To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Grant Davis 707-547-1900, Ty Justice 707-524-1182
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
AT&T Migration of Phone System to Microsoft Teams Voice Cloud Agreement with AT&T Enterprises, LLC
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with AT&T Enterprises, LLC, in substantially the form as the draft presented to this Board, for telephone migration services through June 30, 2026, in the not-to-exceed amount of $77,400 and authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to amend or terminate this agreement with approval of County Counsel.
B) Authorize a waiver to the Living Wage Ordinance language requirement (Sec. 2-379) to allow Sonoma County Water Agency to utilize CALNET procurement and determine that the reasons for the waiver are otherwise consistent with county policies and that the waiver is not merely to replace or displace existing positions or employees or to lower the wages of current employees.
C) Adopt a Resolution for the Sonoma County Water Agency General Fund in the amount of $77,400 for the AT&T Migration of Phone System to Microsoft Teams Voice Cloud Project. (4/5th Vote Required)
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Executive Summary:
Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) utilizes a phone system that is no longer supported and is incompatible with a hybrid work environment. Sonoma Water requires assistance from AT&T Enterprises, LLC (AT&T) in the planning, design, and implementation of migration to a new phone system that connects with existing Microsoft infrastructure (Project).
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
Sonoma Water is planning a migration to Microsoft Teams Cloud phone system. This transition replaces the legacy Mitel (ShoreTel) platform, which is no longer supported because the company has ceased operations.
Migration to Microsoft Teams Cloud phone system will enable Sonoma Water to do the following:
• Use existing Microsoft Office licensing that is already in place through the State of California.
• Improve disaster resilience by eliminating dependency on physical infrastructure with facilities in case of emergencies.
• Transition to a modern, cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) environment that integrates voice calls, video meetings, and messaging in one platform.
California Network and Telecommunications (CALNET) is a State technology procurement program run by the California Department of Technology to provide services that meet the State’s complex and critical telecommunications and network business needs. The CALNET Program accomplishes this through oversight, statewide policy, and a suite of statewide, competitively bid telecommunications contracts. By statute, local agencies may take advantage of the same contract terms with CALNET vendors as those that are agreed to with the State.
The CALNET contracts eliminate the often costly and lengthy procurement process while providing access to pre-negotiated rates and enhanced service guarantees. CALNET provides robust, reliable telecommunications services at special rates with stronger terms and enhanced service-level agreements that guarantee higher quality service. The program's structure creates continuous competitive pressure on pricing, ensuring agencies like Sonoma Water can access telecommunications services with both cost predictability and performance guarantees that would be difficult to achieve through individual procurement efforts.
AT&T is one of several vendors that has a CALNET NEXTGEN contract. AT&T is the service provider of Sonoma Water’s existing phone system.
SELECTION PROCESS
A competitive selection process was not completed, and a Single/Sole Source Waiver was obtained from Sonoma Public Infrastructure Department, Purchasing Division.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
The agreement consists of the Service Order (Attachment 2) and the broader State CALNET terms that apply to the Service Order (Attachment 3). Under the agreement, AT&T will provide services for implementation of Core Cloud UC nodes, Microsoft Teams Voice architecture design, Microsoft Teams Voice migration planning, migration to Microsoft Teams Cloud Voice for 8 locations, and knowledge transfer and documentation. Estimated cost of services is $65,700. Additional amount of $11,700 (for a total agreement amount of $77,400) includes the 2.5 percent State Associated Administrative Fee charges identified in Attachment 3 and an allowance for exceeding the estimated total. The term end date is June 30, 2026.
REQUEST FOR SONOMA WATER GENERAL MANAGER AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION AUTHORITY
Staff recommend that the Board authorize Sonoma Water’s General Manager to amend or terminate the agreement with approval of County Counsel.
WAIVER TO LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
Under Resolution Number 15-0490, the Board has directed Sonoma Water to follow the requirement of the Sonoma County Living Wage Ordinance, and under County Code section 2-379 of that ordinance all agreements subject to the ordinance must contain certain language. After discussion, AT&T will not agree to the inclusion of this language because AT&T takes the position that this language would impermissibly modify its larger contract with the State of California. Staff have confirmed that all AT&T staff working on this item locally will almost certainly make more than $23.15 per hour, but AT&T will not guarantee that only local staff will work on this project, nor will AT&T share compensation information. The Board may waive the requirements of this ordinance in this circumstance upon recommendation of the County Executive, under section 2-376(d) of the County Code after making a determination that: 1) this contract is otherwise consistent with county policies and 2) the waiver is not merely to replace or displace existing positions or employees or to lower the wages of current employees. Staff requests that the Board make these determinations.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment:
This item directly supports Sonoma County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Resilient Infrastructure
Goal: Goal 1: Invest in County buildings and technology to enhance service delivery and improve employee mobility
Objective: Objective 3: Develop and implement technology tools that enhance employees’ ability to work remotely and promote virtual service delivery models in order to reduce County facility space needs.
The Project leverages Sonoma Water’s existing Microsoft Office licensing through the State of California, maximizing current investments while improving technological capabilities, and will enable Sonoma Water staff’s ability to work remotely more efficiently, while reducing maintenance and operating costs through cloud-based infrastructure.
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Goal: Organizational Excellence
Strategy: Implement organizational development practices to enhance internal communications, decision-making, resource alignment, and project management processes.
Action: Improve communication and internal business processes to enhance transparency and internal coordination.
This phone system modernization project replaces Sonoma Water’s aging onsite telephone infrastructure with a cloud-based Microsoft Teams voice solution, which will improve internal communication, coordination, remote work flexibility, efficiency, and collaboration by enabling Sonoma Water’s staff to connect instantly regardless of physical location (such as from cell phones, laptops, and desk phones), as well as will reduce overall operating costs.
Goal: Emergency Preparedness
Strategy: Strengthen and ensure a comprehensive emergency response capability through coordinated response programs, resource management, and emergency planning.
Action: Develop robust, redundant, voice and data communications capabilities to sustain interagency, multi-jurisdictional communication.
The cloud-based phone system significantly enhances our emergency preparedness by eliminating dependence on physical building infrastructure and enabling Sonoma Water’s staff to maintain full communication capabilities from any location with internet access, ensuring continuity of operations even if Sonoma Water’s facilities are compromised during disasters or critical incidents.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
$ |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
$77,400 |
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Total Expenditures |
$77,400 |
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Funding Sources |
$ |
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General Fund/WA GF |
$ |
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State/Federal |
$ |
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Fees/Other |
$ |
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Use of Fund Balance |
$77,400 |
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General Fund Contingencies |
$ |
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Total Sources |
$77,400 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
With Board approval of the attached budgetary resolution, FY 2025/2026 appropriations of $77,400 will be made in the Sonoma Water General Fund.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Resolution
Attachment 2: Service Order Attachment with AT&T Enterprises, LLC
Attachment 3: CalNet Procurement terms applicable to the Service Order
Attachment 4: Single/Sole Source Waiver
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.