2005 AGN APR 19 I07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 19,2005 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: Josefina M. Kenline, Principal Management Analyst SUBJECT: Approve and Adopt the. Administrative Policy Pertaining to Cell Phone Usage. DATE: April 19, 2005 T BACKGROUND: Item #7 For the past year, staff has been working diligently to come up with a cell phone policy that is cost effective, as well as one that meets the needs of the users as defined by management. The evolving process also included helpful comments and suggestions by the Mayor and the City Council, and ultimately resulted in selecting a city-wide plan. On May 4, 2004, the Mayor and City Council were given a memorandum outlining the cell phone plan options for the City of Colton. Since then, staff has worked on securing the most cost efficient plan possible that meets the user's needs. Nextel is currently providing a city-wide Pooling Plan for employees, and the Mayor and City Council Members. The plan includes 43,250 nationwide "Anytime" cell phone minutes and 36,000 "Direct Connect" (push to talk) minutes. The number of "Anytime" or "Direct Connect" minutes will vary depending on the number of cell phones authorized. On March 15, 2005, staff asked for comments from the Mayor and City Council to be included in the cell phone policy. Those comments that were received have been incorporated into the proposed policy. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The City is using a government rate plan that Nextel offers government agencies. All government agencies that have Nextel and choose the same minute plan we are using, will be charged the same amount. The cost of the basic plan for 144 users is approximately $8,000 per month and includes a base charge of $7,344. The remaining $656 is a combination of taxes, government fees, Blackberry services, and the replacement of miscellaneous equipment. Additional phones can be added for approximately $51 per month. The Finance Department reviews the invoices to ensure there are not excessive overage charges. Since moving to this contract, there are some users that have very low usage and others, because of the nature of their jobs, have a significant number of minutes of usage per month. Yet, the total number of minutes does not exceed the contract plan. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no additional financial impact regarding the cell phone plan since monies are already budgeted within the FY 2004/05 budget. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: None.