BOULDER CITY – Staff in the Boulder City Finance Department have been working on projects that will save the City money, including one that will save more than $300,000 over the next five years. The staff, working under the direction of City Manager Al Noyola and Finance Director Diane Pelletier, negotiated a new contract to replace the current aging phone system.
Tuesday, City Council approved an agreement with Cox Communications Las Vegas, Inc. to upgrade the City’s Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system. The current phone system is ten years old and costs the City $9,800 per month. The existing phones and associated services are outdated and need to be upgraded.
NRS 332.195 allows governmental entities within the state to join or use the contracts of other governmental entities with the authorization of the supplier. In May 2019, Cox and the City of Henderson entered into an agreement for the same services. “We can join that Agreement to provide these new products and services to the City of Boulder City,” said Paul Sikora, Purchasing Manager for the City of Boulder City. “As a matter of due diligence, we solicited proposals from three other companies. COX was selected to perform the project both for cost savings and providing the newest technology.”
The agreement is for five years at a rate of about $4,700 per month; this is a $304,338 savings over the last contract. “Staff continues to look at options to save money; in the past year, Paul (Sikora) has saved the City in equipment purchases, service agreements and contract negotiations, and Brok Armantrout has made nearly $3 million in new and revised contracts,” said Diane Pelletier. “This work compliments the efforts of Angela Manninen and Carol Lelles, who have also found ways to tighten our purse strings without sacrificing quality and transparency.”
City Manager Al Noyola credits staff for keeping on track with the goals of the 2025 Strategic Plan. “These actions really fit two strategic goals set by Council: achieving prudent financial stewardship and investment in infrastructure,” said Noyola. “Staff will be working with the vendor to use enhanced services in the new system, including after-hours and emergency service notifications. Diane and her staff deserve kudos for their efforts over the past year.”
Council also approved a contract with DataProse, a billing/postage company that will provide our utility billing and postage services and restructure utility bill inserts to make them easier to read and understand.
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