City Council - Special Meeting

I'm going to try that one. We had two of you guys come out this morning. You said a team that called me. I said, hey, it's the two guys. I said, what's up? What's up?

You got to take everything out of the house and put it in the middle of the street. Straight into that.

Janice, Miss Adams died, Josephine Adams. I just saw that. I got the email. One day after her 96th birthday...

Are you free? She died. Her birthday was Tuesday. She's died. Oh, come on. We can do this.

I'm about to do a council meeting.

and that way they can, because I feel like once the state laws Okay, it doesn't matter. They still have to get it from State Farm. They bought it from State Farm. And that means State Farm has to have title. And I'm positive because she called the, what do you call it, the adjuster division. And she, the agent's office called the adjuster division and they said, Good evening, everybody. It is after 5.30, but we're still waiting on a couple of members to arrive, so we'll have a quorum. So thank you so much for your patience.

She was mad. She was mad. She was mad.

She was mad. She was mad.

She was mad. She was mad.

She was mad.

She was mad.

She was mad.

She was mad. She was mad. She was mad. She was mad. She was mad.

I don't have a family, but I have a job.

Okay, let me ask you, okay. So what does the stem, exactly what does the stem do? So it goes down to the cells that get it. So like if you have muscle tightness, or if you have adhesions, it helps to break those up, and it allows the body to try to re-heal the area. So it's almost like it's breaking things up that you come out of. I got a meeting, you know, with my colleague. The meeting? Mm-hmm, the meeting. So you're doing it. Okay, I'll pass it back over to you. Okay, I'll pass it back over to you. Break it up. Hey, hey.

Looks like we have a quorum. So we're going to go ahead and get started. Before we call the meeting to order, we will begin with public comments on the agenda items. And this evening, Janice Roberts has requested to speak on agenda item number two. And so I would ask you to go ahead and come to the podium.

Good evening. I will address in three parts on behalf of the citizens of Pine Bluff, to the city council and as an administrative management, governmental manager.

Just real quick, I'm sorry, just real quick. I just want to remind you that you have three minutes and also you're speaking for yourself, not on behalf of anybody, since you're speaking as a resident.

And I'm going to reset my clock.

Thank you.

Before us on today is legislation for agenda item number two. That raises serious concerns. We currently pay for IT services from three confirmed entities, and now a fourth is being proposed. The approach does not reflect good government or sound administrative judgment. Duplicating IT services is neither effective nor fiscally responsible. We already have a project manager, a technology service title, and our current consultant, One Stop, adding another IT service is unnecessary and could lead to confusion and waste. Today I request, today I requested the RFQ and the RFQ. the RFP bid submission and its assignment, the bid results for filing in the city clerk's office and the proposed legislation submitted for the bid. Today, to no avail. No bid. Two, The citizens of Pine Bluff, thank you for your encouraging calls and support you have shown following Tuesday's City Council meeting. Your message was clear. Protect your interests and your integrity, honesty, and unwavering loyalty. To your tax dollars, I will remain committed to that cause. I also acknowledge the challenge of managing a government organization. Effective administration requires expertise and a dedication to fair and equal practices. As a member of the executive branch, my role is to provide a day to day management and oversight of the city government. Governance. Maintaining professional. and maintaining professionalism and adhering to the structure of government, the executive legislative and judicial branches are essential for effective and ethical governance. When we each feel our role within this structure, we can serve Pine Bluff citizens with strength and its transparency with unity.

Thank you very much. It's time.

Matt, just for a special purpose.

Thank you very much. Let me encourage each to. Thank you very much. That is time.

Let me encourage you please not to vote for this legislation.

Thank you very much. That's time. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cage. May I say this? We're going to go ahead and call the meeting to order first, Council Member Mayes. Do the invocation, pledge of allegiance, roll call, and then we'll speak on issues at that time. Thank you. Okay, we'll call the meeting to order and ask Council Member Holcomb to lead us in the invocation.

Let us pray. Dear gracious God, we thank you for this day. Thank you for allowing us to come out and discuss your city's business. We pray for your grace and mercy. Lord, we ask you to keep Mary Flowers and her family in prayer as you are called home, her father. Lord, we ask you to cover them with your Gracious love at arms right now, Lord. Lord, we just ask you, this prayer is in Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Thank you. And Council Member Lockett, if you can lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Okay, council member maze. Yeah. Council member Holcomb here. Council member Brown here. Council member like it. Council member Frazier. Council member Branson here. Council member Denton here. Council member fails.

Thank you. And now we will move on to the proposed ordinances and resolutions on the agenda tonight. Councilmember Holcomb.

In the ordinance amending section 2-183 of the code of ordinance of the city of Arkansas concerning boards and commission notice period before an available position is filled and for related purposes up for the second reading.

An ordinance amending section 2-103 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Pembroke, Arkansas concerning boards and commissions notice period before an available position is filled and for related purposes.

Move we suspend the rules and place this ordinance on its third and final reading. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that we suspend the rules and place this ordinance on its third and final reading. Any discussion? With no discussion, Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Councilmember Mays is on Zoom casting no vote. Councilmember Holcomb.

Aye.

Councilmember Brown.

Aye.

Councilmember Lockett.

Aye.

Councilmember Frazier is absent. Councilmember Brunson. Aye. Councilmember Denton.

Aye.

Councilmember Fails is absent.

In the ordinance, Amending Section 2-183 of the Code of Ordinance of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, concerning boards and commission notice period before an available position is filled and for related purposes, up for the third and final reading.

An ordinance amending Section 2-183 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas concerning boards and commissions notice period before an available position is filled and for related purposes. Move for adoption. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that item number one be adopted. Any discussion? With no discussion, all of those who wish to vote for the passage of item number one indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes.

Agenda item number two, a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a contract with Next Step Innovation to provide technology services and associated equipment.

Whereas the city would benefit from professional assistance in maximizing its technological resources so as to better serve the residents of the city, and whereas Next Step Innovation is a vendor qualified to provide the redeemed services and associated equipment to achieve this objective, and therefore be resolved by the City Council of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Section 1. that the mayor is authorized to execute the attached contract for information technology managed services provided by Next Step Group, Inc. on the terms, conditions, and for the consideration therein set forth. Section 2, I've added, however, that the annual consideration paid to Next Step Innovation shall not exceed $296,000 for any year of the contract. Section 3, the contract consideration will be funded from the technology department budget.

Move fund option. Second.

It's been moved and seconded that this resolution be adopted. And any discussion?

Madam Mayor, there's concern about the longevity of this contract and the ability to project the future allocation of this particular one. I've talked to the vendor and they are very good at answering questions. But the question that we have before us is that this is almost a million dollar contract on tonight that I just don't feel comfortable in acting based upon the fact that we're going into the last quarter next month. And then we do a whole nother budget for the city. Now, I'm not opposed to emergency appropriations that might help us with whatever we may need to deal with technology. But I'm sorry, y'all. But to do this contract for three years, I think, is a bit much to do it at this particular time.

Okay, if you would allow me to address that concern and also go into providing some information that I think I need to clarify given the the presentation we heard this evening prior to opening up the meeting. So the first thing before I address your concern, there were a few points that were made earlier. One that stated an issue of duplication of services and while we do have a project manager, The project manager is specific to the preparation for and onboarding of the ultimately the multi-million dollar contract with Tyler Technology for a new ERP software system. So, There is no duplication of that work. And then we have One Stop who was contracted and won the bid that went through my office, IT, and ultimately landed in the clerk's office. where all copies of contracts are sent. And that contract was initially limited to just a new email system. And as I have shared with the public and with this body, our previous email system was an email system that was based literally on 25-year-old technology. And One Stop won the contract and provided us better rates for Microsoft Exchange as well as Microsoft 360 for departmental leadership. So that we could operate more effectively and efficiently in our offices throughout the city. That particular project is near completion with the city, all of the city with the exception of law enforcement, as well as the police department nearing its full implementation. However, because One Stop was beginning their process several months ago to implement the new email system, At the same time that we had the leadership in the IT department who had suffered from an injury go back into physical therapy and further treatment without notice. we were forced to find the assistance that we needed during this implementation, while we were also still in the process of attempting to ready ourselves for onboarding our brand new ERP system. So we have, since that time, not knowing what to do, What the status of our director would be brought on one stop to assist with the oversight of our department including a ticketing system which had never fully been implemented prior to bringing one stop on. So that cost us an additional, I think, let me go back. That particular contract was for $131,226. That's $10,935.50 a month. We paid and have been paying an extra $4,000 a month for that leadership in lieu of hiring another director for the department. Which, by the way, costs less than paying the full salary with benefits for another director. And then the staff that we have, one of whom is paid out of the police department's budget for more focused ticketing service, is staffing that we need on the ground. But none of those services or contracts overlap. We have the ERP project, where we have to have assistance and onboarding. No one in this city is equipped as an expert to help us troubleshoot or onboard anything that we're doing. We need the staff for every day. And the contractor that won the bid for our new email system is who we have rightfully fulfilling that service as well as additional services. So I repeat, there is no overlapping. And what Next Step Innovation would do would not only fulfill the role that is currently being provided as additional managed services by One Stop, but it would be also much needed help in upgrading our systems and having on the ground backup assistance, training, and oversight with the absence of a director. And the other thing that I think that is important to note, and you would only know this as managing the city on a day to day basis, is that with the pay that we currently provide for the director role, it is impossible, not virtually impossible, it is impossible to recruit and hire someone with an IT education and background, particularly in municipal government, for the amount of money that we pay, which is why it is necessary not only to find an entity with the expertise that can help us with the day-to-day, but also that can help us in the wake of completing the upgrades to our system that are necessary to accommodate the onboarding of the system that many of you voted for. The other thing, the second point that I think that is necessary to clarify with regard to there being no bid, as we do with many of our purchases, We can purchase items and services from a state list of vendors that have already been vetted and are documented as the most cost effective vendor for whatever service or good that the city is seeking. This is based upon city and state law. Now, unless you are in the mayor's office and understand the challenges before us, also understand the day to day issues, complaints, and procurement processes that are necessary to fulfill this need, then you would not understand or know in advance of tonight's meeting, or if you just have a conversation with me, you wouldn't know that Next Step Innovation is on the tips list. And so as every member of this council has had the opportunity to visit with Next Step Innovation for around an hour, say for one of you whose time was cut short. All of you were informed that this vendor is on the tips list and therefore we would not have to go through the procurement or bid process because they've already been vetted and we have confirmation that they would be the least expensive vendor to provide these services. As far as the speaker, projecting herself as the one that voters have voted to protect the city's interest. And it's day to day management of city governance. I would remind you and anyone watching that that is the role of the mayor of the city of Pine Bluff. That just happens to be me right now. After the next election, it could be somebody else, if the voters decide that I am not fulfilling that role, and I will respect that. But right now, it's Vivian Flowers. And that should not be confused with anyone else. Which would then take me to the final issue of expertise. I am not an IT expert. I have never claimed to or have pretended to be someone who could manage an IT team and understand when we have tickets, complaints, issues, shutdowns, that I could begin to understand how to resolve those particular problems in that moment. I myself couldn't do it. What I can do is make sure that we have the proper leadership in that department, be it an employee or a contractor, because I don't believe that anyone on this dais has the expertise. including the speaker prior to, who made public comments prior to the opening of this meeting. And that's important to note, not as a swipe against anyone, but as an understanding that if this city is challenged in the area of IT, which I would remind you touches every facet of city government, there is not a department There is not a person that directly or indirectly who doesn't rely on solid, stable, reliable IT services. Not one. And so ultimately what I would say to any member, who takes issue with the cost of these services. I won't belabor this point by going over all of the services that would be provided. None of them duplicate what we have going on right now. And every member has been informed and received a PowerPoint And access to people who have been fully vetted and recommended not only by the Municipal League, not only vetted through the TIPS system, not only recommended by other governmental entities, be they law enforcement or other cities inside the state and outside of the state. The bottom line is my expertise is in the leadership of this city. My expertise and challenge is to make sure that when we sign contracts that I negotiate them before I sign them and make sure that they are to the benefit of the citizens of this city. That they are efficiently negotiated to give us the best outcome. And I think that is at issue tonight. I had a great conversation with Councilmember Brown before I came, and there were some points on the contract that I think are worth discussing. And I think that before... I know that before I sign anything, those are issues that we would negotiate and make sure are in the best interest of the city. And I think that is... the role of the mayor. You all can't be there every day. Your role is legislative. And that is a great thing. That is why we do have a three-tiered governmental system. And everybody has a role. My role is to address the day-to-day issues. And I'll remind each one of you that most of you, if not all of you, have received phone calls We just came off of a shutdown of New World for three days. Now, without going into all of the specifics and nuances of the issues and the challenges before us, I've told each one of you what many of those are. I have sought to find the expertise that we need to stabilize our systems and upgrade our systems to prepare for the onboarding of a multi-million dollar system that many of you voted for two years ago. I did not get a chance to vote for that. That wasn't my decision. I did not vote for or ask for a new phone system. That was something that we had to onboard. I did not vote for or ask for a new phone company. And I don't take issue with those decisions. But it takes work and it takes leadership and it takes work every day, which I perform, more than eight hours. And I believe that either we are going to work together to make sure that we address these issues so that we don't find ourselves in a precarious situation, not of our making, that we might not even be able to get out of. The only way to do that is to prevent that. And I have come to you with great transparency and clarity about the issues before us. And I can't imagine that the reason behind it tonight, after being told that we just need more time to look at the contract, would be simply that it costs too much when we have spent $156,402.50 for waterproofing the south end of City Hall, or $128,186 on a City Hall planter in 2024. $61,942 to repair the steps. Those things needed to be done. That's not a criticism. Those things needed to be done, but I'm here tonight telling you, based upon my everyday experience, in working with our directors who need a stable, upgraded, solid IT system that we need help. Showing you that I found the best possible in-state company that would provide us with a local resource and a stable of 40 techs able to back up our team, train our team, and help us oversee that department while we onboard this multimillion dollar ERP system. That's what I've told you. And if what you're saying is the money we have in the budget will nearly accommodate that, We amended our budget to accommodate Tyler Technology with basically $800,000. That's what it'll cost at least to fully implement. And every year thereafter, we will pay at least $158,000 a year. Our budget was amended to accommodate the project manager. Our budget was amended to accommodate all of the changes so that when you look at the technology services, we have $29,000. When you look at capital purchases, we have $50,000. When you look at the $48,000 that we would not be spending that we're currently spending for oversight of the department, that would completely fulfill what we need to pay annually just for three years to upgrade our system, after which I would fully intend to put in place a director that would come into a fully integrated, stable, upgraded, efficiently run system. Then we could hire someone and it would be reasonable to pay what we pay. But not where we are now. You will be putting me and the city in jeopardy. by not allowing me to provide the department what it needs with funds that we mostly already have. What I foresee is the possibility, not knowing what the savings are going to be, of coming up with an additional $50,000 to cover the capital purchases that we have to provide right now. Otherwise, we can pay for this, and we will not pay for this in perpetuity. With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Mayor.

Council member Fells.

Well, I would just say that for the past few months, maybe even a year, I would say, I have known that there are some ongoing IT issues. It seems like sometimes whenever I reach out to City Hall, the internet might be out, New World might be down. And even over the summer, I know that that impacted some of the services that code enforcement was able to provide. For sure. So I got a lot of frustrated calls about that. They're working through it now. So I just say that to say that I do think that this proposal is necessary. I am comfortable with voting for it tonight because I do believe that number one, it's very number one, our IT department. All the positions are filled, but it's not operating at full capacity. For sure. They do need additional help. And I do know that for any municipality in Arkansas, it's a struggle to hire IT workers who have that extensive background in the field of IT. And that's why a lot of municipalities are moving towards third party vendors to come in and assist them with ticketing, building up software, firewalls, upgrades, and things of that nature. So I do think that is something that the city of Pine Bluff needs to do. And so all that to say, I'm okay with voting for this tonight. If the other council members want to send it to Ways and Means for further consideration, I'm comfortable with that and we can bring it back at the next meeting either way. But I do think we need to get this done as soon as possible because our workers, they just can't continue to operate the way that they've been operating. They need to have that clarity that when they log onto their computer, when they Send an email that it's going to go through. There aren't going to be any interruptions. And, you know, we would like that as elected officials. So when we call in issues, we know it can get done in a timely manner.

Thank you. And I'll just remind you, I mean, I'm glad you raised that. And I just would remind you of the context. We have a... We're trying to onboard a brand new software system that is gonna control our finances, that's gonna control our HR systems, and that also added two additional modules to control two other areas of city government. So we've got existing New World, then we have the onboarding of Munis through Tyler Technology, We got a new telecommunications company to oversee our Wi-Fi and phone systems with new phones. And all of that has been happening at the same time with what started out to be very old and faulty hardware and A team that is smart and hardworking, but untrained and uncertified. So I think that is unfair to continue in that vein and expect our department leaders and employees to work with that. They are extremely frustrated. We had the onboarding of our phone system, and for whatever reason, We had at least two departments, if not three, who weren't even included and outfitted and had to wait months for their departments to be hardwired before they could even get technology systems. So that means they could not only not access New World, they couldn't access anything. They had to leave their departments to go conduct their business. while New World was down consistently. And the buck stops with me, but it ain't my fault. I don't know how to fix it. I only know to call on the experts. And if we're consistently calling on the experts and it's still not fixed, It's a problem. We need help. And that's not speaking against any one person because we've been doing so much patchwork over the years with people who are good people but expected to fly the plane while building it. That's what we've been doing. And if we keep doing that, we're going to keep getting what we're getting. I believe that the real issue tonight is not whether or not we do this. It's putting it in place and working together to work out and negotiate all of the nuances in the contract that are of concern. Council Member Brown brought me three or four issues that I know Shelly and Trent. will work out. But we have to be able to move forward and stop kicking cans down the road and expecting people to be patient. They're tired of calling me telling me they have a new world issue, or Wi-Fi's not working, or their phones aren't working. We are a first class city, the 10th largest in the state. With a budget of over $70 million, almost 400 people working for us, I should never come to work and my phone doesn't work. The code enforcement director should never have to wait more than a day for all of his devices to work and for his Wi-Fi to work, let alone a month, let alone two.

So Mayor Flowers?

Yes, sir.

So how stable are we as of today?

I would say that our systems are secure, but all of our technology is not up to date or stable, and we need to get it there. I would add that we need to properly train and certify our techs on the systems that we are operating on now on an everyday basis. Additionally. We are up to code, but I'm telling you that as we move into a cloud and AI technology environment, we are not there yet, and we need to get there before somebody gets hurt. Okay. And I'm saying somebody gets hurt in jest, but it's very serious because, again, this is not just about somebody sitting in their office creating a spreadsheet. This is about our communications on the ground with our law enforcement. with our fire and emergency services. This is about email communications throughout the city. It's about access to Wi-Fi. It's about our finances being done properly. It's about audit protocols. It's about federal and state protocols. All of those things are affected by IT. And if we don't strengthen our systems, we put ourselves in jeopardy. And we have begun to strengthen our systems. We have made wonderful progress. But again, I'll remind you that many of you voted for the Tyler Technology Munis system, which will ultimately cost the city millions. And doing that and not providing the city with the help that we need, then it is like buying and loading Windows 11 into one of those old 1980s IBM computers with a big floppy disk. That's what we would be doing, and I think we can do better. Any further discussion?

Madam Mayor. Council Member Lockett. Can we get the finance director to maybe report to us how we would do this within the IT's budget?

Yes. Director Devers, would you please- Join us. And is everybody clear about the tips and the no bid? Is everybody clear about that and comfortable?

We don't really understand it. I know what TIPS is, but I'm just saying that the only problem with TIPS is that you don't get a competitive comparison.

You do, but it's done on the front end. And so after Director Devers speak, I'll ask for Director Matthews to also come forward and he can speak to that issue. Okay, thank you.

Okay, we've talked about this this afternoon, and what we've determined is there are some services that are currently being performed by, is it one stop, that they will no longer be performing. So with that savings added to the amount that's already in the IT budget that we were previously paying for some licenses and some things that will go away, that those together would be enough to pay for this contract.

This year or the following years?

Well, I know for sure next year. Now, we only have three months left in this year, so I'm certain we could handle this year as well. But there are things that we've already paid for in 26 that we will not pay for again in 27 because they will be included in the contract.

Can we get that documented?

On the things that we will not be paying for?

Things that we paid for, things that we won't have to pay for.

Well, I mean, I can tell you what I told now for, I mean, what I was told, which is some licenses, and I cannot think of the name of the company.

Let me clarify that we did not calculate the license savings because we don't know what that is yet. What we calculated is, and it's real simple, and I'm not being condescending, like it's very simple. When we look at the budget and we go down the adopted budget line items, technology services budgets $229,000. Then we budget capital purchases at $50,000. And then we would be reaping a savings of $48,000. That pool of funds without even calculating the cost savings, we would have ample funds. And what I'm saying is, let's say that by the time we buy all of the switches that we need to purchase, that we have to get some new servers in an emergency situation, and we end up spending more in capital purchases. I don't anticipate us having to spend and find more than an additional $50,000. And that's, again, without knowing what we don't know and in an emergency situation. Because part of what will happen is, we have a lot of devices that have been purchased that are not necessarily being utilized, that have not been resorted to the kind of documentation that I think council member Holcomb wants to see and that I have asked to see in the way of an inventory. But we're also in the process of getting a centralized inventory. In the meantime, this is something that Next Step Innovation would also perform and provide for us in the way of efficiency and cost savings. So not only in the devices that we're actually using and making sure that we're being as efficient as possible in that area, but also in the subscriptions that we are paying for and being able to utilize their subscriptions as a part of our contract with them. So those are areas that we're not yet able to quantify, but we can anticipate some semblance of significant savings and be able to add that to the budget pool that we would be drawing from.

The number that we have for technology services is 265,965. It's not been touched? Is that the number we started out with or is that the number we have today?

That's how much was spent in total last year. The budgeted amount for this year was $229,000. Has debt been expended at any point?

Not that total. You can see that there's an additional $795,000 added to that, which is the Tyler technology.

All of that together, we've spent $327,000, but no, the total $229,000 has not been expended.

Okay. So the new number is the, what about, so the $795,000, that's a new one?

That is for Tyler Technology. Okay. What we're looking at is the $229,000.

That's what we got left in technology services for this year?

That was the original budgeted amount, which we will have in totality that amount to start out next year.

But how much do we have this year?

Well, we've got the 229.

Oh, so we haven't spent anything from that account?

We have spent some money on those licenses and things that I was referencing earlier. but there is still money that has not been spent.

In other categories, maybe?

Well, in that same line. But if you take that $229,000 and then the $50,000 for capital purchases at the bottom, that's $279,000.

But the capital purchases would be used for computers or something, right?

If necessary, yes, but... There will be additional savings that could be allocated to capital purchases in the event that there are some that are necessary.

Would one need a budget adjustment for that? Would you need to adjust the budget?

So, Jim. Wait, Council Member Mays, Council Member Lockett is still talking. Hold on just a second, okay? Okay, I thought he had quit. No, no, no, that's okay.

So the capital purchases is another line item that we may be able to draw?

Yes. You can see that so far this year, we have spent a whole $22,000, and that was on some things for the Tyler project. So it doesn't even have to do with everyday IT needs.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

So, hmm.

Councilmember Lockett, is it okay if I recognize Councilmember Mays? Councilmember Mays?

Yeah, Gina, hey, this is Alla Mays. So how stable are you now, Gina, since that's what you do every day?

Do you mean with the IT or with the finances? Well, both. Let's say both. Well, the IT, it's iffy from day to day, which means that we can't always get up-to-the-minute finance information like we would like, but I feel like we're definitely stable. I mean, if this was new expense... that would be different, but since it's basically a reallocation of expense that we're gonna have anyway, I don't see any issue with it.

Any further discussion? Council member Lockett.

Yes, ma'am. There's a few things in this thing that I think we need to work out. I feel a lot comfortable if I had a better understanding on how we were juggling the things.

Can you be specific so maybe we can speak to it?

Yeah.

What do we need to work out?

Now, this year we only have four months left on this year. Mm-hm. So at $23,100 a month, we'd only have four months.

Now, would we- Are you asking if we have the money to spend on that in this year's budget?

I'm trying to see the total, yeah, on the total budget. So we wouldn't have- Yes. Okay.

Yes, we would.

So on the prevention, the penetration testing, does it roll around annually?

So that is a test, and I don't know if you recall during the presentation that that is something that is optional. And that is made available to us to test our system. We don't have to do it every year, but it is separate and that is the cost for it. But what we did is included that in the possible ultimate cost to the contract. So that 296 includes the penetration test, but we may not get it done. But we have to put a an ultimate figure so that we don't operate outside of the budget and outside of the legislation. So we made sure to include optimally what we would be spending on this contract, but not necessarily including where we might not get the penetration test. Let's say we get the penetration test done in December. Maybe we don't get the penetration test again until January of 28. And we don't spend it in 27 because we're focused in other areas. So there's that, and again, there are other subscriptions that we can't yet determine where the cost savings would be because the assessment has to come first. But so just know that that 296 is everything including the kitchen sink that would be possible to spend in a given year. Understanding that the likelihood that we spend that much in a given year doesn't include the cost savings which we cannot explain or determine without the assessment.

I don't see no optional in this contract. It says it's in there. But I just- But you don't see what? I don't see the optional part in the contract. It calculates the monthly fee with an additional annual penetration thing.

Right, that's why it separates it. And I know that they explained that during the meetings that we had with each one of you, that the penetration test would be separate. And I'm not going to say optional like, hey, even though you're saying we need it, we don't want it. What I'm saying is that might not be something that occurs in the given year, but that it is a separate test that might require a sub or something. I don't know. But I do know that that was explained to be something that is optional. And I know that Shelly is online and maybe she could speak to that, but I would say that having sat through eight of those meetings and my own meetings in addition to, we are budgeting so that if we needed to get it done every year, we would, and that's included in the figure. But it could be a cost savings in a given year that we don't get the penetration test is how I would put that.

Okay.

And if I could, are you done with Gina?

Yes.

Does anyone have any questions to Director Devers?

Well, I was just going to say, we only have four more months left in the year. How much would the contract cost in that four month period? Do we have that calculation?

I mean, I think we could just multiply the monthly figure, and if we're looking at somewhere around $23,000 a month, we're looking at close to $100,000. Right about 92,000. Right about 92,000.

And we have $92,000 in the existing IT budget? Yes. Okay. So we have it covered in the IT budget, and if... We have it in the budget, but if something happens and we don't have it in the budget, we have it in the budget, though. We also have the special projects. Is that a fund? That's correct. So we have sufficient funding to get us through the year, and then when we do our budget meetings, like everything else, then we can budget out the rest.

That's correct. So any further discussion for or with Director Devers? Thank you. Director Matthews, would you mind coming forward to discuss briefly the TIPS membership and kind of how that works?

Good afternoon, City Council. Mayor, I'm going to speak generally because we have been using this system for probably the last 10 years. The city belongs to two organizations. We have a tips organization. We have a source will. Most of the cities in Arkansas, a lot of the cities across the country, state, federal agencies use these organizations to get around having to do procurement for every individual RFQ, which are bids for every individual item that a city may need or a federal agency may need. we've been a member for a number of years there are contractors are what you want to call vendors who are a member of the same organization so they procure each and every individual in our contract they put it in the system they are selected by submitting procurement like we do rps rfqs to each one of the organizations they award contracts Most of the time, contracts last for three years, which stabilizes the price. It also eliminates cities, federal agencies having to go through RFQs, RFPs all the time. Now, in our case, we have been a member. We have bought street department equipment. We bought playground equipment. We bought a number of things through either one of the organizations. We participate with both of them. This is allow us to go get the product that we need without having it run in a newspaper, review it, go through the bid process. It's already been done. In most cases, if we have a product that we need that's under our threshold, $42,000, we don't have to bring it to the council. We get the mayor's OK, we get the committee's OK, and we can roll with it. But once we get past that threshold, We have to bring it to the mayor for approval. She presents it to the committee, committee brings it to the council for approval. For instance, the equipment we bought for the street department, it was bought through Sourcewell. We bought the little carts for Park and Rec. We bought it through TIPS. So what it does is allow us to negotiate with a member of the same organization for the price that we're looking for and be able to purchase that without having to go through the procurement process. We've been through this with the auditors. We have no problem with the auditors. State uses it. Other cities across the country use it. So this allows us to keep from having to go through every little procurement or bid process for whatever our needs may be. So it goes across the board for services, and these are services, all services, even if we did it, are negotiated. They are not actually done on cost. You find a company, you negotiate with the company, and whatever that negotiation comes up with. Same thing with products or equipment. You find a company, you negotiate your costs with them, and go with them. So that's basically how the system works. We bring it before the council in the past few years for a number of times, and it has worked. We've passed the test with the auditors, and that's a general overview of how both systems work. They both work the same way. We also provide the documents. Typically, whenever a payment is requested, once we send it in to the finance department, we will provide all the documents with regards to when the contract was awarded, how long the contract lasts. All of those goes in with the initial first payment. So that's a pretty good overview of both projects. They both work the same, both organizations. So if you have any questions on the mechanism, and I'm pretty sure you'll probably be hearing from us again for the years out with some other purchases that we may need.

Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Matthews?

Mr. Matthews, were you involved with this next step thing?

No, I was not, but over the years, Mark Tavius and street department manager, Ms. Poodle Park and Rick, I've kind of passed how this information works. They will call me if they need me, but they know the process as well without me having to get in on each and every product that's needed. I'm there for them if they needed to critique it, but I was not involved in this particular project. But I've been assured that they are members. The first question I asked, if they are a member, that was the key word. They are a member. We are members. So it should be no problem.

Thank you, Mr. Matthews.

And Council Member Lockett, Mr. Matthews wouldn't have been a part of this process since we were looking at... services for a different department that didn't necessarily overlap with his any more than any other. But he was able to speak to this because so much of his work relies on our membership with those two interlocal purchasing systems.

Madam Mayor, can you indulge me with this? I would really like the figures to be broken out with what we're going to adjust for, I guess, the rest of this year. Which figures? What do you mean? For this contract.

What I'm saying, you're saying figures from a contract or figures in the budget?

From this particular budget on- This is the current budget, where they were envisioned to be part of, but the line item- So I can tell you where we would take it out of.

So you just heard Director Devers say that it was $92,000. That $92,000 would come from technology services. And if you'll look, The total amended budget for the year was $1,024,000. As you can see, we are three quarters of the way through the year, but only 32% of that has spent. Most of it has been spent on expenditures associated with New World, not with New World, with Tyler Technology. There is more than enough of the amount from our original adopted budget of 229,000 for the 92,000 to come from that amount. So I can give you very specific Confirmation and numbers that the $92,000 that we would spend for the remainder of the year would come from 4104 line item technology services. The money is there.

Now, would that include the 18-5 thing for the penetration thing?

No, that is if we would do the penetration test. If we did the penetration test and we want to add the 18 to it, then that would be $110,000 and we would still have enough to pay $110,000 out of line item 4104 technology services for sure.

What do we normally pay out of technology services? Previously. Consultants and

what do you call it, vendor services, subscriptions, and then the capital purchases, typically IT would purchase equipment. And I've talked about, but I don't think a lot has been spent out of that because the things that we've needed to spend have not been spent, ergo, We need new switches. We've needed new hardware, I'll say. But to answer your question, we have the money. And the breakdown is there. Any further questions, Council Member Lockett?

No.

Any further questions? Okay, with no further discussion, I'll just close again by asking for your partnership in us getting this done and providing our personnel across city government with the resources we need to strengthen our IT systems, including New World, including Wi-Fi, and including all of the hardware that we need to ensure that The literal millions of dollars that we will invest in Munis Tyler Technology will be implemented onto an IT system that can amply accommodate Munis. And I can assure you that I will Negotiate the contract addressing any issues or concerns that emanate from this body and your feedback. So with no further discussion, I would ask for those who wish to vote for the approval of item number two indicate by saying aye.

Aye. Aye.

Any opposed? Aye. Motion passes. Thank you, council.

I didn't hear, for the record, I'm going to ask for a roll call.

You cannot ask for a roll call, and I heard one decline.

For the record, we need to implement that.

Madam Clerk, Madam Clerk, I am convening this meeting. I heard one person who voted against. Therefore, we have the votes. I am not calling the roll. Motion passed. I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

Move to adjourn.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that we adjourn. With no objections, we are adjourned. Thank you.