CONCORD — The City Council on Tuesday awarded a one-year technology management contract that is expected to yield greater savings than the deal with the vendor Concord had used for the past three years.
By using an independent contractor to provide desktop installation, maintenance and IT support, the city has saved about $400,000 per year since 2011, according to Jeff Lewis, director of Information Technology.
R-Computer, which is in Concord, had held the desktop managed services contract since 2011, earning $487,361 in the most recent contract year. In April, the city solicited bids for the contract and received 10 submissions. The top finalists were R-Computer and Vacaville-based Axiom Technologies, whose clients include the state Department of Healthcare Services and the California High Speed Rail Authority.
Following the staff”s recommendation, the City Council on Tuesday awarded a one-year $419,112 contract to Axiom Technologies, with the option to extend it for up to four one-year terms. R-Computer”s competing bid was $426,372 per year.
The Axiom Technologies contract is expected to cost about $55,000 less per year than the city had been paying R-Computer for desktop managed services.
But this was the second time the contract came before the council.
At the Dec. 9 meeting, Councilman Dan Helix pulled the contract from the consent calendar for further consideration. In a scathing letter to the council, Ed Roth, R-Computer president, outlined his concerns about the city”s selection process and Axiom Technologies” qualifications.
Roth contended that Axiom”s bid didn”t include the cost of moving to new software nor the potential cost of retaining R-Computer for several months while the city transitions to the new vendor. In the letter, Roth also claimed he had “reason to believe” Matt Bowley, a contractor with the city, who also is the husband of Axiom Technologies owner Susan Bowley, had participated in drafting the request for proposals for the desktop managed services contract.
“Although the award is proposed to be awarded to Axiom, objectively it appears that it is unqualified and unprepared to do the work for the city as required,” Roth wrote.
In a Dec. 8 memo to the council, Lewis refuted all of Roth”s claims and explained that city staffers chose Axiom Technologies because the company would provide a greater number of highly certified employees at a lower cost.
“In summary, R-Computer”s memorandum relies on inaccurate statements and allegations,” Lewis wrote in the memo.
Seeking an independent arbiter, the city paid Savant Solutions $2,500 to evaluate both firms” proposals. Savant Solutions “found Axiom Technologies to be the clear vendor of choice” because it satisfied most of the requirements set forth in the request for proposals, according to the report to the city. Savant Solutions also determined that the projected five-year cost for Axiom Technologies is about $200,000 less than R-Computer for that same period.
At Tuesday”s meeting, Roth said Savant Solutions only reviewed his company”s proposal without taking into account its track record with the city. He also questioned Savant Solutions” neutrality since the company has a $200,000 contract with the city”s IT department it won in 2012.
“I feel that there”s many questions with no answers,” Roth said.
A representative of Axiom Technologies did not speak at the meeting.
Ultimately, the council deferred to Lewis” expertise and knowledge in unanimously awarding the contract to Axiom Technologies. They also praised him for seeking a third-party opinion of the two proposals and seeking references from Axiom Technologies” current clients. Several council members also noted that a one-year contract gives the city the flexibility to change course if Axiom Technologies doesn”t meet expectations.