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FPDR board authorizes three contract actions: outside counsel, OBS amendment, and OAH IGA extension
Summary
Trustees approved (1) a 4‑year outside counsel authorization (NTE $150,000), (2) an OBS contract increase of ~$180,000 for payment‑processing and security work, and (3) reinstatement and extension of the OAH IGA with a cumulative NTE of $2,000,000; trustees requested additional benchmarking on OAH costs.
The FPDR board approved three contract authorizations on Jan. 30: an outside general counsel contract authorization, an amendment to the bureau's business‑systems vendor contract, and an amendment to reinstate and extend the intergovernmental agreement for administrative hearings with the Oregon Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).
Director Sam introduced Resolution 5‑61 to authorize execution of an outside general counsel agreement selected through procurement with a not‑to‑exceed amount of $150,000 for the four‑year contract period. Sam said the contract level reflects routine board attendance work and anticipated one‑time needs such as interpreting forthcoming IRS rules on disability retirement taxation.
On Resolution 5‑62, Sam asked trustees to approve an additional $180,000 to the online business systems (OBS) contract — raising its not‑to‑exceed amount to roughly $815,000 — to cover moving FPDR payment processing to a secure server and implementing Wells Fargo payment‑processing requirements. Staff noted OBS was recently acquired by CGI and that FPDR will need to reassess long‑term technology strategy.
Resolution 5‑63 sought to reinstate and extend FPDR's IGA with the Oregon Office of Administrative Hearings through June 30, 2029, and to confirm cumulative authorization to spend up to $2,000,000 to cover hearings and appeals, including payment for services OAH has provided while the IGA was unsigned. Trustees discussed the apparent jump in the cumulative not‑to‑exceed figure and asked staff for comparative historical costs and benchmarks; attorney Frank Lougens said some increases reflect higher administrative law judge hourly rates and pandemic‑era shifts to virtual proceedings.
Each resolution was moved, seconded and approved by roll call. Trustees asked staff to provide additional background on OAH billing trends and to keep the board informed if vendor or contract strategy requires further action.
