Title
A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood, Florida, Approving And Authorizing The Appropriate City Officials To Issue A Blanket Purchase Agreement To Granicus, LLC. For The Purchase Of Compliance Monitoring Software For Short Term Rental Residential Properties In The Amount Of $243,425.50 Based Upon The National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance Contract Number 01-115 In Accordance With Section 38.41(C)(5) Of The City’s Procurement Code; Amending The Fiscal Year 2021 Operating Budget. (Piggyback)
Strategic Plan Focus
Quality of Life & Strong Neighborhoods
Body
Staff Recommends: Approval of the Attached Resolution.
Explanation:
On January 20, 2021 the City Commission adopted new regulations for Vacation Rentals. At that time, the Commission encouraged staff to evaluate and procure the necessary resources to effectively enforce the new rules, while also being able to efficiently distinguish between long-term, short-term and vacation rentals on the various online platforms.
In an effort to encourage self-compliance, and in an attempt to not purchase software, between January 26 and March 1st over 23 various forms of communication were sent out as part of the City’s Education Campaign (Notify Me, specific email blast, letters, Tweets, Q and A Virtual Session). Between January 20th and March 3rd, these efforts resulted in 47 Vacation Rental Applications being submitted with several in various stages of review.
The Granicus software offers a variety of software solutions to aid with compliance while balancing the needs of residents and tourists in the community and also reduces the strain of low-priority calls on enforcement staff, in particular police officers.
The software solutions recommended for purchase are:
- Address Identification ($133,852.50): Monitors over 50 short-term rental websites and provides necessary documentation for proof of rental to enforce local laws; including redundancy of properties on different platforms. (approx. 5,949 listings)
- Compliance Monitoring ($43,785.00): Provides automation for mailing and follow-up, for each address identified to not be in compliance. (approx. 3,892 properties)
- Rental Activity Monitoring ($30,760.00): Provides ongoing detailed monitoring for length of stay and pricing of rental. (Owners of over 3,892 properties have the ability to easily change the length of stay, which changes the rental type back-and-forth between short-term and vacation rental licensing requirements.) This solution tracks and monitors this regularly.
- Dedicated Hotline ($35,028.00): Provides 24/7 phone complaint assistance and resolution by the vendor, reducing calls for service by police and other enforcement officers.
Pricing is based on the number of listings/properties in each municipality. This contract is for one year with two renewals, paid quarterly and allows for adjustments and/or cancellation should the City be preempted further by the state, (“terminate this Agreement at the end of each budget period during the subscription term so long as Client has made best efforts to ensure the necessary consents for renewal and obtain appropriate funds for payment of the fees”):
Year one: $243,425.50
Year two: $258,312.08
Year three: $274,240.73
City Licensing fees ($500.00 non-owner occupied) and penalties ($250.00) are anticipated to cover the cost of this software, although the number of properties needing a Vacation Rental License can fluctuate.
Full implementation of this software is expected to take about eight weeks, from execution of the contract.
Case studies provided by vendor:
-Nashville, Tennessee (Code Department): How the Codes Department Achieves 90%+ Compliance With Host Compliance | Granicus <https://granicus.com/how-the-codes-department-achieves-90-compliance-with-host-compliance/>
-Nashville, Tennessee (Finance Department): How the Finance Department Increased Tax Collection by $2.8 Million with Host Compliance | Granicus <https://granicus.com/how-the-finance-department-increased-tax-collection-by-2-8-million-with-host-compliance/>
-Monroe County, Florida: How a Popular Tourist Destination Stays One Step Ahead of Illegal STRs With Host Compliance | Granicus <https://granicus.com/how-a-popular-tourist-destination-stays-one-step-ahead-of-illegal-strs-with-host-compliance/>
Fiscal Impact:
Funding for the first year of this contract will be made available in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget as detailed in Exhibit 1, subject to approval of this resolution.
Recommended for inclusion on the agenda by:
John Chidsey, Code Manager, Division of Code Compliance
Shawn Burgess, Assistant Director, Financial Services
Andria Wingett, Assistant Director, Department of Development Services
Shiv Newaldass, Director, Department of Development Services
Gus Zambrano, Assistant City Manager for Sustainable Development
Adam Reichbach, Assistant City Manager for Finance and Administration