After two weeks on the job, Sandy Springs’ communications vendor wants more than $189,000 to add a full-time employee, purchase video equipment and develop a communications plan.
The additional funds requested during Tuesday night’s work session, a 31 percent increase of the company’s current approximately $600,000 communications contract, were not a welcome addition for all of the council members.
“This is a very slippery slope,” said Councilman Chip Collins. “Are we going to approve additional funds for everybody like this?”
Collins said the requested services should be included in the Collaborative’s current contract. Councilman Gabriel Sterling agreed.
With Collins and Sterling as the only dissenting voices, Mayor Eva Galambos, who also supported the additional funds, said the matter would be taken up at the council’s August meeting.
If the council approves the change the total cost for the first year of services for the Collaborative would climb to more than $789,000. Had the company included this position in its original bid for services, it would have been the highest, bidder by approximately $30,000, minus phase-in costs. The firm, as of the contract award date, had the lowest bid, undercutting CH2M Hill and Jacobs Engineering Group, minus phase-in costs, by $130,905 and $158,526, respectively.
Ed Shoucair, a senior vice president for the Collaborative, told council members the new position, which is listed at $125,215 annually, included duties that were not included in the firm’s original proposal. He said the proposed new employee would oversee an initiative called, “Windows into Sandy Springs.” The project would involve short video profiles of city residents, business people and others, being shot, edited and posted to the city’s website. The person hired for that position would also take on other planning duties as well, he said.
Wednesday, Councilwoman Diane Fries said the task could probably be done with current staff, but would likely not be the caliber of work that could be done by the proposed new employee.
Collins vehemently disagreed.
“We’re in an age where a 13-year-old can shoot a decent video, post it on Facebook and get 1,000 hits,” Collins said. “We don’t need to spend this kind of money to do this.”
“Ditto, ditto, ditto,” said Councilman Gabriel Sterling.
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