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County Administrator's Report 13. 6.

BCC Regular Meeting

Budget & Finance Consent

Meeting Date:	11/01/2018
Issue: Payment Processing Agreement between Forte Payment Systems, Inc. and Escambia County, Florida
From:	Pat Johnson
Department:	Waste Services
CAO Approval:

RECOMMENDATION:

Recommendation Concerning the Payment Processing Agreement Between Forte Payment Systems, Inc., and Escambia County - Patrick T. Johnson, Waste Services Department Director

That the Board take the following action concerning the Payment Processing Agreement between Forte Payment Systems, Inc., and Escambia County:

A. Approve the Payment Processing Agreement to allow for products and services to provide payment processing and related services, including but not limited to Automated Clearing House ("ACH"), Credit and Debit Card processing, account verification, and customer identification to the Waste Services Department; and

B. Authorize the Chairman to sign the Agreement.

[Funding: Fund 401, Solid Waste Fund, Cost Center 230314 (Operations), Object Code 54901 (Other Charges and Obligations)]

BACKGROUND:

Based upon customer and employee surveys, a decrease in credit card transaction times and reduced manual input of credit card data has been requested. This effort requires an upgraded integrated credit card processing technology compatible with the Department's WasteWorks software supported by Carolina Software. Forte Payment Systems and OpenEdge are Carolina Software's vendors which support this technology. Forte Payment Systems is the preferred vendor because transaction processing is quicker and a stored credit card option is available. A slight increase in fees for this service is expected. The integrated processing configuration has been reviewed and approved by the County's Information Technology Department. The Agreement serves as a process improvement initiative beneficial to customer service and work flow. It will allow data from customer transactions to be transferred and communicated electronically with existing software and various financial institutions. The electronic transfer minimizes transaction errors and reduces customer wait times.

BUDGETARY IMPACT:

Funding for this project is available in Fund 401 Solid Waste Fund, Cost Center 230314 (Operations), Object Code 54901 (Other Charges and Obligations).

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF:

Senior Assistant County Attorney, Kristin Hual, has reviewed the Agreement for form and legal sufficiency.

PERSONNEL:

N/A

POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION:

This recommendation is in compliance with the Escambia County, FL Code of Ordinances, Chapter 46, Article II, Purchases and Contracts.

IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION:

Waste Services Department has coordinated with the County Attorney's Office, County Information Technology Department, and Carolina Software relative to the acquiring of this service.

Attachments
Forte Agreement
Forte Fee Schedule
Equipment Quote
Email_J Leeds