CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
STAFF REPORT
2175 Cherry Avenue • Signal
Hill, California 90755-3799
6/13/2023
AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: GRISSEL CHAVEZ
DEPUTY CITY MANAGER
SHARON DEL ROSARIO
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
SUBJECT:
APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH GO TO TECHNOLOGIES USA, INC. (GOTO)
FOR A CITYWIDE PHONE VOIP SYSTEM
Summary:
Staff is recommending approval of an Agreement with GoTo Technologies USA Inc. (GoTo) for telecommunications services for a forty-two month-term, in an amount not to-exceed $94,128.45 (with an additional 10% for contingency), for cloud hosted Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system and telecommunication services The current phone system has outdated hardware and software and is no longer supported by the manufacturer. Subject to City Council approval, the implementation of the project would be completed by end of November 2023.
Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to enter into an Agreement with GoTo for telecommunications services for a forty-two month term, in an amount not to-exceed $94,128.45 (with an additional 10% for contingency as needed) for cloud hosted Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system in a form approved by the City Attorney.
Fiscal Impact:
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Proposed General Fund Budget includes $23,220 for the provision of telephone landline monthly service charges and $100,000 in the IT capital outlay budget for one-time project costs. The GoTo system and services costs include an initial one-time licensing, hardware, installation, and training fee of $25,076.85. The ongoing costs to support the new phone system are $1,918.10 per month recurring ($23,017.20 annually) for a forty-two month term. GoTo provides six CITY OF SIGNAL HILL Page 1 of 4 Printed on 6/8/2023
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$1,918.10 per month recurring ($23,017.20 annually) for a forty-two month term. GoTo provides six months of service at no cost; therefore, the first-year annual cost is $48,094.05, and the total fortytwo month term contract cost is $94,128.45.
The City will also be utilizing project management/implementation services through the City’s IT consultant Infinity Technologies, for a cost of $14,500.
The total FY 2023-24 project cost is $62,594 and the future annual cost through the contract term is $23,017.20. There is sufficient funding to cover additional costs up to 10% for contingency if needed during the implementation phase.
Project - Year 1 Budget GoTo
GoTo Annual telephone landline costs* $ 23,220.00 $ 23,017.20 Go To One-time Installation Costs $ 100,000.00 $ 25,076.85 Infinity Technology - project Costs $ 14,500.00
Total $ 123,220.00 $ 62,594.05
GoTo on-going phone line charges - Year 2 $ 23,017.20 $ 23,017.20 GoTo on-going phone line charges - Year 3 $ 23,007.20 $ 23,017.20 Total GoTo contract costs for 42 months $ 94,128.45
* Current landline service provided by Spectrum - currently budgeted at $23,220.
Strategic Plan Objective:
Goal No. 4: Maintain and improve the public infrastructure.
Background:
The City has been operating using a Cisco Voiceover IP on premise system with Spectrum phone service. The current system uses older hardware and software technology lacking the modern communication standards that are currently available. Because of this, the existing system is costly to maintain and difficult to administer. Additionally, the phone system has experienced technical difficulties and lacks redundancies in the event of a technical system failure. The City’s IT consultant conducted an assessment of the City’s current phone system performance and overall costs, as well as recommendations on a new telecommunications platform that would better serve City operations.
The IT consultant’s recommendation is that the citywide telecommunications system be replaced, as it posed a likely risk of having a disruption in service at any time, with no redundancy in place.
Analysis:
Staff is recommending the GoTo telecommunications system solution which is used by many municipalities locally and nationwide. GoTo uses (VOIP) that allows staff to communicate more efficiently and effectively by using the latest technology and features that a modern unified communications platform provides. GoTo ensures adequate redundancy and failover to eliminate phone call outages. GoTo provides modern technology and features, and offers a variety of services that can be added-on or accessed in an emergency, if needed. Staff researched other commonly used systems which offered similar service, and is recommending GoTo based on pricing, software capabilities and system/equipment provided support and maintenance.
The proposed GoTo system will provide every City employee a softphone (at no cost) and a desktop CITY OF SIGNAL HILL Page 2 of 4 Printed on 6/8/2023
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The proposed GoTo system will provide every City employee a softphone (at no cost) and a desktop phone (if employee’s preference); along with system configuration, installation, and on-site training. A softphone is a type of software-based phone that allows employee to make phone calls over an internet connection without needing designated physical hardware. The softphone can also be installed on desktops and mobile devices. In short, softphones allow employee to make telephone calls without an actual telephone. The GoTo system includes features such as personal and group mailboxes, ability to forward/transcribe voicemails to emails, emergency 911 dialing if internet service goes offline, and several layers of security comprising of physical, network, host, data, application business process and enterprise organization. The soft phone capabilities via cellphone allows City staff to assist callers remotely with unparalleled redundancy and reliability. This GoTo phone system is entirely cloud-based and hosted online, which has been the new industry standard method of operation. The system also provides redundancy for City to have resiliency against natural and manmade disasters.
Staff conducted reference checks by contacting local government clients utilizing the GoTo system and responses were very positive.
Compliance with Purchasing Policy
Under Section 3.20.120 E et. seq., of the Signal Hill Municipal Code, the City's purchasing policy allows for an exception to the purchasing policy as follows:
There shall be no informal quote process, formal RFP or RFQ process, or formal bid process required for the purchases of goods, services, or public projects under the any of the following circumstances:
Competitive Bidding Already Completed. When the city manager or city council determines that: (1) a competitive bid procedure has been conducted by another public agency, including, but not limited to, another local agency, the state through the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the federal government through the general services administration (GSA), or a joint powers agency, authority or alliance that procures competitive contracts; and (2) the price to the city is equal to or better than the price to that public agency.
The City is a member of The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) which is a national purchasing cooperative that offers access to competitively procured purchasing contracts to its membership resulting in lower prices due to economies of scale. TIPS is authorized to establish competitively awarded cooperative purchasing contracts on behalf of itself and its participating agencies. TIPS also follows the competitive contracting law process to solicit, evaluate, and award cooperative purchasing contracts for goods and services. The City’s access to TIPS contracts results in a savings of time and financial resources necessary to fulfill bid requirements; and access to pricing based on nationally bid contracts.
On January 6, 2023, GoTo was awarded contract no. 221003 through a TIPS cooperative purchasing bidding process, for electronics, appliance, and associated goods and services, and expires on January 31, 2026. Pricing for the proposed City phone system is based on the TIPS contract pricing structure. The proposed contract with GoTo through TIPS satisfies the City’s purchasing ordinance requirements.
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Subject to City Council approval of the proposed contract (Attachment A), staff will begin working with its IT consultant on the implementation of the project and anticipates completion by end of November 2023.
Reviewed:
_________________________
Sharon del Rosario
Approved:
_________________________
Carlo Tomaino
Attachment:
A. Agreement with GoTo Technology
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