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2 <br />The departments of the Tax Assessor, Revenue and Information Technologies have been <br />working since 2005 to investigate replacing the Legacy System with a modern and more <br />supportable system. In 2006 work began on identifying functional requirements for a new <br />system. This was accomplished using consulting resources (Carolina Consulting Group) <br />working closely with the Chief Information Officer, Information Technologies' Business Analyst <br />and staff from the Tax Assessor's and Revenue offices. <br />From this functional requirements work, the departments and Purchasing developed a Request <br />for Proposal that was received on July 20, 2007. (North Carolina General Statute 143-129.8 <br />authorizes local governments to use a "request for proposals" (RFP) process to purchase <br />information technology goods and services. This procedure provides flexibility in procuring <br />these potentially complex contracts. The RFP was issued following this statute that allows the <br />award to be made to the "best overall" proposal. Thirteen potential vendors were sent the RFP <br />and it was advertised in the Durham Herald and on the County web site. Three vendors <br />responded. <br />The departments and Purchasing met extensively with each of the three responding vendors. <br />The vendors' responses and functional demonstrations were evaluated against the functional <br />requirements. On the basis of the analysis of the responses, the departments of Tax Assessor, <br />Revenue and Information Technologies are recommending the County pursue a solution which <br />uses Patriot Systems of Boston, Massachusetts, AssessPro software, and the NCACC's (North <br />Carolina Association of County Commissioners) North Carolina Property Tax System product, <br />proposed and administered by IIS (Intelligent Information Systems) of Durham, North Carolina. <br />These two software applications together represent a solution that is the lowest risk, most cost- <br />effective and highest benefit among the various responses received and best overall solution for <br />Orange County. The Information Technology Advisory Committee has also endorsed this <br />selection and will continue to be involved in PIMS project discussions. <br />Because of the broad scope, cost and complexity of implementing a new Land Records and <br />Taxation system, the departments of the Tax Assessor, Revenue, Purchasing and Information <br />Technologies requested and were granted approval on December 11, 2007 to begin detailed <br />contractual negotiations with the two vendors. The sponsoring departments requested to <br />contract with a dedicated project manager and a legal consultant specializing in technology <br />contracts. The project manager's role was to track the myriad project details and coordinate <br />resources and schedules while utilizing project management principles used in previous IT <br />projects including the Munis project. <br />The BOCC approved contracting with the outside project management company known as <br />Barry Strock Consulting Associates on January 22, 2009. The consultant immediately began <br />the tasks as outlined above and has produced detailed contracts which cover all legal <br />responsibilities between the County and the vendors, with particular emphasis on collaborative <br />mandates between the two vendors themselves. The County Attorney's Office is currently <br />reviewing/finalizing these contracts to begin the actual conversion of data and implementation <br />of the Property Information Management System. <br />