Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement Police topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Aurora council tables police drive-test scanner award after debate over vendor experience and pricing
Summary
The council held Resolution 250378 for a drive-test scanner purchase after Alderman Larson sought to award the contract to LexisNexis over the low bidder, citing vendor experience. Staff said a bid-tabulation gave '5 8 group' a higher overall score driven largely by price; the council voted to table and ask staff to return with updated pricing and options.
Aurora City Council voted to table a proposed $170,000 procurement for a police drive-test scanner after several aldermen questioned whether the low bidder, identified as '5 8 group,' was the best choice.
Alderman Larson moved to award the contract to LexisNexis, arguing the larger firm had more experience with comparable police departments and greater capacity. "LexisNexis is a much larger and more well established company," Larson said, pointing to existing contracts in comparable cities as evidence of reliability.
City purchasing staff and police investigators told the council the procurement followed the solicitation and bid-tabulation process. Jolene Coulter, the director of purchasing, said the quotes were more than 90 days old and that updated pricing would be required if the council chose LexisNexis. Lieutenant Tom McNamara said price was a significant factor in the evaluation and that the tabulation is attached to the Legistar record. Investigator Daryl Moore said the primary difference in scoring was price, and that 5 8 group offered aftercare that allowed unlimited 24/7 calls while LexisNexis limited support to 20 free hours per year before charging for additional service.
"The score was 99.67 for 5 8 group and 89 for LexisNexis," Moore said, citing the procurement scoring. "Price and aftercare were the biggest issues."
Council members expressed conflicting priorities: some favored the lower-cost, higher-scoring bid; others pressed for vendor experience and long-term support. Several members, including Alderman Franco and Alderman Buck, said they preferred to gather updated pricing and clearer amendment language rather than substitute the award immediately.
A motion to table the resolution passed 9–0. The mayor instructed staff to contact LexisNexis for updated pricing and to request extended post-contract support terms, then bring both companies' proposals back to the council at the next meeting.
Next steps: Purchasing staff will solicit updated, current quotes from LexisNexis and confirm service-level terms; the item will return to a future council meeting for a final decision.
