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COUNTY OF SAN MATEOInter-Departmental Correspondence |
Information Services |
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DATE: |
October 6, 2003 |
BOARD MEETING DATE: |
October 21, 2003 |
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TO: |
Honorable Board of Supervisors |
FROM: |
Chris Flatmoe, CIO/Director Information Services |
SUBJECT: |
Agreement for the Provision of Paging Services |
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RECOMMENDATION: |
Adopt a Resolution authorizing execution of a two-year agreement from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005 with Verizon Wireless Messaging Services for the provision of paging services at a cost not to exceed $782,000. |
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BACKGROUND: |
In 2001 the County issued an RFP for a paging services agreement. Representatives from Public Safety Communications, Purchasing, Medical Center and Information Services reviewed the proposals and recommended that an agreement be negotiated with Verizon Wireless, the County's current provider for paging services. Contract negotiations with Verizon were time consuming but have now been completed. |
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DISCUSSION: |
The County has over 2,600 pagers currently deployed; 970 are managed by Public Safety Communications, another 470 are managed by the San Mateo Medical Center and the Mental Health Division of Health Services with the remainder managed by Information Services. Pagers managed by Information Services are distributed to various County departments with the largest users being Health Services (excluding Mental Health) (275), Human Services Agency (230), Sheriff (155), Public Works (132), Probation (93) and Information Services (81). ISD's pager management services include pager ordering, distribution, inventory control, and billing services. All pagers will fall under the new countywide contract.
In recent years, the paging sector of the wireless industry has been in decline as the more profitable wireless voice industry has grown. Because of the decline in subscribers, there are fewer service providers than in the past and fewer still that serve broad geographic areas, such as the County.
Additionally, there is almost no work being done on extension or build-out of existing service areas.
In spite of the declining opportunities for the paging industry, paging remains a viable, cost effective option for wireless communications with County workers and Public Safety personnel and should remain so for at least three to five more years. Paging currently enjoys a wider service area than voice services and is far less costly. In time the coverage of voice services will increase and the cost should decline, or at least remain static, as that market expands.
The proposed agreement is for two years and may be extended on a year-to-year basis thereafter by mutual agreement. The agreement has been reviewed by County Counsel and Purchasing. The changes to the County's non-discrimination language and a waiver of the County's equal benefits compliance was made due to Verizon's global operation. Verizon will be in full compliance with all federal, state and local laws and directives except the equal benefits compliance ordinance which are applicable to the provision of its services in California.
We are recommending that the County Manager waive the equal benefits requirement. Verizon does currently offer equal benefits to both spouses and domestic partners, however they do not comply with the State of California domestic partner registry, which also includes unmarried heterosexual couples when one partner is over the age of 62 as amended by Assembly Bill 25 passed October 2001. |
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VISION ALIGNMENT: |
This agreement keeps the commitment of responsive, effective and collaborative government through visioning goal number 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain. |
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FISCAL IMPACT: |
The proposed agreement provides for lower costs. Expected savings under the agreement will be in the range of $50,000 to $70,000 per year. The agreement caps total expenditures at $782,000. Actual monthly expenditures are dependent on the type and number of pagers in service in any given month and the level of services provided. |
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Exhibit A |
1. |
General Description of RFP |
Provision of Paging Services |
2. |
List key evaluation criteria |
1. Completeness and quality of coverage for all of San Mateo County and facilities. 2. Committed availability and paging response time levels and methodologies for measuring and reporting.
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3. |
Where advertised |
Independent Newspaper Group: Wednesday January 10, 2001 and Saturday, January 13, 2001 |
4. |
In addition to any advertisement, list others to whom RFP was sent |
N/A |
5. |
Total number sent to prospective proposers |
6 |
6. |
Number of proposals received |
3 |
7. |
Who evaluated the proposals |
Manuel Rico, Medical Center Robert Bustichi, Public Safety Communications Peter Tocchini, Purchasing Luther Perry, ISD Robert Heavey, ISD Karen Okada, ISD Maryanne Carboni, ISD |
8. |
In alphabetical order, names of proposers (or finalists, if applicable) and location |
950 Tower Lane, Suite 340 Foster City, CA 94404 2580 North First Street Building B, 5th Floor San Jose, CA 95131 Attention: Mike A Michel 2181 West Winton Avenue Hayward, CA 94545 Attention: Neeraj Shama |