Committee Amends and Forwards 21 Tech Contract Extension for City Online Tax Filing

The Budget and Finance Committee on May 3 voted to amend and forward a resolution authorizing the Treasurer and Tax Collector to amend a service-and-support agreement with 21 Tech LLC, the sole provider integrated with the city's Omentum system that builds and supports online business tax filing forms.

Amanda Fried, Chief of Policy and Communications for the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector, said systems built and supported by 21 Tech enabled over 350,000 online filings and more than $2.4 billion in tax revenue. The contract is sole-source because 21 Tech has access to the proprietary source code needed to integrate with Omentum.

Nick Menard of the Budget and Legislative Analyst's office said the department projected roughly $1 million of spending annually for this contract, but actual spending has been closer to $815,000; the BLA recommended adjusting the resolution's 'not to exceed' amount to align with actual contract terms while still allowing an appropriate contingency for new or modified tax forms. Chair Chan moved to accept that calibration; the committee voted 3–0 to amend the resolution and forward it to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The resolution would extend the contract term for an additional 10 years (May 2023 through May 31, 2033) and increase the contract amount by $10,000,000 to a total not to exceed $18,200,000, with the department retaining discretion to set specific project scopes and deliverable-based payments.