by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The City of Jacksonville’s decision to award a contract to provide the Supervisor of Elections Office with 300 laptop computers and accompanying software and hardware has been officially protested by the company’s main competition for the contract.
Brian Remington, a chief executive with IBM Corporation’s Tallahassee office, notified Mayor John Delaney and the City’s chief of procurement and supply, Jacquie Gibbs, that his company intended to contest the City’s decision to go with Pomeroy Computer Resources. Remington could not be reached for comment, but Mike Shore of IBM’s media relations department issued a statement on behalf of the company.
“We prefer not to make any comment until we speak to City officials,” said Shore.
According to Gibbs, IBM should get that opportunity within the next two weeks. Gibbs said the decision has been approved by the City’s Awards Committee, but Delaney has not signed off on the deal. She also said both companies would have representatives present during the appeal and that IBM must prove that the decision to go with Pomeroy was an error on the Awards Committee’s part.
“If they warrant, they can reconsider the award,” said Gibbs. “It has to be a justifiable process. IBM will appear before the Awards Committee and they have to prove the way we looked at the bid is totally out of line and that we made some kind of error.
“Pomeroy would be notified that IBM is protesting the award. It’s not a one-sided situation.”
IBM’s protest is based primarily on the amount of the bids. Pomeroy submitted a bid of $392,161 while IBM’s official bid was $395,579. However, according to Remington’s letter, Pomeroy made a mathematical error and its bid should have been $437,376.
Supervisor of Elections John Stafford said it’s out of his hands and all he wants is a quick decision. Stafford, whose office will distribute the laptops to each of the county’s 268 voting precincts, needs them this summer so he can train his employees to use them in time for primary elections in September.
“We really need to get them in by June or July so we can have them at the polls by September,” said Stafford. “We can’t wait forever. It’s being handled by our Information & Technology Department. When all is said and done, I do not have a whole lot of input.”
Gibbs said whatever transpires at the appeal in front of the Awards Committee should be the decision handed to Delaney for approval.
“Unless we go to court,” she said. “The Awards Committee is a recommending authority. The mayor still has to sign off.”