Submitted By: Christopher Ramos
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Presentation By: Christopher Ramos
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Department: Information Technology
FORMAL TITLE:
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Utilization of a cooperative purchasing agreement with Government Finance Officers Association for consulting services in an amount not to exceed $233,000
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OCALA’S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Operational Excellence
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
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BACKGROUND:
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is a nonprofit, vendor‑neutral professional association that advances excellence in state and local government finance through best practices, training, research, and consulting.
Through its Research and Consulting Center, GFOA provides objective enterprise resource planning (ERP) advisory services centered on governance, business‑process improvement, requirements definition, procurement support, and implementation oversight. ERP systems are integrated software platforms that support core administrative functions across multiple departments, typically including finance, budget, procurement, human resources, payroll, and time management.
Under the scope of consulting services to be provided, GFOA will evaluate how the City of Ocala’s current administrative processes operate within the City’s current ERP system (Tyler Technologies’ Munis) and from that evaluation subsequently map “as‑is” workflows and document “to‑be” processes aligned to modern best practices. GFOA will then develop functional requirements and a needs assessment/action plan to ready the organization, and-if a new system is pursued-assist with scope development for a competitive solicitation, serve in an advisory capacity for review of vendor proposals as well as during contract negotiations to mitigate risk and ensure accountability.
Alternatively, should the City elect to retain Munis, GFOA can provide implementation advisory services to optimize existing processes, policies, and prerequisite readiness tasks.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS:
These consulting services will help Ocala evaluate and document current processes within Munis, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop a strategic action plan. Staff recommends GFOA because of its nationally recognized expertise in ERP advisory services, including governance, process improvement, and best-practice guidance for public-sector organizations. GFOA is vendor-neutral and has successfully assisted hundreds of governments, including many in Florida, with similar projects.
On December 10, 2025, the Information Technology Department sought a procurement exception to piggyback the contract awarded to GFOA by Mono County, California. Mono County competitively solicited business process review and project management consulting services for their new ERP system under Request for Proposals No. 250746. Two vendors responded and on June 18, 2024, the contract was awarded to GFOA for an initial term of five years ending June 30, 2029. GFOA has agreed to extend pricing and services to the City of Ocala under essentially the same terms and conditions as the Mono County Agreement.
The Information Technology Department has met with three local government agencies that had previously used GFOA consulting services for their ERP initiatives. All three confirmed that GFOA was instrumental in reviewing existing processes, documenting workflows, defining requirements for their next ERP system, and assisting with RFP development and vendor selection. These positive endorsements reinforce the City’s confidence that GFOA’s expertise will provide significant value and reduce risk as Ocala evaluates its ERP strategy.
The City is pursuing these services because Munis has not fully met operational needs. While Munis provides core functionality, departments still rely on manual processes for certain workflows, reducing efficiency and increasing error risk. User adoption and ease of use have also been sources of concern, as some processes require complex navigation that slows productivity and increases training requirements. Additionally, contract management within the system has proven cumbersome, creating inefficiencies in tracking and compliance. These issues have prompted the City to evaluate whether optimizing Munis or transitioning to a new ERP system would better support critical functions.
Staff recommends approval of this engagement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funds for the consulting services will be budgeted/encumbered in account #001-035-530-516-51-31010 and will be paid under Munis Contract No. 260309.
If the City elects to retain the Tyler Technologies Munis system, the GFOA consulting services fee will follow the “Alternative Pricing” and will be reduced to $93,000. Any future charges will be billed at $275 per hour for advisory and project review services.
PROCUREMENT REVIEW:
These services were procured in compliance with the City’s Procurement Policy.
LEGAL REVIEW:
This Agreement will be reviewed and approved for form and legality by City Attorney, William E. Sexton.
ALTERNATIVE:
• Approve with Changes
• Table
• Deny