City Hall Internet, phone service a big headache in Dunwoody

Internet and phone service aren’t up yet at Dunwoody’s new City Hall, but already the city is experiencing technical difficulties.

The City Council voted 6-0 Monday to reverse last week’s approval of an over-budget contract for communication services. It cited misleading information on the two bids. Mayor Ken Wright was absent.

“It was brought to our attention that what we stated at the [last] meeting was incorrect,” said city attorney Brian Anderson.

The confusion stemmed from city staff saying that the approved $228,000 deal included support and maintenance that the other bid did not. In fact, both had comparable support services, Anderson said.

The staff had first recommended the $228,000 deal without bids, but the council delayed a vote for a week.

In the extra time, the city requested bids from other companies for that exact same equipment and service — something council members said was a mistake.

“It should be the application that provides the equipment, not the equipment that provides the application,” said councilman Danny Ross, who cast the sole dissenting vote on last week’s approval.

After the request for bids, the second bid came in rushed.

Monday night’s vote does not set a new time line for bids. However, to try to meet the April 1 launch of a city police department, time will be a key factor when the city calls for new bids.

Some council members suggested that a new call for proposals go out sometime today, to be due in a week. Others urged caution, to avoid a repeat of rushed applications.

“We are going to have to live with whatever we get for years,” said councilman Tom Taylor. “We have time to do this right.”