Item 6-D

Council Meeting: 6/10/97                     Santa Monica, CA

TO:       Mayor and City Council

FROM:     City Staff

SUBJECT:    Recommendation to Authorize City Manager to
            Negotiate and Execute  an Agreement with WilTel
            Communications, LLC, for Service,  Maintenance and
            Enhancement of the City's Northern Telcom Option 61C
            Private Business Exchange (PBX).

Introduction
This report recommends that City Council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with WilTel
Communications, LLC, for service, maintenance and enhancement
of the City's Northern Telcom Option 61C PBX.

Background
The Northern Telcom Option 61C PBX, installed in January 1995,
provides incoming and outgoing calls to 90% of the City's
telephones.  For the past two years the PBX has been
maintained satisfactorily under warranty by Nortel
Communications.  Nortel Communications was purchased by WilTel
Communications on May 1, 1997 and is now performing service as
WilTel Communications, LLC. 

Discussion
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was sent to eight companies in
April 1997 and was published twice in the Los Angeles Times. 
Five companies did not respond, one declined to participate
due to their company size and resources, and one response was
received late.  WilTel Communications submitted a proposal
which was responsive and met or exceeded all requirements
listed in the RFP.  Highlights of WilTel's response include:
   -      One-call point-of-contact for ordering equipment and
          service calls
   -      Northern Telcom authorized vendor
   -      WilTel will provide an additional month of service
          at no charge for each service call not responded to
          under the terms of the agreement
   -      Spare equipment is assigned to the Technician and
          carried in their vehicle  
   -      Will provide Northern Telcom certified equipment
   -      Will provide new equipment at a discount from their
          normal price list
   -      Can provide necessary technicians to support City
          projects and service needs
   -      Knowledge of City systems, facilities and staff

Budget/Financial Impact
The three year contract with WilTel Communications would not
exceed a total cost of $60,000 per fiscal year.  The contract
would include a maintenance service agreement whose annual
cost would be $32,643.  Funding for the maintenance service
agreement is available within various departments' telephone
expense accounts in the Operating Budget.  The remainder of
the $60,000, or $27,357 per fiscal year, would be used for
telephone system capital upgrades and would therefore be
charged to appropriate Capital Improvement Program accounts,
as needed, in the next three fiscal years.  For FY 1997-98, it
is anticipated that all or part of these upgrade expenses
would be charged to the Library Telephone System capital
improvement project account (#01-710-613-20097-8900-99554). 
There is sufficient funding budgeted in this account to
accommodate such expenditures.  Other telephone system
upgrades, to be effected within the scope of this contract,
will only be approved and ordered when sufficient budget
authority is available in appropriate accounts.

Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute a three year agreement with
WilTel Communications, LLC for the service, maintenance and
enhancement  of the City's Northern Telcom Option 61C PBX.

Prepared by:   Jory Wolf, Information System Manager
               Sanford Taylor, Technical Services Supervisor
               Robert Hernandez, Telecommunications Analyst