Belleville approves VC3 internet service provider in special meeting

On Dec. 18, the Belleville City Council heard detailed presentations from three bidders for internet service provider to the city: VC3, R Associates Inc. (RAI), and Vector Tech.
A vote on the IT provider was originally scheduled for the Jan. 2 regular council meeting, but instead a special meeting was held Dec. 21 and the council unanimously selected VC3’s regular proposal.
Cost is $42,400 for everything for the first year including onboarding, monthly, and one-time fees. Annual fees are $36,690. Large-scale, multi-day projects are not included and will be billed at $160 an hour. This would be like moving to a new building.
Annual fee for Vector was $32,807.
In a memo, City Manager Jason Smith said the consensus was that the two local companies, VC3 and Vector, would be the two most logical options. RAI is based in Texas.
City Manager Smith recommended VC3, explaining he has worked with them in other communities for a few years prior to his arrival in Belleville.
He said both VC3 and Vector gave strong presentations and had positive reference checks.
“The decision the council should make will come down to service delivery and cost,” Smith wrote in the memo. “In my opinion, VC3 again provides the most bang for our buck. While they are the more expensive option, their service delivery and experience with government entities moves them to the front of the pack.”
Smith figured the per-user cost. He said the city has 25 users and the difference in cost between VC3 and Vector is minimal. Vector comes in at $32.86 per user per month. VC3’s regular rate is $37.24 per user per month.
At the special meeting, Smith said while VC3 is the most expensive, they deal exclusively with governments and are certified on the police department. He said from a security perspective VC3 goes over and above to shut things down before they happen.
Councilman Jeremiah Beebe asked if the wiring in city hall is enough for what the internet providers wants to do and Smith said he doesn’t know. He said the cable in the building is chaotic.
Councilwoman Julie Kissel asked if the city can negotiate more work if they see it is needed and Smith said Randy, the president of VC3, is very easy to work with.
Councilman Beebe asked where the money will come from and Smith said it could come from the city’s fund balance initially and then be reimbursed from the other department’s fund balances with agreed upon percentages.
Mayor Ken Voigt said the department funds are currently paying for internet service and the city knows that ratio. He said financial consultant Kelly of Plante Moran is very good with that.
Smith said the city’s IT person, Jeff Wiseman, is retiring at the end of January and he will help the city identify what wires go to what.
He said that VC3 told him if they have a contract tomorrow, they can get things in motion.
Mayor Voigt said the VC3 president told them they could get the city equipment it needs at cost plus 5%. The VC3 president also spoke about the federal grants available and that his company will help with grant writing.
Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Bates said VC3 is super professional and is likely to be a partner with the Michigan Municipal League.
Mayor Voigt said the city manager already know the rep and Beebe said that’s a plus.
Councilman Randy Priest gave his comments and not, “They were all pretty reputable.”
“I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them,” said Mayor Voigt, adding VC3 is working with governments and the MML thing is a big deal. They also are highly familiar with CLEMIS and LEIN. He said they are Smith’s recommended firm because of his experience with them.
The vote was unanimous and Smith said they will start in January and it will be a three to four week process with regular updates.
Mayor Voigt recommended training for all employees on the plan. He commented on the “fishing” tests where employees are sent scam emails and if they click on them they get a notice that they failed the test and have to get training.
During the presentations on Dec. 18, the IT professionals agreed that most of the problems come from employees clicking on the scam emails.
A focus came on the city’s computer system when the server crashed last summer and left city records in disarray. Consultants looking into the system found that city records could be accessed from the parking lot since the cybersecurity was so bad.
It finally was decided that the city needed to hire a firm to manage the system and bring it up to highest standards.