M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E |
|
To / Destinataire |
Mayor, Members
of CSEDC & Council / Maire, Membres du CSODE et du Conseil |
File/N° de
fichier: ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0004-IPD |
From /
Expéditeur |
Kent
Kirkpatrick, City Manager
|
Contact /
Personne-ressource : Alain
Rochefort, Manager, Technology Infrastructure 613-580-2424 x25890 |
Subject / Objet |
Update – Mitel Donation of VOIP
equipment / Mise à jour - Don par Mitel d'équipement de Voix sur IP |
Date: 26 May 2009/le 26 May
2009 |
This
memorandum provides an update for Council on the donation of Voice Over
Internet Protocol equipment by MITEL to the City of Ottawa. At the April 7,
2009 Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee meeting, the
following motion was carried:
Moved by Councillor M. Wilkinson
WHEREAS
the City of Ottawa has a current, pending Request for Proposal (“RFP”) that
seeks a Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VOIP”) Solution and Related Services for
City Facilities; and
WHEREAS
the RFP proposes, among other things, a standing offer between the City and the
selected proponent for a term of six years, with the City reserving the right,
at its sole discretion, to extend the agreement for up to two additional 1-year
periods; and
WHEREAS,
although a preferred proponent has been identified under the RFP, no contract
negotiations have yet commenced; and
WHEREAS
the rights reserved to the City in the RFP include the right to cancel the RFP
at any time and, further, states that neither the receipt of proposals, nor the
completion of any of the RFP’s stated evaluation and selection stages
constitutes an obligation on the part of the City to award a contract; and
WHEREAS,
on April 1st 2009, Mitel Networks Corporate offered to donate
technology to the City that is valued at over $2 million, indicating, in part,
that they wish to help the City reduce spending on technology solutions so that
more funds can be made available for programs that benefit the community in
general;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Request for Proposal for Voice Over Internet Protocol
(“VOIP”) Solution and Related Services be suspended, and that staff be directed
to work with the Fairness Commissioner to clarify Mitel Networks Corporation’s
offer to donate technology, and report back to the Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee and Council as soon as possible.
CARRIED
Following the offer from MITEL, staff sought written clarification from the company under the supervision of the Fairness Commissioner and subsequently discussed the results of that process with the Fairness Commissioner. The Fairness Commissioner has reported that in his opinion the competitive process followed by the City for the Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VOIP”) and Related Services prior to the donation offer from Mitel was fair, transparent and impartial to all bidders. Consequently, against this background, the acceptance of the donation by the City would fail to meet a reasonable standard of fairness in procurement.
Upon learning of this opinion, Dr.
Terrence Matthews, Chairman of Mitel informed the City on May 22, 2009 that he
was immediately
withdrawing the company’s offer.
In
light of this new information, staff recommend a motion at the June 2nd
CSEDC meeting be moved directing that the suspension of the original VOIP
procurement process be lifted and that the procurement process continue through
to its conclusion.
Kent Kirkpatrick
City Manager