STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Sustainable
AGENDA DATE: September 10, 2025
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): Citywide
DEPARTMENT: Dallas Water Utilities Department
EXECUTIVE: Dev Rastogi
______________________________________________________________________
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize a five-year service agreement for Stormwater Information Management System upgrade, maintenance, billing transition, and support services for the Dallas Water Utilities Department with Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. – in an estimated amount of $2,590,510.00 - Financing: Stormwater Drainage Management Fund $2,590,510.00 (subject to annual appropriations)
Body
BACKGROUND
This action does not encumber funds. The purpose of a service price agreement is to establish firm pricing for services, for a defined term, to be ordered on an as-needed basis in accordance with annual budget appropriations. The estimated amount serves as guidance, not as a spending cap, so that actual expenditures are determined by the combination of budgeted funds and operational needs.
This agreement will provide for the maintenance and support of the City’s existing Stormwater Information Management System (SIMS), a custom application developed by Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc., in coordination with the Dallas Water Utilities Department’s billing system and first deployed in Fiscal Year 2017. SIMS streamlines quality control processes, provides access to billing data from multiple information technology datasets, generates billing export files for the utility billing system, and maintains parcel-specific billing change records as site conditions change. Updates occur nightly to keep account information current. Additional support includes integrating new aerial impervious parcel data, tax parcel changes, and customer billing updates. These efforts have improved billing accuracy, identified previously unbilled accounts, and enhanced customer service in responding to inquiries.
The stormwater drainage fee is charged to residential and commercial properties within city limits to fund drainage infrastructure management and program operations. This is regulated under the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit. The City began assessing the fee in 1991 to meet state regulatory compliance requirements. The current rate structure, approved by the City Council beginning in Fiscal Year 2017, aligns with national best practices. Fees are calculated by account type based on impervious surface measurements per tax parcel, as provided by the Dallas Central Appraisal District, and processed through the City’s SAP utility billing system. Accurate billing requires a system interface linking parcel data to billing records, a function provided by SIMS, which has been maintained through third-party support since the current rate structure’s adoption.
The scope and fee of the proposal from Raftelis are for providing an additional five years of support and maintenance beginning in 2025 through 2030. This scope includes SIMS long-term maintenance of 60 months of additional support of this custom application at the lead developer or developer level, provided by staff who have been integral in the SIMS application development since its inauguration.
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT
Implementation of the billing system application and batch upgrade beginning in FY2025, SIMS Maintenance and GIS support beginning in FY 2025 and ongoing through FY2030.
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
On September 21, 2016, the City Council approved an ordinance amending Article XXWII, "Storm, Water Drainage Utility," of Chapter 2, "Administration”; amending Sections 15D-5, 15D-9, 15D-9.2, 15D-9-10, 15D-9.i6, 15D-9.31, 15D-21, 15D-23, 15D-30, 15D-36, and 15D-58 of Chapter 15D, by Resolution No. 16-1529; Ordinance No. 30215.
On December 9, 2020, the City Council authorized a service price agreement for maintenance and support of the existing Stormwater Information Management System for the Water Utilities Department for a term of five years by Resolution 20-1913.
FISCAL INFORMATION
|
Fund |
FY 2025 |
FY 2026 |
Future Years |
|
Stormwater Drainage Management Fund |
$215,450.00 |
$1,225,028.00 |
$1,150,032.00 |
LOCAL PARTICIPATION
|
Prime |
Status |
Workforce % |
|
Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. |
Non-local |
0.00% |
PROCUREMENT INFORMATION
Method of Evaluation for Award Type:
|
Sole Source |
• Utilized for procurements where functional requirements can only be satisfied by one vendor, such as those where patents, copyrights or monopolies exists |
|
|
• Exempted from the competitive bidding process |
|
|
• Reviewed by Procurement Services to ensure the procurement meets at least one general exception as stated in the Texas Local Government Code |
OWNER/EXECUTIVE
Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc.
Keith Readling, Executive Vice President