ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2013-0816 to increase the maximum contract amounts and approving and authorizing 1) first amendment to agreement for Westlaw Computer-Assisted Legal Research Services and Clear Services, and 2) first amendment to Library Maintenance Agreement for Print Products, between the City of Houston and WEST, a Thomson Reuters Business, for the Legal Department

The City currently has two contracts with West for computer-assisted legal research services and library print products.  The current contracts will expire on September 30, 2016.  The City Attorney recommends that City Council approve an amendment to the above contracts to extend the contract term for an additional 12 months through September 30, 2017 and to increase the maximum contract amounts to fund the additional term.  This extension will permit the Legal Department and the Strategic Purchasing Department to publish a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for computer-assisted legal research and investigative services for all City departments and a library print products agreement for the Legal Department.  The current contracts contain a “termination for convenience” clause which will permit the City to terminate the contract early should the RFP process conclude before September 30, 2017.

At the conclusion of the RFP process, we will place an item on the Council agenda to award the contracts to the successful proposer.

Fiscal Note:

Funding for this item is included in the FY2017 Adopted Budget.  Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policy Ord. 2014-1078.

Current Maximum Contract Amounts:

LMA -$168,736.00

WestlawNext - $551,582.00

Additional Allocation:

LMA -$14,190.00

WestlawNext - $52,584.00 General Fund 1000

Additional Allocation:

LMA: $33,380.00

WestlawNext - $157,750.00 Property and Casualty Fund 1004

Total Additional Allocations:

LMA: $47,570.00

WestlawNext: $210,334.00

New Maximum Contract Amounts:

LMA: $216,306.00

WestlawNext $761,916.00

Harlan D. Heilman - 832.393.6455