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Council probes no‑bid text‑messaging contract and finance risks after ARPA warning
Summary
Commissioners asked the manager and procurement to review a manager‑approved, multi‑month contract with Figures Communications after poor vendor responsiveness; staff also warned the City faces near‑term fiscal risk after a Treasury review of ARPA spending and ongoing financial control gaps.
At Tuesday’s North Miami Beach commission meeting, elected officials demanded documentation and remedies after staff revealed problems with a manager‑authorized contract for a municipal text‑messaging pilot with Figures Communications and a commission briefing raised several serious finance‑control and ARPA exposure risks.
Procurement and IT told the commission that the text‑messaging arrangement began as a pilot and was executed as a software exemption. The vendor’s monthly, all‑inclusive fee was roughly $4,000; because the arrangement straddled two fiscal years it exceeded $50,000 in total payments to date (about $32,000 was reported paid so far). City staff reported weak vendor responsiveness and little evidence of a fully functioning product in city systems.
Procurement said it had issued a termination letter but the city manager briefly delayed termination to give the vendor a chance to meet with…
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