Title
APPROVAL CONFIRMATION OF AN EMERGENCY PURCHASE FROM TITAN POWER, INC.
Staff Contact: Tom Duensing, Director, Finance and Technology
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Purpose and Recommended Action
Recommendation
This is a request for the City Council to confirm the approval of an emergency purchase from Titan Power, Inc. for an uninterruptible power supply for the Finance and Technology Department.
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Background
On Thursday March 12th the city experienced a hardware failure with its Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) that supports the main city computer room. This is a critical piece of Information Technology infrastructure which keeps systems running in the event of any power failure. The Finance and Technology Department immediately contacted vendors to obtain estimates of the cost for a replacement unit. Titan Power, Inc. provided a quote for the parts and installation and was able to commit to installing a temporary fix within 4 days and a permanent unit within two weeks. In addition, Titan Power Inc., is an authorized vendor of the State of Arizona, therefore the city received state contracted prices for the job. The price for the temporary unit installation and subsequent purchase and installation of the permanent unit was $60,964.37.
In accordance with City code section 2-147 (a), the Materials Manager may procure and contract for supplies and services without compliance with the formal purchase requirements when there has been a determination that an emergency purchase is necessary. Also in accordance with the City code section 2-147 (b), the Finance and Technology Director, as the department head, determined the emergency purchase was valid due to the critical nature of this power supply unit.
Finance Administrative Policy No. 8 regarding Emergency Purchase of Materials and Supplies states "For purchases of $50,000 or more, the Materials Manager will advise the City Manager's Office of the emergency condition and request approval". The City's Materials Manager, Vicki Rios, requested and received City Manager approval of the emergency purchase on March 13. The emergency purchase policy also states that "Emergency purchases exceeding the formal purchase limit of $50,000 shall require the approval confirmation of the City Council."
Analysis
This action will confirm the approval of an emergency purchase from Titan Power, Inc. for an uninterruptible power supply to support the City's main computer room. The purchase was made following the emergency provisions of the city code and all applicable city policies.
Budget and Financial Impacts
The purchase will be paid for from the Technology Replacement fund in the amount of $60,964.37. While the costs were not anticipated, the fund has sufficient budget appropriation to make this purchase.
Capital Expense? Yes
Budgeted? Yes
Requesting Budget or Appropriation Transfer? No
If yes, where will the transfer be taken from?