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NTTA board selects vendors for payment processing, ATMS project management and other technology and facilities services
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Summary
The board approved staff recommendations to negotiate with and select vendors for payment processing and lockbox services, project management for a new advanced traffic management system (ATMS), facilities management consultant services, and several IT infrastructure contracts, with estimated multi‑year budgets reported.
The North Texas Tollway Authority Board of Directors on Aug. 20 approved staff recommendations to negotiate agreements and select vendors for several technology, payment and facilities services intended to support operations and future projects.
Payment processing and lockbox: procurement staff recommended First Data Merchant Services as payment processor and Deluxe Financial Services for lockbox services. Staff said the payment processor handles credit/debit, wallet payments (Apple Pay/Google Pay), ACH and retail payment locations; staff estimated approximately $2.3 billion in payments processed through the service this year and projected potential savings of about $2 million per year under the recommended proposal compared with the current processor. The five‑year budget estimate for payment processing was presented as $300,000,000 (interpreted in the packet as processing-related fees over five years); lockbox budget estimate $2,000,000 over five years. The board authorized staff to negotiate agreements and return with negotiated contracts.
Advanced Traffic Management System project management: staff recommended Kimley‑Horn and Associates for project management and technical support to procure and implement a new ATMS. The recommended contract estimate is $3,500,000 over three years, funded from the capital improvement fund. Staff described a multi‑year schedule: PM services will produce procurement requirements, support solicitation and evaluation, and then support implementation and acceptance; staff expects the ATMS procurement to be advertised in 2026 with a likely implementation period of 12–15 months and go‑live around 2027. The board approved negotiation authority with the recommended firm.
Facilities Management Consultant: staff recommended Michael Baker International as the facilities management consultant to provide condition assessments, lifecycle planning, design review, cost estimating and project management support for roughly 17 NTTA facilities (approximately 370,000 square feet). Staff noted about $60–$70 million in facilities work anticipated over the next five years and said the contract will be used rather than hiring an estimated 16 new full‑time equivalents immediately. The board approved negotiation with Michael Baker.
IT and operations contracts: the board approved several cooperative or exempt procurements to maintain IT systems used by operations. These included a three‑year cooperative contract for computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) software support and licensing (budget ~$737,000), and a procurement through a cooperative for high‑performance backup storage hardware (Technologent) at about $6,300,000 over three years; related high‑availability servers and other data‑center hardware items were approved as part of the data‑center replacement package. Staff said storage needs currently total approximately 2.5 PB production with annual growth ~10% and the planned procurement will provide about 7.5 PB of pure storage for backup and disaster‑recovery purposes.
Board discussion: trustees questioned whether some services should be brought in‑house versus contracted (communications and facilities were discussed) and asked for clarifications on storage volumes, contract scope and cost drivers for payment processing. Staff explained the variable, specialized workload for communications and noted efficiencies and access to specialized skills achieved through vendors; on payment processing staff explained interchange and updater fees and said the recommended processor will add support for Discover and other wallet features and reduce certain fees compared to the incumbent.
Next steps: staff will negotiate final agreements with recommended vendors and return to the board in October or November for contract awards or approvals as appropriate.
