Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: George Tablack
Department: Finance and Administrative Services Division: Records, Taxes, and Treasury
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO APPROVE amendment to the Agreements between Broward County and the companies operating the seven private tag agencies within the County (“Private Tag Agencies”), allowing the Private Tag Agencies to accept payment cards and modifying their insurance and bond requirements, in substantially the form attached as Exhibit 2; and authorize the County Administrator to approve and execute such amendments on behalf of the County, once approved for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney.
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Why Action is Necessary
Board approval is required to delegate authority to the County Administrator to enter into amendments to an agreement.
What Action Accomplishes
Authorizes the County Administrator to approve amendments to the Agreements with the Private Tag Agencies.
Is this Action Goal Related
No
Previous Action Taken
None.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND THE RECORDS, TAXES, AND TREASURY DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
Broward County Government is responsible for tag agency services and has agreements in place with the providers operating the seven private tag agency offices located in Broward County (“Private Tag Agencies”). The Private Tag Agencies provide, among other things, automobile tag and title documents and renewals, at fees slightly higher than those charged by the State of Florida and directly by the County.
The owner of one of the Private Tag Agencies has requested the ability to accept payment cards (i.e., credit and debit cards) for customer transactions. For consistency among all Private Tag Agencies, the proposed amendment has been prepared to authorize each of the Private Tag Agencies to accept payment cards. This will be an additional and optional customer payment method available for the customers of all Private Tag Agencies. The Private Tag Agencies will be able to charge customers a convenience fee for the use of payment cards, capped at the actual net cost incurred by the Private Tag Agencies pursuant to their separate agreements with their payment card processors (Exhibit 2).
In addition to authorizing the acceptance of payment cards, the proposed amendment adjusts the insurance and bonding requirements for each of the Private Tag Agencies for consistency with current requirements of the State of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) Memorandum of Understanding between the Private Tag Agencies, DHSMV and the County. The DHSMV requires a surety bond in the amount of $25,000 or alternatively, in lieu of a surety bond, an insurance policy in the amount of $250,000. Previous insurance amounts ranged from $250,000 to $1 million and separate bond amounts ranged from $250,000 to $400,000. The insurance and bond amounts have been reviewed and are determined to be sufficient by the Risk Management Division.
A historical summary of the relationship between the various Private Tag Agencies and the County, including contract and prior amendment dates and milestones, is attached as Exhibit 1.
Source of Additional Information
Thomas Kennedy, Director, Records, Taxes and Treasury Division, (954) 357-5777
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
There is no fiscal impact to the County. These fees are paid by individuals utilizing private tag agency services.