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CC - CONSENT ITEM: (1) Approval of Five-Year Agreement with Soft-Pak for Routing and Billing Software for the City’s Sanitation Services For A Total Not-To-Exceed $420,000 (Including Contingency); (2) Waiver of Competitive Bidding Requirements for the Hardware Component of the Soft-Pak Procurement Per Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.07.075.F.3; and (3) Approval of Five-Year Agreement with Elavon for Credit Card Processing Merchant Account Payment Processing Services for Sanitation Service Billing for a Total Not-to-Exceed $500,000.
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Meeting Date: September 29, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Sean Singletary, Public Works Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-6457
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (09/24/2025)
Dept Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (09/02/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve a five-year agreement with SoftPak for routing and billing hardware and software for the City’s Sanitation Services for a total amount not-to-exceed $420,000 (including 10% contingency); (2) waive competitive bidding requirements for the hardware component of the Soft-Pak procurement per Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.07.075.F.3; and (3) approve a five-year agreement with Elavon for credit card merchant account payment processing services for sanitation service billing for a total not-to-exceed $500,000 (including 10% contingency).
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Culver City’s Environmental Programs & Operations (EPO) division of the Public Works Department provides solid waste and recycling services to approximately 8,000 residential accounts,1,500 business accounts, and approximately 100 active temporary accounts, funded entirely by user charges through the City’s Enterprise Refuse Disposal Fund (Fund 202). The Division operates over nineteen collection routes and the manages the City-owned Transfer Station with a capacity of 500 tons per day.
Residential customers are billed for regular service via property taxes, while commercial and construction accounts are billed monthly by the Finance Department. Approximately 1,600 invoices are generated by Finance staff monthly through the current Alpine Technology Corporation billing system, which has been in use since 2005. Customers currently pay in person, online, or by an automated electronic funds transfer (“ACH”).
EPO’s customer service desk receives 90-100 calls daily, mostly consisting of service requests. Residential requests are tracked via Excel spreadsheets, while business and construction-related requests are logged using Alpine’s RAMS-Pro VRP-6. Transfer Station operations rely on Weighmaster Corporation’s Weighmaster software for scale transactions.
The current billing, service request, and scale management systems are outdated and lack integration. Staff must manually transfer data across platforms, creating inefficiencies and vulnerability for service errors, and billing risks. Reporting functions are limited, requiring manual processes to meet compliance with recycling legislation.
RAMS-Pro runs on FoxPro, a database management system. The FoxPro platform has been unsupported since 2015, creating serious risks to data security, system reliability, and revenue continuity. A system failure could disrupt billing, delay customer service, and hinder regulatory compliance. Additionally, there is no real-time visibility into service activity, making it difficult to verify service completion, respond to complaints, or track missed collections. Industry-standard tools such as customer self-service portals and live in-cab service verification are absent.
To address these gaps, EPO, Finance, and IT jointly conducted a needs assessment. Findings identified critical deficiencies in interoperability, access control, cybersecurity, and scalability. Over five years, staff surveyed the marketplace, consulted peer agencies, and evaluated vendors. Objectives included modernized billing; introduction of in-cab technology for real-time tracking; expansion of customer self-service portals; and integration with Transfer Station scale operations.
Software procurements are exempt from bidding per Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) §3.07.055.E. However, to better understand software programs and costs in order to make an informed technology-forward decision based on the software’s value proposition, staff conducted an informal request for proposal process. Staff received responses from four service providers including Rubicon, Routeware, SoftPak, and Alpine Solutions. Demonstrations and cost proposals were reviewed with IT and Finance, focusing on security and reliability. SoftPak emerged as the most capable solution to meet Culver City’s needs. Staff reviewed the cost proposals and found the SoftPak costs to be reasonable. Staff recommends Council approve a five-year agreement with SoftPak. Upon approval, IT will continue to support the implementation in an oversight role and will work with EPO and Finance staff to implement the new software to minimize disruption to customers and refuse operations.
The proposed agreement with SoftPak includes the purchase of hardware necessary to support the new tracking and monitoring functions such as live in-cab service verification. The costs for the hardware to properly outfit the City’s refuse vehicles are estimated to be $174,000 (including 10% contingency). Unlike software purchases, hardware purchases are not exempt from the City’s procurement requirements and would, on their own, require a formal bid process. However, since the hardware is incidental to the software services provided by SoftPak and will be supplied and configured by SoftPak as part of the agreement, staff believes conducting a formal bid for the hardware would not be in the best interest of the City as it would create significant coordination issues, affect product warranties and delay implementation. Per CCMC Section 3.07.075.F.3. the City Council may waive, by majority vote, formal bidding requirements for such purchases.
SoftPak, based in San Diego, consolidates customer service, billing, truck weighing, and operational data into a single platform. This eliminates manual data transfers and enables residential and commercial customers to be fully integrated into one system. Other key benefits of SoftPak’s program include seamless integration unifying service, billing, and operational data; automated reporting which streamlines compliance with recycling legislation; real-time in-cab technology enabling live service verification and faster customer response; 3rd Eye integration providing video/photo service verification, customer dispute resolution, and incident investigations; paperless operations including tablets for drivers to improve efficiency, sustainability, and reduce paperwork. Other agencies using this software include the City of Glendale, County of Santa Barbara, and local private haulers that service the City of Los Angeles’ commercial franchise.
SoftPak will use Elavon for credit card merchant account payment processing. Elavon integrates securely with modern billing systems and offers competitive municipal pricing. Elavon utilizes a one-time implementation cost with monthly system support and credit card processing transaction fees, with optional services including chargebacks and reporting tools. It includes automated reconciliation to reduce financial errors; expanded payment options to improve customer convenience; and secure transactions to meet Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Customers will continue to have no-cost payment options (cash, check, and money order), ensuring equitable access for all residents. Customers can also opt for low-cost electronic check payments. SoftPak requires the use of Fusebox gateway for credit card transactions, and Fusebox is built on the Elavon network requirements. While SoftPak allows flexibility to choose any merchant services provider within the Elavon network, using Elavon ensures seamless compatibility with the City’s new billing and customer service system.
The combined implementation of SoftPak, 3rd Eye, and Elavon represents a transformative modernization of EPO’s operations. This initiative aligns with the City’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and equitable customer service, while ensuring operational resilience. After careful consideration, staff believes that this suite of software programs will be the backbone of our routing and billing system for the next decade or more.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25 included sufficient funding in the amount of $300,000 in Account No. 20260400.732160 (Refuse Collection Admin - IT Equipment) for new SoftPak routing and billing software, which can be found in the Public Works Refuse Collection - Admin section on page 431 of the budget book. Staff was not able to gather all the information needed to take an item to Council for approval of an agreement in Fiscal Year 2024-2025. These funds will be carried over into Fiscal Year 2025-2026 in order to execute the proposed agreement with SoftPak.
Year one costs are estimated at $269,000, with $30,000 in annual licensing thereafter. The total cost for the first five years will be approximately $420,000.Funding for the ongoing annual licensing will be included in the operating budget in future fiscal years.
Credit card merchant account payment processing costs for the Elavon software are projected to be $100,000 annually, and will be fully offset by the Council-approved credit card processing fee and the electronic check processing fee included in the Adopted Fee Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. The Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 includes sufficient funds in the amount of $100,000 in Account No. 20260400.520200.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
MOTION(S)
That the City Council:
1. Approve an agreement with SoftPak for Routing and Billing Software for the City’s Sanitation Services for a total not-to-exceed $420,000 (including contingency);
2. Waive competitive bidding requirements for the hardware component of the Soft-Pak procurement per Culver City Municipal Code Section 3.07.075.F.3;
3. Approve an agreement with Elavon for credit card processing for a total not-to-exceed $500,000;
4. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
5. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.