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Council approves SBS IT-services amendment after extended questions about costs
Summary
The council approved an amendment to the city's contract with Simplified Business Solutions to raise the hourly rate from $85 to $125 while increasing included monthly support hours from 4 to 8; several members questioned the math behind claimed savings and asked for clearer monthly-cost breakdowns.
Harper Woods council approved an amendment to its contract with Simplified Business Solutions (SBS) to revise the hourly service rate from $85 to $125 and increase included monthly technical support hours from 4 to 8.
City staff presented a projection that the revised rate structure and additional included hours would yield approximately $1,200 in monthly savings compared with current billings because of the elimination or reduction of other technology expenses. Several councilmembers pushed back on those projections and sought an explicit breakdown of typical monthly hours and total costs. "The math is not equaling out here," one councilmember said, noting that a $125 hourly rate and a monthly average of 20–25 hours does not obviously yield the stated savings.
Staff explained the city receives 24/7 monitoring, Microsoft license pass-throughs and other services from SBS that are not captured solely by an hourly rate and that monthly hours fluctuate significantly depending on server issues and project work. After discussion and an offer to produce a clearer invoice breakdown in the future, the council approved the amendment by roll call.
