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City assessor recommends switching tax‑map vendor to save roughly $3,000; recommends retaining tax‑cert outside counsel
Summary
Assessor Bob Warren told the council three bids were received for 2025 tax-map maintenance and recommended CAI Technologies' lower alternate bid (excluding owners database) to save about $3,000 versus competitors; he also recommended retaining two outside tax-cert attorneys at revised hourly retainer rates and noted welcome letters for new homeowners are now bilingual.
City Assessor Bob Warren presented an analysis of three bids for the city's 2025 tax-map maintenance contract and recommended accepting CAI Technologies’ alternate bid that excludes maintenance of the ownership database.
Warren summarized the bids: MRB (current vendor) with a base bid of $19,800 plus a $2,500 contingency (total $22,300), Liro Group at a total cost of roughly $19,351, and CAI Technologies with a base-service bid of $14,003.30 plus setup fees. Warren noted CAI submitted a second proposal excluding the ownership-database maintenance at $11,330 plus a $2,500 setup fee for a total of $16,330 — roughly $3,000 below the next-lowest responsive bid — and recommended moving forward with CAI’s alternate bid for 2025.
Warren also outlined recommended retainer agreements for outside attorneys who handle tax-certiorari matters. He said Marie Hadukovich has supported tax-cert work since 2017 and that her proposed 2025 billing rate is $175 per hour; he recommended continuing her services. He also recommended retaining Bill Maker of Maker, Fergalli & Decastanzo as trial counsel with a proposed 2025 billing rate of $225 per hour.
Warren told the council the assessment office also converted its welcome letter to Spanish so new homeowners will receive bilingual materials going forward.
Why it matters: The choice of vendor affects next year’s mapping costs and ongoing maintenance; retaining specialized tax‑cert counsel is a typical municipal cost-management step to handle large commercial tax disputes.
