Commission tables $861,000 911 call-handling upgrade; staff to review pricing

Putnam County commissioners heard a vendor proposal for a multi-year upgrade to the county's 911 call-handling hardware and network and voted to table the item pending staff review.

County public-safety staff described a hardware-and-network refresh for the 9-1-1 center that the vendor presented as a full-service, multi-component package intended to improve resiliency and call delivery. The vendor representative said the proposal included primary, secondary and tertiary network elements, backup call delivery through satellite and LTE and an operations/training center to support dispatching from an emergency operations center.

The vendor representative reported a five-year total as presented and identified the first-year hardware cost as the largest single component. County staff quoted a five-year total presented in the meeting of $861,005.18 and a first-year hardware cost presented as $343,006.40. The proposal would have created additional services and hardware to enable backup call delivery in case of commercial network outages.

Commissioners and county counsel asked staff to verify pricing and ensure compliance with GSA or other applicable procurement standards. Larry (county staff) said he had not yet performed a price-comparison review and commissioners asked him and Tim to complete that review. Commission discussion noted the technical importance of resiliency but emphasized the need to confirm pricing and procurement compliance before committing county funds.

A motion to table the 911 call-handling equipment and network upgrade for review passed without recorded opposition. Commissioners directed staff to return with a review at a subsequent meeting in September so the commission could make a final decision before the vendor's stated October deadline.