Facing Homeland Security and Federal Communications Commission requirements to upgrade law enforcement communications systems county-wide as well as meet grant deadlines for funding, Brown County commissioners have met several times over the last few weeks to work out the purchase of new equipment. A surprising turn of events developed Monday afternoon in Brown County commissioners’ court which led to a change of heart in just who the county will purchase equipment from.
Brown County decided Monday to purchase the new radio equipment from LAN Communications out of Clyde and rescind the order from SWB Services from Early after paying for half of an order.
A nearly $68,000 Homeland Security Grant is at stake with a July 31st deadline looming for product purchase, county reimbursement and installation to meet the grant guidelines, and Brown County Commissioners have been struggling to not only spend the money, but do so in a procedurally correct manner after being questioned by citizen Joe Cooksey who has since filed suit against the county, all four commissioners and County Judge Ray West in District Court.
Cooksey claims the court has acted criminally and has violated the Open Meetings Act with a purchase of equipment from SWB Services of Early; however Judge West explains that the court has the right to place the order, and that under Section 262.024 paragraph 2A of the Texas Local Government Code, the county can determine that the purchase of these radios is for the safety and welfare of its citizens and can forego the bid process.
Commissioners met Monday morning again to consider purchase of the communications equipment which will be distributed to all county law enforcement agencies which must comply with having narrow band radio communications systems by January 1, 2013 under Homeland Security and FCC requirements. During this meeting of the court, Judge West explained not only the government code allowing the court to bypass the bid process, but also explained that a previously placed contract of $49,999 with SWB Communications of Early was legally binding, and that this order left the county still needing to order 8 more radios. When West tried to confirm the quantity of radios and the cost with Brown County Emergency Management Coordinator Brent Bush, no figures were available as the county had rejected a previous bid submitted by SWB Services during the May 30th meeting of the court when the county abandoned the bid process altogether. The bid from SWB Service was received after County Auditor Nina Cox recommended the county seek bids for the equipment in early May and the bid process was opened.
Only one bid was submitted at the close of the bid process in mid-May, by SWB, and a proposal was later brought to the court by LAN Communications, which was solicited by Cooksey. Although LAN’s proposal was cheaper, the court was leaning toward initiating a purchase through SWB to obtain the equipment needed for compliance. Commissioners explained that the county would benefit by keeping the order with SWB as they have received excellent service and sometimes service at no cost on repairs from SWB.
After about 45 minutes of discussion Monday regarding the purchase of the remaining equipment needed and the fact that the bid had been rejected, no proposal for the equipment or pricing was available in writing from SWB Services. County Auditor Nina Cox stated that she was against the court taking action on the purchase without written information from SWB Services.
“I’m not comfortable without a piece of paper stating exactly what we’re purchasing,” said Cox. “Please be critical of me because I still don’t agree.”
Precinct 1 Commissioner Bob Clark attempted to make a motion to have the court initiate negotiations by offering a proposition to SWB as the supplier for the remaining radios which would name the needed equipment based on their previous bid, to be limited to the approximately $18,000 remaining of the grant funds; however the motion died for lack of a second from the court.
The court recessed until 1:30pm with hopes that information could be secured from SWB Services outlining the items descriptions and quantities along with current cost. As the meeting reconvened, West addressed the court.
“After a flurry of phone calls and investigation, it appears to me that we are in limbo right now on the SWB bid and I do not believe that we have a subsequent proposal from SWB,” stated West. “My recommendation to the court is that we negate the action of the court that was taken two or three weeks ago to approve or to pay for a purchase order which was made for ½ of the purchase price of the equipment through SWB.”
West assured the court that he has checked with the regional Kenwood radio supplier for SWB and with the County Attorney to make sure the order may be cancelled and that if equipment is received by SWB, the equipment can be returned possibly with restocking and shipping fees the only cost to the county. He also stated that the refund of the down payment of should be easily obtained.
West further recommended accepting the comprehensive proposal submitted by LAN Communications, proposal number 2399, which would expend $67,949 for all of the needed radios and equipment, which is $40 under the total grant funds available for the purchase. LAN has also submitted an installation bid of $4500, dated June 2, 2012.
“This really has nothing to do with all the controversy, rather real or perceived, over the procedure that we encountered, this is simply a result of not having subsequent proposal today from SWB and the information we have that the material has not been ordered, at least not from the company that we were advised it was ordered from,” said West.
West also advised the court that Jana Owen of West Central Texas Council of Governments, which administers the grant money, had called him and told him that a decision had to be made today for the WCTCOG to stay within the deadlines of the grant.
Commissioner Clark moved to rescind the $49,994.37 order from SWB for the 10 radios ordered and take necessary action to recover the down payment from SWB. Although Gist did not agree, the matter passed 4-1. Judge West then moved that the county declare that the purchase was being made outside of the bidding process pursuant to Section 262.024 paragraph 2A of the Texas Local Government Code, and that the purchase is being made for the safety and welfare of its citizens.
The court then approved, 4-1 (again Gist the dissenting vote), the purchase of all of the needed communications equipment through LAN Communications in the amount of $67,949.34, with a 50% down payment at the time of the order. According to Judge West, Brent Bush would be ordering the equipment today as required by the WCTCOG and cancelling the order through SWB.
Gist stated that he felt the court moved too hastily and that he was still in support of SWB.
Bush stated that he was surprised at the decision made by the court and that he was disappointed that the purchase was not kept local with a known supplier.
“It wasn’t the decision I expected,” said Bush. “Although I’m pleased it accomplishes what we have to do and will result in more equipment for the county.”
Cooksey said that he was pleased with the turn of events. He stated that he will not drop the lawsuit and he will follow the process to make sure the purchase is completed and that the county does not incur restocking fees or shipping fees based on a contract he believes was invalid to begin with.
“After filing the suit against the county, the judge finally agreed to be reasonable and in the end, the tax payers win,” said Cooksey. “As of right now I still intent to prosecute the suit based on violations of the County Purchasing Act and the Open Meetings Act to prevent future violations among other things. There are still serious issues related to criminal liability for everyone involved, but those cannot be addressed in this petition except (through) a finding by the District Court both acts were violated.”
