Florida public safety agencies should get what they asked for this legislative session -- competitive bidding on a desperately needed emergency communications system upgrade.
That's new radios and towers for seamless communication between some 4,000 first responders, law enforcement and emergency personnel.
Note, I used the words "should get," not "will get."
Even though a joint task force last week recommended the Legislature open up the estimated $18 million annual contract for competitive bid -- and even though Gov. Rick Scott and state law enforcement agencies have said they want competitive bidding, even though there is $1 million in the budget for the bid process to run its course -- there are hints the current contract holder, Harris Corp. of Melbourne, might try an end-run around it -- cutting out all competition.
I'm not psychic, but a year ago I thought this might happen. When I wrote the story last May of Harris' 20-year contract coming to an end in 2021 -- and the amount of time it will take to get a communications system upgrade running and ready -- it occurred to me that the company would do whatever it takes to get its contract renewed without having to compete for it. Certainly Harris would have to try, I reasoned. The contract is one of the the state's largest and most valuable.
And sure enough, in his Sunday story about the radio contract for the Naples Daily News, Matt Dixonwrites that although Harris said it isn't pushing for a no-bid contract, Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, who oversees the budget with the $1 million funding allocation for the bid program, said he was indeed approached. Hays told Dixon, '"If you had a business for that much money, would you want to give it up, or just have it renewed?"
Even Victoria Dillon, director of communications for Harris' public safety and professional communications division, claims the company has promised to make "significant investments" in the current system and she warns of "gaps in service" if a new vendor gets to buildwhat is known as the P25 upgrade to theStatewide Law Enforcement Radio System.
Sounds to me like Harris is angling for a no-bid contract.
However understandable from the company's standpoint, it's a wrong-headed idea and I hope lawmakers resist it.We're talking about a contract worth nearly $1 billion over 19 years. That's taxpayers' money and a lot of it. Does it sound to you like a candidate for a no-bid contract?
Project 25 (P25) is a set of standards for digital radio communications used by federal, state, provincial and local public safety agencies in North America. It enables them to communicate with each other and to coordinate mutual aid response teams in emergencies.
Five companies working in the Sunshine State are qualified to put together the P25 upgrade. This is an opportunity for Florida's conservative Legislature to showcase its free-market principles. It is a project absolutely crucial to public safety in the third largest state in the nation. It behooves us to find and demand the best.
I can only imagine Harris' desperation to keep an $18 million-a-year contract, and the attempts company officials will make to lean on lawmakers with behind-the-scenes "offers they can't refuse." And I understand it, believe me. But virtually everybody affected, from the governor to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to the Fish and Wildlife Commission, have said -- many in testimony before the joint committee dealing with the upgrade -- they want to see a competitive bid process take place on this project.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, whose Pinellas County is one of 20 Florida counties already P25 compliant, said, "We've already got $30 million invested in this system. You bet competitive bids are important to us. We want a compatible system, we want a reliable system, we've waited a long time for seamless communication statewide and we want to see what each company offers. However it shakes out, it shakes out. But let's make sure we've found the best we can get."
However it shakes out, it shakes out. Free market, open competition -- that's exactly how it should be on the taxpayers' dime. Let the battle begin.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
