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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-98-0568J-98-604 568 5/29/98 RESOLUTION NO. Q Q— v v A RESOLUTION BY A FOUR FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY COMMISSION, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S FINDING THAT AN EMERGENCY SITUATION EXISTED, WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES, AND AWARDING THE ACQUISITION OF TELEPHONE SYSTEMS TO BELLSOUTH COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS AND BELLSOUTH TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC., FOR THE PROVISION OF PROCESSOR, VOICE MAIL, TELEPHONES, PROGRAMMING, CONFIGURATION, INSTALLATION, TRAINING, AND DIALTONE SERVICES, FOR THE OFFICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DIVISION, LOCATED AT 1313 NORTHWEST 36TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AND THE DEPARTMENT'S FOUR REMOTE LOCATIONS, FOR A TOTAL PROPOSED AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $270,000; ALLOCATING FUNDS THEREFOR FOR SAID SERVICES FROM ACCOUNT CODE NOS.: 184085.454002.6.510, 184086.454003.6.510, 184087.454004.6.510, 184088.454005.6.510, 184089.454006.6.510; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE WITH SAID VENDORS TO OBTAIN THE MOST FAVORABLE FINANCING, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CITY AND TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY AGREEMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO EFFECTUATE SAID ACQUISITION. WHEREAS, it is necessary for the Department of Community Development, Workforce Development Division, located at 1313 Northwest 36th Street, Miami, Florida, and the Department's four remote locations, to install automated telephone equipment and services on an emergency basis in order to ensure the safety, welfare, and convenience of these offices and provide the level of communication with the community that is necessary to provide CITY CON IISSION MEETING OF JON 0 9 1998 R"oladm No. 98- 56 high -quality employment services to City residents and other clients; and WHEREAS, the Department of Community Development, Work Force Development Division, needs to implement these services in an urgent, expedited manner that would not be possible under a more lengthy procurement process; and WHEREAS, the Department of Community Development, Work Force Development Division, desires to implement and utilize creative, proactive business solutions to increase operational efficiency and service their customers and to implement these solutions in a manner consistent with existing systems at the Miami Riverside Center; and WHEREAS, the Department of Community Development, Work Force Development Division, has found that the telephone system currently installed in the facility located at 1313 Northwest 36th Street, Miami, Florida, is unable to handle the volume of calls which results in an inability to properly monitor caseloads and which could result in a loss of funding, an inability to develop and sustain varied business relationships key to making employment placements for clients, an impeded flow of information necessary to effectively and efficiently conduct routine business operations, and a negative image of the City as a service provider and business partner; and WHEREAS, the Department of Community Development, Work Force Development Division, is currently hiring 20 new staff members to place approximately 319 youths in the Summer Youth Program; and 2 - 98 - 568 WHEREAS, the City Manager adopted an emergency finding that the immediate acquisition of telephone systems was necessary, and authorized that the requirement for competitive bidding procedures be waived, and that BellSouth Communications Systems and BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. provide said systems; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are hereby adopted by reference thereto and incorporated herein as if fully set forth in this section. Section 2. By a four -fifths (4/5ths) affirmative vote of the members of the City Commission, the City Manager's finding that a valid emergency existed, waiving competitive bidding procedures, and awarding the acquisition of Telephone Systems from BellSouth Communications Systems and BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., for the provision of processor, voice mail, telephones, programming, configuration, installation, training, and dialtone services, for the offices of the Department of Community Development, Workforce Development Division, located at 1313 Northwest 36th Street, Miami, Florida, and the Department's four remote locations, for a total proposed amount not to exceed $270,000, is hereby ratified, approved and confirmed, with funds therefor hereby allocated for said services from Account Code Nos.: 184085.454002.6.510, - 3 - 9 568 184086.454003.6.510, 184087.454004.6.510, 184088.454005.6.510, and 184089.454006.6.510. Section 3. The City Manager is hereby authorized to negotiate with said vendor to obtain the most favorable financing, terms, and conditions in the best interests of the City and to execute all necessary agreementsll, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney, to effectuate said acquisition. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of June 1998. JOE CAROLLO, MAYOR In accordance with Miami Code Sec. 2-86, since the Mayor did not indicate approval of this legislation by signing it in the designated place provided, said legisia Lion riovr becomes effective with the elapse of ten (10) days from the date of Commis n action regarding same, without the Mayor e*erci kr" veib. ATTEST: walier`J. Fojir, City Clerk WALTER J. FOEMAN, CITY CLERK PREPARED AND APPROVED BY X 41 RAFAEL O. DIAZ ASSISTANT CITY ATT EY W2614:BSS I/ The herein authorization is with all requirements that may be imposed by the City Attorney, including but not limited to those prescribed by applicable City Charter and Code provisions. 4 - 98 (Q� QQ— 568�► CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Mayor and Members DATE: May 28, 1998 of the City Commission 13 SUBJECT: Resolution Authorizing Emergency Purchase of Telephone System FROM: Ona�d H. WarShaW REFERENCES: for Office Of Work Force City Manager ENCLOSURES: Development RECOMMENDATION: FILE : It is respectfully recommended that the City Commission adopt the attached Resolution ratifying, approving and confirming the City Manager's finding that an emergency situation exists, waiving the requirements for competitive sealed bids, approving the provision of telephone systems from BellSouth Communications Systems and BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. for the offices of the Department of Community , Development's Workforce Development Division located at 1313 N.W. 36 Street as well as its four remote locations, including processor, voice mail, telephones, programming, configuration, installation, training, and dialtone services for a total proposed amount not to exceed $270,000, and authorizing the City Manager to negotiate with said vendors to obtain the most favorable financing, terms, and conditions in the best interests of the City and to execute all necessary agreements, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney. Funds for this acquisition are to be allocated from account code nos. 184085.454002.6.510, 184086.454003.6.510, 184087.454004.6.510, 184088.454005.6.510, 184089.454006.6.510. BACKGROUND: The Office of Work Force Development has found that the telephone system currently installed in the facility located at 1313 N.W. 36`t` Street is unable to handle the volume of calls coming into this site resulting in an inability to properly monitor caseloads which could result in a loss of funding, an inability to develop and sustain varied business relationships key to making employment placements for clients, an impeded flow of information necessary to effectively and efficiently conduct routine business operations, and a negative image of the City as a service provider and business partner. Additionally, the Division of Work Force Development is immediately hiring 20 new staff members to place approximately 319 youths in the Summer Youth Program. In an effort to provide high -quality employment services to City residents and other clients, this office finds it necessary to implement automated telephone services which will increase operational efficiency and service clients and business associates in a manner which is proactive and effective. To reduce training and administrative time, it is desirable to implement a system that is compatible and consistent operationally with similar systems. already in place at the City of Miami Riverside Center. JGP:CMC:A :ecb 98- 568 CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO Jose Garcia -Pedrosa City Manager FROM Gwendolyn C. Warren Director Department of Community Development DATE : May 27, 1998 FILE : SUBJECT : Telecommunications System For Office of Workforce REFERENCES: Development ENCLOSURES: The Office of Workforce Development, a division of the Department of Community Development, relocated to the Nation's Bank building at the end of January of this year. The staff of this office currently has sixty-five (65) authorized positions, and will increase due to the impending annual Summer Youth Program as well as a result of the remaining staffing to be completed for the Allapattah office and four additional remote sites, three of which were approved at yesterday's commission meeting. Since our relocating to this building, staff has been forced to function with a severely inadequate telephone setup. Since the Office of Workforce Development is committed to accomplishing its mission of providing high -quality employment services to city residents and refugees, it is imperative that we identify and utilize creative, proactive business solutions to increase operational efficiency and simultaneously service their customers. For a staff of approximately thirty-five (35), there are five main, shared telephone lines. This results in lines which continuously ring busy, making it difficult for city departments and the public to contact staff located at this facility. Not only is it difficult for callers to dial in to the facility, but staff at the facility frequently find it difficult to find a line available for dialing out for the purpose of conducting business. Due to the nature of our business, the inability to receive or make calls due to busy signals results in the following problems: • Inability to properly monitor caseloads of Case Managers, which could inevitably result in a loss of funding. • Inability to develop and sustain varied business relationships which are key to making employment placements for our clients. • Impeded flow of information necessary to effectively and efficiently conduct business. This information flows from funding sources, vendors, business partners, and outside departments. • The City of Miami, as a service provider and business partner, presents a negative image. • Decreased overall productivity. - The telephones currently being utilized are the old Merlin telephone sets from the Dupont Plaza building which do not include the varied programmable features typically available. Additionally, staff has not been provided user's manuals for the telephones as they are not available, since we do not have a current service contract. What's worse is that even if staff possessed the user's manuals, the features of the system could not be utilized as there is no computer system supporting the telephones, a component necessary to make features of the telephone system functional. Additionally, common features that can increase the flow of information are not currently available. Examples are listed below. • Voice mail, which has nearly become a standard feature of most modern telephone systems, is not available to employees located at the Nation's Bank facility. Voice mail can improve efficiency, reduce costs, extend business hours and improve customer service all at an affordable price. With voice mail callers would never get a busy signal, nor would staff have to ever miss a call due to their being out of the office or all lines being occupied. • Automated Attendant answers all incoming calls without human assistance. It provides each caller with a multi -layered menu of information and transfer options. An option typically available is the ability to send the caller back to a live operator for assistance. • Overflow Attendant or a similar feature can be used as backup to a staff member answering the line. When staff cannot answer a call, the overflow attendant feature provides callers a multi -layered menu of information and transfer options. • Information Bulletin Board is another time -saving feature that delivers frequently requested information such as available programs, eligibility criteria, directions to our facilities, hours of operation, and other relevant information 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Such a feature could, in effect, extend our business hours without requiring the hiring of after-hours personnel; assist in disseminating repetitive, but essential information on a broader basis; increase our service opportunities to current and potential clients and business partners; as well as preventing repetitive, mundane, and time-consuming tasks from depriving employees of opportunities that could be utilized to perform more essential functions. Other technological features which are needed for our operations and are standard features of business telephone systems include: Call Forwarding, Call Transfer, All - extension paging, Conference Calling, Last Number Redial, and Abbreviated Dialing (tie lines/only last four digits required). These standard features are not presently available to our employees in the Office of Workforce Development. Some providers even offer helpful telephone features that allow you to furnish clients and prospects one number to reach you at the office, at home, in your car, or with a fax or for voice mail. Additionally, since our office is required to execute varied data 98- 568 communications, whether connecting to mainframe to access databases in the MRC building, linking to other agencies databases - including funding sources through with the Internet, an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) would serve to tremendously enhance our productivity. ISDN enables users to transmit voice, video and data simultaneously over a standard telephone line at speeds much faster than standard analog modems. An ISDN typically offers 4 to 10 times faster speed and greater accuracy than traditional modems, and allows the user to do two things at once - whether voice/phone and internet, voice/phone and data, fax and voice, video and fax, etc. Since our office presently has no access to the mainframe computer system available to most City departments and desperately needs it; coupled with our need to make links with external agencies through the internet in the most cost-efficient manner possible, an ISDN line in addition to the installation of current telephone technology would assist us in meeting our operational demands. Since the telephone system and electronic connectivity plays a critical role in the success of any business or agency's operations, we are hereby requesting permission to purchase a telephone system on an emergency basis: It is critical that this purchase be allowed on an emergency basis because, in addition to the problems indicated above, our Summer Youth Employment Program is scheduled to commence on Monday, June 8, 1998. This means that approximately twenty additional staff persons will be on board to coordinate the work experiences and training of over 300 participants. Since it will be important that both parents and representatives from the City's operating departments be able to contact us without any difficulty, it is crucial that we have an adequate communications system in place before assuming responsibility for their well-being. Additionally, the City commission, at its May 26, 1998 meeting, approved the lease agreements for three of the four proposed remote locations. It is our intent to have these sites operational before the end of June. Finally, grant funds are currently available to cover the cost; however, these funds must be expended prior to June 30, 1998. Please indicate your approval to have this issue considered before the City Commission on emergency basis at the June 9, 1998 meeting by signing below. City Mar?ger c: Joni J. Harris, Asst. Director Department of Community Development Workforce Development Division Aldo Stancato, Interim Director Department of Information Technology 98- 568