Digital Records Repository and Public Search Platform

The Vendor is required to provide a digital records repository and public search platform to replace the city’s existing county system currently utilized by city staff.
- Solution shall provide a centralized digital records repository designed for the long-term storage, indexing, and retrieval of finalized and authoritative records, with both internal staff access and public-facing search and viewing capabilities.
- Legacy document imaging and records management system used to scan, index, store, and retrieve resolutions, ordinances, meeting minutes, maps, and other official City records.
- The system includes basic optical character recognition (OCR) functionality, it no longer adequately supports the City’s current or anticipated business needs.
- Historically, the City managed significant volumes of paper-based records that required scanning and OCR processing. 
- The City has since largely transitioned to born-digital records. 
- Limited paper documents may still be received and are typically digitized using existing multifunction printers and scanners prior to ingestion into the repository.
- The existing system has several functional limitations, including constrained search capabilities, lack of native public access features, limited scalability, and an inability to easily support additional document types.
- These limitations hinder efficient record retrieval and restrict the City’s ability to expand system usage. 
- The software is approaching or has reached end-of-life, increasing risks related to security, vendor support, and long-term system sustainability.
- The system will primarily support:
•    Secure storage of finalized, authoritative documents
•    Metadata assignment and indexing at the time of ingestion
•    Internal staff search and retrieval
•    Public-facing search and viewing of approved records
•    Role-based access control distinguishing internal and public access
- System Design and Implementation
•    Provide a fully functional Digital Records Repository and Public Search Platform that meets the City’s operational, security, and compliance requirements. 
•    Configure the system to support multiple document types and user roles across departments.
•    Ensure the system is scalable to support future growth in document volume, system users, and document types.
- Document Storage and Records Retention
•    Provide centralized electronic storage for City records, including but not limited to resolutions, ordinances, meeting minutes, memoranda, maps, and other official documents.
•    The system shall support long-term retention and preservation of records in accordance with applicable records retention schedules and requirements established by the Department and other applicable regulations.
•    The system shall serve as a system of record for stored documents following ingestion.
•    The system shall support storage in non-proprietary or widely accepted file formats suitable for long-term preservation.
- Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Search
•    Provide OCR functionality to enable full-text, metadata-driven search across scanned and imported documents stored in the repository.
•    Ensure accurate indexing and retrieval of both historical records and newly ingested, finalized documents.
•    Support ingestion of documents that have already undergone OCR prior to submission, without requiring reprocessing.
•    Support OCR processing for image-based documents only to the extent necessary to ensure that records are text-searchable within the repository.
•    OCR capabilities shall support search and retrieval of records and are considered secondary to the system’s primary function as a non-collaborative, post-publication system of record.
•    The system is not intended to function as a capture, scanning, or document preparation platform.
- Public Access
•    Provide a public-facing portal or interface that allows members of the public to search, access, and view eligible records.
•    Support the ability for City staff to designate or tag documents as eligible for public release, ensuring only approved records are made publicly accessible.
•    Provide read-only access to publicly released records.
•    Support intuitive, self-service search and viewing capabilities for public users.
•    Promote transparency and proactively reduce the volume of public records requests by enabling efficient access to commonly requested documents.
•    Leverage metadata-driven search, filtering, and navigation to help users quickly locate relevant records.
- Ongoing Support and Maintenance
•    Provide ongoing technical support, system maintenance, and software updates, for the proposed solution.
•    The vendor shall ensure the system is supported for the full duration of the contract term and disclose the product roadmap and lifecycle status to mitigate risks associated with product end-of-life or major platform changes.
•    Vendors shall describe support hours, escalation procedures, and response time commitments.