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Brownsville approves OmniFiber operations consolidation, authorizes multi-year services for city network
Summary
After executive session the commission approved an amendment consolidating network-operation contracts with OmniFiber that adds senior network engineers and a cybersecurity role; staff said the first-year cost is $2,610,240 and the five-year total is about $13.6 million, funded initially from the general fund and later by a planned fiber enterprise fund.
The Brownsville City Commission approved an amendment to the city—s OmniFiber network operation agreement after discussing the item in executive session Dec. 9. City staff said the consolidated five-year agreement will maintain a team of senior network engineers (nine engineers in the proposal) and add a cybersecurity engineer to support the city—s growing digital and smart-city operations.
CIO Jorge Cardenas told commissioners the amendment consolidates multiple contracts into one. He described difficulty hiring engineers with the required experience locally and provided a cost comparison showing that contracting through OmniFiber is materially less expensive than alternative state-contract rates or immediately hiring equivalent in-house staff. The amendment presented a first-year cost of $2,610,240 and a five-year total of approximately $13,583,793.79; staff said the contract carries a modest annual escalation (2%).
Commissioners raised questions about funding and the timeline for creating an enterprise fiber fund to offset general-fund costs; staff said the city expects to lease dark fiber to partners and create a fiber enterprise fund to reimburse the general fund over time. After executive-session review of related economic-development agreements, the commission voted in open session to approve the OmniFiber amendment and to authorize staff to finalize terms consistent with executive-session direction.
Supporters argued the arrangement preserves continuity for critical services and adds cybersecurity capacity; some commissioners asked for a more detailed forecast of projected enterprise-fund revenue before long-term commitments are finalized. The contract consolidation was approved by majority vote.
