Staff at the meeting read aloud bids from more than a dozen vendors for a replacement phone system and noted that the current phone system has been unreliable. The proposals presented included varying mixes of one‑time charges and recurring (monthly or annual) fees, making direct cost comparisons difficult.

A staff member said vendors submitted different pricing structures and multiple line‑item options, which complicates apples‑to‑apples comparison. Examples read into the record included Verizon (one‑time line items read as $62,005.80 and monthly fees around $6,057), Dialpad (one‑time $36,005.40, annual recurring $59,008.83), Digital Agent (one‑time $47,006.56, monthly about $5,990), and EliteMind Technologies (one‑time roughly $97,005.74 and recurring roughly $12,115). The staff member said vendors often separated hardware, implementation and annual maintenance costs, and some proposals included multi‑year totals.

The staff member also told the meeting that the organization’s current phone system has experienced ongoing problems and that technology changes mean the department is not getting good service from the existing provider. Staff advised that reviewers will need to compare one‑time and recurring costs, hardware expenses and implementation fees when evaluating proposals.

No formal award or approval of a vendor was recorded in the transcript; the items were presented for review so staff and decision‑makers could examine the bids and return with a recommendation.

The record of bids and the variety of pricing approaches means staff will need to prepare a normalization of costs (for example, a three‑year total cost comparison) before the body makes a procurement decision. The meeting discussion closed with staff asking reviewers to “go through and make sure we got everything covered” so that evaluators can compare scope, recurring fees and one‑time charges.

Less critical details: the vendor list read into the record also included Telenco of Augusta, Brand Telecom, Ahoy Telecom, Average Networks, Vertical Communications and others. Several proposals included separate line items for taxes, hardware and vendor‑provided services.