In 2011, the Town commenced a program to upgrade the Town's information technology (“IT”) to enhance operational efficiencies as well as provide our residents with greater access to information to improve our government transparency. As part of this program the Town Council approved Resolution 11-897 in May 2011, which allowed the Town to piggyback several state, federal, and cooperative contracts for the procurement of IT hardware and software.

Since then, the state contract with Dell has expired and a new contract has been negotiated for the purchase of Dell hardware. The new contract is effective from September 30, 2015 through May 31, 2020. The Town has already accessed the new contract for Dell hardware and software purchases, but continued operations require access beyond the $25,000 limitation imposed by Section 7 of Ordinance 17-203. The Town has spent $44,949.00 on Dell products over the last three fiscal years (from FY14-15 to FY16-17) with an average spend of approximately $14,983 per year. This fiscal year, the Town has already spent $12,201.18 on the current State contract with Dell. It is anticipated that continued use of this contract for its remaining term, until May 31, 2020, will bring the total expenditure under the contract over $25,000 by next fiscal year.

Piggybacking state, federal, and cooperative contracts for the procurement of IT hardware and software gives the Town the necessary flexibility to pursue our goals of better communication, transparency, public participation, and having a smart and connected community in accordance with our Strategic Plan. In addition to saving on administrative costs, utilizing state, federal, and cooperative purchasing contracts has been the most time and cost-efficient means for procuring IT hardware and software. The low pricing available on these contracts is due to the significantly greater volumes of requirements these larger entities can leverage to take advantage of economies of scale. Through these contracts, the Town has access to pricing it would not otherwise be able to obtain through the formal competitive bidding process.

Piggybacking on the federal, state and cooperative contracts and has proven to be the most efficient and cost-effective method for procuring IT hardware and software.