Title
Resolution Determining J.D. Power Corporation To Be The Only Source Practicably Available From Which To Procure Valuation Software And Related Services For Use By The City’s Commissioner Of The Revenue
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
City of Hampton Commissioner of the Revenue has, for decades, utilized National Automobile Dealers Association (“NADA”) Official Used Car Guide for valuation of used vehicles for purposes of assessing personal property tax. Initially, the Commissioner of Revenue’s office manually accessed NADA values in published volumes of that Official Used Car Guide, then later entered into a contract with NADA to access the Official Used Car Guide online. NADA has recently been acquired by J.D. Power Corporation (“JDP”) which now provides the licensed product and software system that currently supplies the Commissioner of the Revenue with the vehicle values contained in the NADA Official Used Car Guide.
Discussion:
The product and services utilized by the Commissioner of the Revenue include JDP’s .Net API, which consists of a number of .Net Assemblies and a vehicle valuation database and has been used to build the Commissioner of the Revenue’s server, web applications, and web services for vehicle valuation. Those assemblies allow applications access to the NADA vehicle valuation database through a set of compatible interfaces. Using the .Net API, an application has been custom built for the Commissioner of the Revenue that allows them to specify a vehicle by its description (Make, Year, Series and Body Style) or by its VIN number and then retrieve the vehicle’s accessories, base and adjusted values, as well as mileage adjustments. The .Net API also provides the ability to value vehicles by region.
JDP is the only vendor offering this product providing access to the NADA Official Used Car Guide, which is the primary recognized national, regional and local authority for the valuation of vehicles and is the standard for taxation assessment purposes in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JDP’s product is also the only one that can assess the volume of vehicles that Hampton has and provide comparability with vehicles across Virginia. Additionally, other vendors charge for valuation services per vehicle, while JDP allows all like vehicles to be counted as one (1) valuation.
The City of Hampton Information Technology Department has worked closely with the Commissioner of the Revenue and has determined that JDP’s product is the only one practicably available which maximizes assessment capabilities and is compatible with the Commissioner’s database and other software systems. Transferring or converting such voluminous amounts of data to another system would be impractical and costly and would likely result in a loss of critical information and functionality.
Impact:
The proposed terms for continued use of the product offered by JDP are as follows: An annual license subscription for 100,001 to 150,000 total annual valuations at a cost of $18,150.00 per year, with an initial one (1) year term and options to renew for additional one (1) year terms. Commissioner of the Revenue anticipates any rate increases proposed by JDP will be fair and reasonable.
Recommendation:
Rec
Approve the Resolution.
Body
WHEREAS, City of Hampton Commissioner of the Revenue must value used vehicles for purposes of assessing personal property tax on an annual basis;
WHEREAS, the City of Hampton Commissioner of the Revenue has, for decades, utilized National Automobile Dealers Association (“NADA”) Official Used Car Guide for used vehicle valuation, at one time manually accessing NADA values in published volumes of their Official Used Car Guide, then later through a contract for online access to the Official Used Car Guide;
WHEREAS, NADA has recently been acquired by J.D. Power Corporation (“JDP”) which now provides the licensed product and software system that currently supplies the Commissioner of the Revenue with the vehicle values contained in the NADA Official Used Car Guide;
WHEREAS, the product and services utilized by the Commissioner of the Revenue includes JDP’s .Net API, which consists of a number of .Net Assemblies and a vehicle valuation database and has been used to build the Commissioner of the Revenue’s server, web applications and web services for vehicle valuation. These assemblies allow applications access to the NADA vehicle valuation database through a set of compatible interfaces;
WHEREAS, using the .Net API, an application has been custom built for the Commissioner of the Revenue that allows him to specify a vehicle by its description (Make, Year, Series, and Body Style) or by its VIN number and then retrieve the vehicle’s accessories, base and adjusted values, mileage adjustments, and value by region;
WHEREAS, JDP is the only vendor offering this product providing access to the NADA Official Used Car Guide, which is the recognized national, regional and local authority for the valuation of vehicles and is the standard for taxation assessment purposes in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JDP’s product is also the only one that can assess the volume of vehicles in Hampton and provide comparability with vehicles across Virginia. Additionally, other vendors charge for valuation services per vehicle, while JDP allows all like vehicles to be counted as one (1) valuation; and
WHEREAS, City of Hampton Information Technology department has worked closely with the Commissioner of the Revenue to evaluate other vendors’ products for vehicle valuation services and has determined that JDP’s product is the only one practicably available which maximizes assessment capabilities and is compatible with the Commissioner of the Revenue’s database and other software systems. Transferring or converting such voluminous amounts of data to another system would be impractical and costly and would likely result in a loss of critical information and functionality.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HAMPTON, VIRGINIA:
1. That the contract between JDP and the City of Hampton Commissioner of the Revenue may be negotiated and renewed as the “sole source” without competitive bidding or competitive negotiation as set forth in Code of Virginia §2.2-4303(E);
2. That the City Manager or her authorized designee is hereby authorized to negotiate and execute a contract for the purchase of JDP’s licensed product and accompanying services; and
3. That the notice awarding the contract to JDP shall be posted in a public place as required by Virginia Code Section 2.2-4303(E).