Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Court Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves purchase of three court laptops; directs staff to seek proposals for collections contract
Summary
The council approved spending court technology funds to replace three aging laptops used in municipal court and voted to solicit proposals for the city’s municipal court collections contract rather than renew the incumbent firm automatically.
The council approved using court technology funds to buy three replacement laptops for municipal court operations and to have the city’s IT vendor install and configure the devices.
City staff said the three existing laptops are more than five years old and operate slowly during court sessions. The city secretary reported that Bridgehead IT quoted an HP ProBook configuration with a three‑year warranty and professional services for setup; the proposed total quoted price (including setup and warranty) was presented to council and paid from the court technology fund, which is financed by court fees paid by defendants.
After discussion of procurement options and a state purchasing portal, a council member moved and the council approved the Bridgehead IT quote with the purchase funded from the court technology fund.
Separately, council considered the municipal court collections contract with MBBA. An outside attorney and another collections firm representative spoke and asked that the council put the contract out for competitive proposals rather than renew automatically. Council voted to not renew the current contract with MBBA at this time and directed staff to solicit proposals and invite qualified firms to present their services to council. A council member and staff discussed that the statutory collection fee is set by state law (30%) and that differences among firms focus on service levels rather than fee rates.
