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AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF PHONE SYSTEM FOR POLICE DEPARTMENT FACILITY AND CITY HALL By: Jessie Hart, Finance Officer Background: With the construction of the new Police facility it is necessary that we address the issue of phones and data communications. Initially it was thought that a new phone system could be purchased for the new facility and "linked" to the existing system at City Hall. Because of the age of our current system and the fact that it is "technologically" obsolete [analogic rather than digital] this was not possible. The current system is maximized to its fullest and because of the need to have systems that communicate, we researched the possibility of replacing the entire system in conjunction with placing a system in the Police facility. The budget moneys available for this were limited so, it was known that this project should not go over $25,000.00, which meant it was not necessary to go out for sealed bids. We solicited bids from several vendors who have, in the recent past, installed systems in other municipalities and local businesses. The requests were submitted with responses required in three areas as follows: 1) 2) 3) Phone System Hardware and Related Parts for City Hall and the Police Facility Voice Mail Services Data Wiring for Computers [only in the Police facility] We received four quotes including the vendor that supplied and currently maintains our existing system at City Hall. All responses, except one, included a quote for voice mail capabilities. The vendors also responded with lease information. However, this is not viewed as a viable alternative since the moneys are available and the interest rates on the lease options varied between 11% and 15% [investments are currently earning substantially less than that]. The quotes from the various vendors came in as follows [all costs include sales tax where applicable]: Company Phone System Voice Mail Data Wiring [PD] Central Tele-Systems $20,045 $5,995 $4,159 AT&T $24,305 $7,270 $4,351 Apollo Communications $27,626 $7,113 $5,391 MITEL Systems $28,303 N/A $4,737 It should be noted that the data wiring is still a variable and will be determined when it is decided where each position will be, therefore, these estimates were done on the ultimate numbers of locations and may be high.