HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2310-21655.Finance Committee Recommendation to Maintain Current Service Delivery Model for
Print and Mail Services; CEQA Status – Not a Project
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Administrative Services
Meeting Date: November 13, 2023
Report #:2310-2165
TITLE
Finance Committee Recommendation to Maintain Current Service Delivery Model for Print and
Mail Services; CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
Finance Committee recommends that the City Council approve maintaining the current print
and mail services delivery, an in-house model, and review status of cost and performance
within 18 months.
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
The Finance Committee received the report closing out the committee referral from 2019 to
review alternative service delivery options along with possible cost savings and required
services levels for the printing function. After the review of request for proposal (RFP) results it
became clear that keeping the print and mail function in-house was the best option for the City
considering a number of factors as described in the staff report1 (Finance Committee Minutes2).
Printing services are provided by City staff to satisfy the myriad printing needs of City
departments with fast turnaround. This review was designed to consider outside providers to
satisfy these needs at a cost savings. After conducting a request for proposal (RFP) process,
which included two rounds of collecting cost information, staff recommends maintaining
printing services in-house as the best way to meet organization needs while keeping costs
within the range demonstrated in the market at this time. Recognizing that market conditions
and business need vary over time, staff will periodically revisit this conclusion.
1 CMR:2307-1793 Printing Services Review -
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=13096&compileOutputType
=1
2 Minutes:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=13095&compileOutputType
=1
Taking into account the City’s emphasis on responsive customer service, fast turn-around and
delivery, maintaining career growth opportunities, and minimizing organizational change
related to printing services staff recommended and the committee approved keeping print
services in-house. The recommendation reflects the balancing of these interests along with
financial impacts to strive towards the goal of achieving a solution that positively affects most
of these factors. These impacts are noted towards the end of the report.
To develop the print shop to more comprehensively serve departments now that it is being
kept in-house staff expects to complete recruitment of a vacant position and cancel the RFP
process previously conducted.
The motion unanimously passed as follows:
MOTION: Council Member Lythcott-Haims moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Stone to
recommend the City Council to direct staff to:
•Close the RFP process and keep in-house Print Shop services supplemented with
contracts, which continues core printing services to departments, maximum flexibility,
customer service and quick turnaround
•Add outside contracts for added capacity during high demand and special printing needs
and managed by the Print Shop for “one-stop shop”
•Bolster Print Shop with additional printing and design skills/abilities to increase value to
departments
•Recruit for printing experience
•RFP process would be cancelled with no award
•Report out status within 18 months
MOTION PASSED: 3-0
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The Printing and Mailing Fund has a FY 2024 Adopted Budget of approximately $1.5 million
made up of $263,000 in salary and benefits costs for 2.10 FTE and $1.2 million in non-salary
costs. The expenses include postage costs of $300,000 and other expenses of $265,000. Since
these costs are not related to the printing function, they can be removed from the total to
determine the approximate cost of the printing service even though the two are joined. When
this is done the resulting amount for the print shop is around $1.1 million when also
considering the allocation to departments.
It’s important to consider the mailing function and related costs since those are costs that will
remain no matter what’s done with printing, and they share staff. Should the City stop
providing print services in-house, at minimum, one staffing resource would be necessary to
retain to continue mailing functions.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
This project involved the input from City departments that use the print shop. Printing vendors
were contacted to provide proposals and other cities provided information on their own
printing services.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity is not a project under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as defined in
CEQA Guidelines, section 15378, because it has no potential for resulting in either a direct or
reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
APPROVED BY:
Kiely Nose, Assistant City Manager