The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutR-97-0615• J-97-160 7/16/97 RESOLUTION NO. 9 615 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 OF AN EMERGENCY, WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDS, AND APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF TELEPHONE TRANSLATION SERVICE FROM AT & T, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $56,670, FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF POLICE AND FIRE -RESCUE; ALLOCATING FUNDS THEREFOR FROM THE E911 OPERATING BUDGET, ACCOUNT CODE NO. 196002.290461.6.340. WHEREAS, the Departments of Police and Fire -Rescue Communications Section are in need of telephone translation service; and WHEREAS, this service is vital to the Departments of Police and Fire -Rescue to provide the necessary assistance to all persons who are within the boundaries of the City of Miami; and WHEREAS, without this service, efforts to fulfill this mission would be seriously jeopardized; and WHEREAS, it was necessary to authorize an emergency purchase, utilizing the recommended vendor, so there would be no lapse in service; and WHEREAS, funds to cover this expenditure are available from the E911 Operating Budget, Account Code No. 196002.290461.6.340; and CM SSYON . . MEETING or SEP' 0 9 1997 Resolution Na WHEREAS, the City Manager approved the emergency purchase of telephone translation service from AT&T; 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 ratifying, approving and confirming the City Manager's finding of an emergency, waiving the requirements for competitive sealed bids, and approving the purchase of telephone translation service from AT&T, in an amount not to exceed $56,670, for the Department of Police and Fire -Rescue, with funds therefor hereby allocated from the E91 1 Operating Budget, Account Code No. 196002.290461.6.340. Section 3. The City Manager's issuance of an emergency purchase order for this purpose is further ratified, approved and confirmed. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of September, 1997 r JOE CA O , MAYOR ATTES WALTER J. F IVI CITY CLERK 2- 615 PREPARED AND APPROVED BY: 0LG #JRAMI FrE2-6 EIJ ASSISTANT CITY AT OR Y APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: e 4 �Zzl 0 wd1n, Q N J , III CIT ATTO EY W 1493:CSK:ORS 3- 97- 615 0 CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM : E ward Marquez City Manager RECOMMENDATION: 35 DATE: AUG 2 7 FILE SUBJECT: Resolution Ratifying City Manager's Action REFERENCES: Emergency Purchase of ENCLOSURES: Telephone Translation Service It is respectfully recommended that a Resolution ratifying the City Manager's emergency action authorizing the purchase of telephone translation services from AT&T, in an amount not to exceed $56,670.00, be approved. Funding will be from the E911 Operating Budget, Account Code 196002.290461.6.340. BACKGROUND: The Police and Fire Department's Communications Section are in need of the telephone translation service. AT&T not only provides the Police and Fire Departments with Spanish and. Creole translations, it also provides services for the myriad of languages spoken by foreign visitors to our City. The Police and Fire Departments require this service to augment the current language capabilities of its employees who are responsible for answering 911 emergency telephone calls. Although the departments have been successful in hiring bilingual persons, it still . requires'this service to ensure that the department can respond to the needs of city residents and foreign visitor's. This service is a vital component in the Police .and Fire Department's ability to provide the necessary assistance to all persons who are within the boundaries of the City of Miami; without it, efforts to fulfill this mission would be seriously hampered. Legislation was prepared and forwarded for inclusion on the March 13', 1997 Commission meeting seeking approval of AT&T's Language Line, as a professional service. The Law Department, however, upon review, denied processing it as such. The Police and Fire Departments have drafted specifications and sent them to Procurement Management for the solicitation of formal proposals. While awaiting for this process to be completed they cannot afford to operate without this service. It was necessary to authorize an emergency purchase, utilizing the recommended vendor, so there would be no lapse in service. d4� 97- 615 1 The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission Page 2 The Police and Fire Departments were able to negotiate discounts beyond AT&T's normal volume discount plan. AT&T provides volume discounts on a regular basis depending upon the total monthly dollar amount. They have agreed to lower their rate on tier 1 languages (Spanish), which currently represents 90% of our usage, from $2.20 per minutes (peak) and $2.50 per minute (non - peak) to $2.00 per minute for both. They have also agreed to reduce their rate on tier 2 languages (Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese) from $2.40 per minute (peak) and $3.10 per minute (non -peak) to $2.20 per minute for both. Both of these reductions took effect May 1', 1997. AT& T was chosen because the Police and Fire Departments have been unable to locate companies that can provide this service on such a large scope and a timely manner. Knowledge in a wide variety of languages and the provision of them in a rapid time -frame is of utmost importance when dealing with emergency situations 2 9'7- 615 • C CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA TO Edward Marquez City Manager a; rsoM : Donald H. saw Chief of Police INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM MAR 1 4 991 FIN 16-2 DATE FILE: SUBJECT - Emergency Purchase REFERENCES: Telephone Translation Service ENCLOSURES: The Police Department's Communications Section is experiencing a shortage of 911 call -taker personnel who speak languages other than English. We are especially having a difficult time hiring those who speak Spanish and Creole. This sometimes results in delays in dispatching police units to those requiring assistance. The Department has found a solution in AT&T's telephone translation services which we have used for the past ten (10) years and are quite pleased with the results. Incidentally, past expenditures. for this service have been less than $4,500.00 per year until this shortage. AT&T not only provides us with Spanish and Creole translations, it also provides services for the myriad of languages spoken by foreign visitors to our City. The Police Department requires this service to augment the current language capabilities 'of its employees who are responsible for answering 911 emergency telephone calls. Although the Department has been successful in hiring bilingual persons, it still requires this service to ensure that we can respond to the needs of the residents and foreign visitors of the City of Miami. The Fire Department's 911 Center also utilizes this service under our account. This service is a vital component in our ability to provide the necessary assistance to all persons who are within the boundaries of the City of Miami; without it, efforts to fulfill this mission would be seriously hampered. Legislation had been prepared and forwarded for inclusion on the March 13°i, 1997 Commission meeting seeking the approval of AT&T's Language Line Service as a professional service. The Law Department, however, upon review, denied processing it as such. We are now in the process of drafting specifications to send to Procurement Management for the solicitation of formal proposals. While awaiting for this process to be completed we cannot afford to operate without this service. I am, therefore, requesting your permission to forgo the competitive bidding process, as per City Code 18-52.6, Emergency Purchases, for the period of September 1996 to September 1997. The required funds for that period will not exceed $55,670.00 and will come from the E911 Operating Budget. F; 97= 615 Edward Marquez City Manager Page 2 AT& T was chosen because the Department has been unable to locate companies that can provide this service on such a large scope and a timely,. manner. Knowledge in a wide variety of languages and the provision of them in a rapid time -frame is of utmost importance when dealing with emergency situations. I, again, must remind you that past expenditures for this service have been less than $4,500.00 per year until we recently experienced a shortage in Spanish and Creole speaking employees. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. DHW:rph APPROVED/DISAPPROVED: s and Marquez ate City Manager Department of Finance Approval: Account Code: 196002.290461;6.340 (E911 Operating Budget) Amount: $56,670.00 DIPAK M. PAREKH Date DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET E911 Funding Approval: WOZ�� 2 o 1 ez; Fire Chief Date Fire, Rescue an Inspection Department 4 97- 6 1 5 --- Edward Marquez City Manager 4 FROM: onalad . Warshaw Chief of Police CITY OF MIAM1, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM MAY 1 63 199.1` DATE: RLE : FIN 16-2 SUBJECT: Emergency Purchase Office of the ;^ Chief of Police REFTWdt S : , 4--ible hone Translation Service;, Sup emental Information V On March 14`h, 1997, the Police Department forwarded an emergency purchase request to your office. (attached). The request was for telephone translation services from AT&T. Our request was then forwarded to the Procurement Management Division. This memorandum is in response to Ms. Judy Carter, Director, Procurement Management Division, request to provide you with additional information. s During the latter part of FY 1995 - 1996 the Police Department instituted a new call distribution system within the E911 center. This system automatically routes a call to the next available operator after an extremely short wait period. The overall effects have dramatically improved our efficiency in answering and handling emergency calls. The call is screened and routed to a person who speaks the callers language, providing it is English, Spanish or Creole. However, if the person with the appropriate language skill is on another call and after a programmed wait -time, the call is routed to the next available person. Since the Department is experiencing a shortage of Spanish and Creole speaking personnel, this predicament forces us to rely more on AT&T's service. Changes in the call distribution system were put into place which we hoped would contain expenditures with AT&T; however, the costs still exceeded our expectations. The Department began an analysis to fiurther curtail costs which took longer than expected. Once it was determined that legislation was necessary, we began the process but this was not until the end of 1996. The Department also does not have the personnel to translate the myriad of languages spoken by foreign visitors to the City of Miami. For these reasons, it was impossible for us to cease using or interrupt AT&T's service. The police Department must have the ability to provide assistance at all times to all who seek it. The emergency purchase will allow us to provide continuation of this assistance while we wait for the conclusion of the bid process and the award of a new contract. Bid specifications have been forwarded to Procurement Management for this purpose. The Department has been able to negotiate discounts beyond AT&T's normal volume discount plan. AT&T provides volume discounts on a regular basis dependent upon the total monthly dollar amount. They have agreed to lower their rate on tier 1 languages (Spanish), which currently represents 90% of our usage, from $2.20 per minute (peak) and $2.50 per minute WF=V _ 2 0199 aw f56 1, Edward Marquez City Manager Page 2 (non -peak) to $2.00 per minute for both. They have also agreed to reduce their rate on tier 2 languages (Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese)- from $2.40 per minute (peak) and $3.10 per minute (non -peak) to $2.20 per minute for both. Both of these reductions will take effect beginning May 1 ', 1997. Should you require additional information or have any questions, please feel free to call me at 579- 6565. DHW:rph Ic 97- 615 6