — GIS Support Model Analysis 2 ( P a g e
Decision — GIS Support Model
The City is evaluating whether it should hire an in-house GIS Analyst/Coordinator or continue to rely on
an outside service provider (outsource).
High -Level History
The City has historically relied on PVNET to support the City's GIS (i.e. Outsourced approach). Originally
PVNET provided not only support services, but also provided all the hardware (i.e. servers, storage) and
software. However, the City recently moved all GIS data to City hardware and software (Question - Does
the City currently own all software licenses required to use GIS as it exists today?).
The City's primary users of the GIS technology are Community Development and Public Works
departments. There is an interest in both departments to expand the use of GIS in concert with new
department level applications that are likely to be procured and implemented in the near future. The
objective of both departments is to implement technology with a GIS -centric perspective (i.e. GIS
database functions as asset/feature data repository, limited redundancy in data storage on asset
information, open data model to promote sharing, integrated, etc.).
The City has other potential department users (i.e. Parks and Recreation) that would like to increase the
use of GIS technology to improve decision-making and to enhance information access to the public
about the City's distributed resources and assets.
In today's environment, PVNET is responsible for maintaining the GIS data within all of the City's special
layers. This includes working with the City's outside providers of GIS data (i.e. County and contractors)
and staff. The support required has historically required 1 full-time equivalent. PVNET charges the City
$6,000/month for these services.
In addition to the above resource, the City obtains as needed support for special projects that has
averaged $30,000 - $60,000 a year.
GIS Support Model Alternatives
There are a number of possible support models for the City to consider (i.e. outsource, in-house, or
hybrid). Before deciding on the appropriate model the City must answer this question -is the ongoing
use and support of GIS considered strategic to the City's overall mission?
Based on the following observations, it appears that the City views GIS as "strategic."
✓ The City views GIS as a long-term, ongoing solution for supporting decision-making and
information access.
✓ The City is anticipating the need to implement department level applications (i.e. Community
Development — Land Management and Public Works — Work Order Management) to streamline
operations and improve customer service. The ability of these future systems to integrate with
the existing and future GIS data repositories is a significant evaluation criteria when selecting a
solution.
✓ The City views GIS as an enterprise -wide solution and intends to expand the use of GIS to aid in
the overall tracking, management, and reporting on the City's distributed assets and resources.
Monday, March 23, 2015
12
City of RPV — GIS Support Model Analysis 3 I P a g e
Since the City views GIS as strategic to the City's business and operational processes, the City must
select a model that best supports not only immediate, but long-term needs as well. In general, when
the City has the capacity to do so, strategic functions should not be 100% outsourced. Since GIS is
strategic, the City should take a hands-on approach to the planning, managing, and expansion of GIS. To
accomplish this, the City needs to have GIS expertise on staff capable of leading the use and expansion
of GIS technologies.
In -House GIS Support Mode
The following are the pros and cons of using an in-house GIS support model.
Pros
✓ Improved ability to plan and ensure strategic alignment to City priorities
✓ Improved ability to set, manage, and adjust priorities according to the City's changing needs
✓ Maintains critical GIS knowledge and expertise under direct control of the City
✓ Increases resource and service continuity as the City is able to carefully manage key staff
resources
✓ Improves overall City technology vendor management. Since key City applications will be GIS -
centric, it will be critical that the City have strong vendor management to ensure technology
investments provide the planned return -on -investment
✓ Ensures a strong alignment with overall vendor management strategies and allows flexibility to
quickly change accordingly
✓ Facilitates a strong relationship between the GIS support and department staff and provides a
clearer line of escalation when issues arise
✓ More cost-effective as long as support requires at least 1 full-time equivalent
✓ Encourages the development and mentoring of department -level expertise
✓ Improved implementation of GIS standards and policies and ability to monitor and enforce
standards
✓ Increases control over documentation of current environment and operating procedures
Cons
✓ Limited ability to establish a succession plan due to single resource
✓ Lack of coverage and back-up support in event of sickness or vacation
✓ GIS knowledge and expertise is limited by capabilities of in-house resource
✓ GIS success is highly dependent upon a single individual
Monday, March 23, 2015
13
City of RPV — GIS Support Model Analysis 4 1 P a g e
Outsourced GIS Support Mode
*Assumes the City contracts with a proven GIS service provider that has depth of resources,
expertise, and tools vs. a single "contractor"
Pros
✓ Ensures that GIS services are based on pre -determined service levels with agreement and
provides the City the ability to manage service provider to service level commitments
✓ Increases access to GIS expertise and access to a "GIS bench"
✓ Provides ability to have redundancy as the City will not be constrained by a single resource
✓ Improves ability to quickly resolve performance issues or replace underperforming support
resources
✓ Provides seamless coverage in event primary GIS support is sick or takes vacation
✓ Improves ability to support GIS workload 'peaks and valleys' through additional resources
✓ Provides access to more GIS tools and solutions and access to enhanced services or solutions
that provider may be providing to other entities
✓ Provides access to industry research and development
Cons
✓ Increases cost -particularly overtime
✓ Relies on outside service provider for GIS strategic planning and leadership
✓ Places key GIS knowledge and expertise outside of the City and increases dependency on a
service provider
✓ Creates a dependency on outside service provider with potential negative impact if provider has
financial difficulties, is acquired, changes business priorities, changes resources, reprioritizes
resources to other clients, or simply goes out of business
✓ Limits ability to ensure alignment of what is in the best interest of the City is also in the best
interests of the outside service provider
✓ Requires outside service provider to interact with other City application providers (i.e.
permitting, planning, work orders, etc.) due to lack of City staff knowledge and this may result in
vendor management issues, increased cost, and less than optimum solutions
✓ Reduces ability to ensure consistent resource (named resource) —the City doesn't have as much
ability to manage and retain key resources as they are managed by a vendor. In addition,
vendor may decide to move the City's key resource to another client or initiative
✓ Requires City staff to provide contract oversight and monitoring because GIS is a strategic,
mission -critical technology
✓ Requires the City to incur a "transition" cost when, and if, the outside service provider is
changed
Other Considerations
✓ In-house Resource Cost Considerations
o Ongoing training and conferences — it is critical for the City resource to follow industry
trends and vendor solution advancements.
o Software licensing, hardware computing, and other tools.
Monday, March 23, 2015
14
City of RPV — GIS Support Model Analysis 5 1 P a g e
✓ In-house does not preclude the City from leveraging outside vendors in the future for additional
support as needed.
✓ The City recently decided that IT was strategic and supported the hiring of in-house staff to
guide and manage the City's technology. If GIS is also a strategic resource, then establishing an
in-house position would be consistent with this.
Cost Analysis
• Current cost using outside GIS service provider
o Ongoing GIS Support (1 Full-time equivalent) - $72,000
o Special project support (as needed) - $45,000 (based on FY 14/15)
o Total Annual GIS Support Cost - $117,000
• Estimated cost of in-house GIS resource
o Fully loaded salary - $117,546 (based on $85,800/year salary plus benefits)
o Training/Conferences - $5,000
o Tools (software/hardware/etc.) - $5,000
o Special project support (as needed) - $10,000
o Total Annual GIS Support Cost - $137,546
NexLevel Recommendation
Based on our limited review and analysis, NexLevel recommends the City establish a GIS
Analyst/Coordinator position. It is clear that the City staff view GIS technology as a key enabler of their
business and operations and hope to fully leverage this technology in the future. Since GIS is strategic to
the City's long-term vision, the City should hire a staff position to establish a GIS Strategic Plan, function
as the primary support for GIS activities, monitor GIS performance, and provide leadership to expand
the use of GIS. As GIS needs increase, the City should look towards leveraging outside service providers
to augment as necessary to support GIS. This hybrid approach (mixing in-house with outsider service
providers) provides the City with a viable long-term strategy that can be flexible to expand or contract as
necessary based on needs and budget.
Monday, March 23, 2015
15
City of Rancho Palos Verdes - GIS Viewer Layer Information 3/30/2015
AbaloneCoveLandslideAbatementDistrict
Existing Backup Point
AbaloneCoveManholes
ExistingConduit
AbaloneCovePipes
Existing Electrical
AbandonedLine
ExistingSegments
AdjacentCities
ExistingUtility
AirRelease
FinanceAdvisoryCommissionerResidences
AppealableCoastalZones
Fin anceAdvisoryCommissionerResidences500ftBuffer
ArcheologySites
FireStation
Arterials
FuelModAreas
AsBuilt
Generator
AsBuiltLPG
GeneratorPropaneTank
Basin
GeneratorTank
BlowOff
Goldline
BlueLine
GolfCoursePlans
BuildingFootprint
GravityMain
Cam pusBuildingOutlines
GreenEastviewLine
Cap
GreenLine
CatchBasin
Grid
CDSUnit
GV1ActivityLawn
CityBoundary
GV1 BuildingPolygon
CityCouncilMemberResidences
GV1 DayCamp
CityCouncilMemberResidences500ftBuffer
GV1 DiscoveryArea
ClosedValve
GV1 FitnessStation
CoastalSetbackLine
GV1 FlexBikeArea
CoastalZoneBoundaryLine
GV1 LConcrete
ConcreteSlab
GV1 OutdoorActivityCenter
ContoursFiveFoot2003
GV1 ParkBoundary
ContoursTwoFoot2006
GV1 PermaPaving
Contruction Plans
GV1 Playground
CoyoteSightings
GV1 Treepoints
CulvertPoint
GV1TreesPolygon
DefenseAreaPlans
GV1 WalkingTrails
DraftLandslideMoratorium
GV2Concrete
EmergencyPrepared nessCommissionerResidencEOV2LConcrete
EmergencyPrepa red nessComm issionerResidencEWWOWen nda ry
EmptyConduit
GV2Shrub
EquestrianCommissionerResidences
GV2Trees
EquestrianCommissionerResidences500ftBuffer
HomeOwnerAssociations
EquestrianOverlayDistrict
Hospital
ExistingBackup
HP1 Basketball
16
HP1 ExistingTrail
Machado LakeWatershedStreets
HP1 FamilyPlay
MailingAddresses
HP1 LConcrete
MaintenanceHole
HP1 NewTrails
ManHoles
HP1 PropertyLine
MedianPlans
HP1 Structures
MetroBusStop
HP1 Tennis
Metro Exp ressRoute
HP1 TennisCourts
MetroLocalRoute
HP1Water
MiralesteElementaryPlans
HP213asketballCourt
NaturalDrainage
HP213uildings
NCCPPreserveProperties
HP2Concrete
NeighboringBikepaths
HP21DiscoveryArea
NetOneJunction
HP2DogPark
NetworkStructure
HP2ExistingTrail
NonAppealableCoastalZones
HP2FamilyPlayArea
NonUserFeeParcel
HP2FamilyPlayLine
NPDES_ESAs
HP21-andscape
NTCPSpeedHumpProjectPlans
HP2NewTrail
Obstruction
HP2OverallRenovation
Ocean
HP2Parking
OpenChannel
HP2PropertyLine
OpenValve
HP2TennisCourts
OrangeLine
HP2Walls
OtherPoint
HP2Water
Parce101d
HP2ZigZagGrade
ParcelPlans
HP2ZigZagTrail
Parcels2012
Hydrant
Park
InfrastructureManagementResidences
PeafowlCensus
lnfrastructureManagementResidences500ftBuffer PeafowlCensus2008
InletOutlet
PeafowlCensus2010
Intersection Plans
PeafowlCensusJune2014
Junction
PeafowlCensusOctober2014
KlondikeCanyon Plans
Pipes
LACOParcels
PipesMaterial
LandUseCurrent
PipesOwners
Land UseOverlayDistricts
PlannedSegments
LandUseProposed
Plan ningCommissionerResidences
LateralLine
Plan ningCommissionerResidences500ftBuffer
Library
Plug
LowFlowPoint
PointVicenteStructures
MachadLakeBoundary
PoliceStation
Machado LakeWatershed
PortugueseBendActiveLandslideAreas
17
Portuguese Bend DewateringWelIs
SidewalkGrinding
PostOffice
Sidewalklnventory
Potentia lPreserve
SidewalkRR
PreliminaryPipes
SilverLine
Prelim inaryStructures
SolarLightPole
Press ureRed ucingValve
StateApproved ResidentialCareFaciIities
PressureReliefValve
StationTermination
Pressurized Mains10inand12in
StreetCenterlines
Pressurized Mains14inandAbove
StreetPlans
Pressurized Mains5inandBelow
Structures
PressurizedMains6in
SupportFacilities
PressurizedMains8in
TractPlans
PrivateStreetCenterlines
TrafficSafetyCommissionerResidences
Proposed BackupPoint
TrafficSafetyCommissionerResidences500ftBuffer
Proposed BackupSystem
TransitStops
ProposedOHAreasJuly2013
Trees
PseudoLine
Trench
PseudoPoint
UserFeeParcel
PullBox
Vegetation
PVPLCTrails20l2
VerizonBox
Rancho_Palos_Verdes_GPZN
VerizonBoxPoint
Rancho -Palos -Verdes -LU
Videos
RDAProjectBoundary
Waterline
RehabiIitationProject2012Pipes
WaterSewerStructure
Reh a bi I itation Project201 2Structu res
WeedSprayLocationsPlans
Reservoir
WhiteLine
RoadCenterline
Wire lessCommercialAntennaSitesPrivateProperty
ScenicTurnoutPlans
WQFPOversightCommissionerResidences500ftBuffer
SensitiveSpecies
WQFPProgram OversightCommissionerResidences
Seven Eleven Plans
ZoningDistrict
SewerPlans
ZoningOverlayDistricts
SewerSystem Plans