Consideration and Approval of Cooperative Contract:  Pinal County RFP-142220 Cooperative Agreement with Point and Pay, City of Flagstaff Log number 2017-45

The Point & Pay cooperative agreement provides for the procurement of payment processing services, including web based and new credit and debit card processing terminals at various City of Flagstaff (City) locations. The cooperative purchasing agreement allows the City to increase its purchasing power and obtain a better value in the expenditure of public resources. Reduced fiscal resources have created an environment that supports increased levels of cooperation for the procurement of various materials and services. The services provided by Point & Pay are a necessity for the City of Flagstaff as the Revenue Division must continue to provide residents of the City of Flagstaff with locations to pay for services and increased technological advancements for the customer's convenience, in order to conduct business accurately and expeditiously.

The City of Flagstaff will be able to use Point & Pay for payment processing services for customer service needs, such as convenient payment locations, E-statements, and E-checks at a discounted rate, negotiated through a formal solicitation process between Pinal County and Point & Pay. The contract and solicitation are attached. The Revenue Division estimated budget for payment processing services at approximately $132,200 across all programs for the initial year.

The cooperative agreement will reduce the City of Flagstaff processing and fees charged by Wells Fargo each month due to the newly negotiated pricing. Additionally, services currently provided by Paymentus, will be enhanced as Point & Pay offers greater internal and external customer service at a competitive rate. 

COUNCIL GOALS
3) Provide sustainable and equitable public facilities, services, and infrastructure systems in an efficient and effective manner to serve all population areas and demographics
8) Improve effectiveness of notification, communication, and engagement with residents, neighborhoods and businesses and about City services, programs, policies, projects and developments

 No.

1.) The City Council may approve this cooperative agreement for payment processing services.
2.) The City Council may decline to enter into this cooperative agreement and direct staff to conduct a formal competitive solicitation. 

The City of Flagstaff has been using Wells Fargo for several years and Paymentus for nine month for payment processing services for several years. These contracts will be phased out due to performance and pricing issues.  City research indicates Point & Pay has an excellent performance history with other municipalities within Arizona and across the nation. The Pinal County cooperative agreement with Point & Pay will allow the City to provide the necessary payment processing services at locations throughout the City with improved customer service. Additionally, this cooperative agreement will allow the City to take advantage of discounts for the needed services of remote access to the community.   

The ultimate goal of this cooperative agreement is to maximize contract pricing through volume transactions for payment processing at various City locations, as well as adding web based portals, while helping leverage our purchasing power, obtaining maximum quality service through the contracted vendor. Other objectives are to build an internal network with Point & Pay for future years and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public procurement process.  

Inform the community of the new payment processing services. Consult with the community of possible new customer service locations that may be established in the future, as wells as methods of web based payments to improve convenience. 

Our local community will continue to be served at our current payment locations are provided through this cooperative agreement, as well as through newly built web based portals. The City of Flagstaff will be able to continue to service the needs of our community, plus offer the additional external customer service provided by Point & Pay. The upgraded payment processing services provided by the vendor are extremely valuable and will be a great asset. The community benefits by our new working relationship with Point & Pay and the discounted pricing that keeps customer service an exceptional resource for the City of Flagstaff.