Title
Approve and authorize the Director of Information Technology to execute a standard agreement with Ariel Link for the purpose of performing an audit of the County's telecommunication invoices, compensation to occur only if actual savings are achieved and, if so, to be paid as a set percentage of the amount of actual savings achieved.
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RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve and authorize the Director of Information Technology to execute a standard agreement with Ariel Link for the purpose of performing an audit of the County's telecommunication invoices, compensation to occur only if actual savings are achieved and, if so, to be paid as a set percentage of the amount of actual savings achieved.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The County's telecommunications services are provided by AT&T and Verizon. Currently the County does not possess the capability, in terms of human resources or subject matter expertise, to conduct a comprehensive audit on the County's telecommunications billing. A comprehensive audit is advisable, however, and if conducted, is expected to result in savings.
An example of the need for an audit is the recent transition from the CALNET 2 to the CALNET 3 Agreement, and the results on the AT&T invoices. The CALNET 2 and CALNET 3 Agreements allow the County to receive discounted rates from several vendors in the telecommunications industry. The CALNET 3 Agreement replaced the CALNET 2 Agreement in November 2014. Over the past six months, AT&T has credited the balance owed under CALNET 2 and created new accounts with a balance owing under CALNET 3. These invoices are complex, making it extremely difficult to track the ending CALNET 2 balance, credited amounts, and opening CALNET 3 balance. The County receives invoices totaling between 1,100 to 1,400 pages per month. Each invoice contains multiple circuit numbers which must be traced back to the pre-CALNET 3 invoices. The time needed to determin...
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