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City holds action on retroactive ARPA award for Dell VxRail support after procurement questions
Summary
The board paused a retroactive award for Dell VxRail support from Softchoice, citing concerns over whether a purchase order or contract satisfied ARPA procurement rules and asking staff to verify funding and paperwork before returning the item to the board.
The Board of Estimate and Contract on March 4 deferred action on an item authorizing a retroactive award of Dell VxRail support to Softchoice and approving payment from ARPA funds.
The Department of Management Services had presented the item after the service provider was obligated through a purchase order to meet ARPA deadlines. Several members and staff said the underlying procurement sequence looked out of order: a purchase order had been issued before the formal award or legislation to award the RFP was clearly recorded for the internal procurement file.
Commissioner Perez, who arrived for the discussion, explained that the vendor had been engaged via purchase order in order to meet ARPA timing. City staff later reported the vendor does not require a signed contract for these services and that their standard practice is to use a purchase order rather than a signed contract. The board discussed whether the executed purchase order alone satisfied the city’s procurement threshold and ARPA requirements or whether a retroactive ordinance to enter a contract remained necessary to correct the internal record.
Members agreed to hold the item to permit additional review. The sponsor said the payment is not due until April and that staff would confirm whether the existing purchase order satisfies federal ARPA rules and the city’s procurement policies. The recorded contract amount on the agenda was $201,5505 (agenda text unclear); board members asked staff to verify the correct dollar amount and the prior December legislative packages that may have sought to obligate ARPA funds.
At the close of the discussion the board decided to hold the item and asked staff to return with clarified documentation and confirmation of funding eligibility before voting.
