The Finance Committee of the City of Winston-Salem met on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 4:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. Chair Robert C. Clark presided, with Mayor Pro Tempore Denise D. Adams, Council Member Annette Scippio, and Council Member James Taylor, Jr. present. Mayor Allen Joines and other council members also attended. The meeting covered a consent agenda, a financial audit report, debt financing, opposition to state legislation affecting street funding, an IT system update, and approval of a new health insurance administration contract. The meeting adjourned at 5:25 PM.
Motion second to approve the balance of the agenda if every yeah I'm assuming we were doing this verbally. All in favor say aye. Uh any opposed? Those are approved. We will do them in um numerical order. C one of the city clerk will please read that one. C one resolution awarding a contract for police vehicle upfits. Good afternoon. Uh Mr. Chairman. Do you have the floor if you'll give us a brief introduction? We'll do. I'm assistant chief diamet with the Winston Southern Police Department over the Executive Support Bureau. I'm here to talk today about a bid process that we put together for our police vehicle lighting packages. We have been using uh MCA, a local vendor for the last several years. They were unable to meet the uh contracted uh obligation of installing our vehicle upfits. Uh they did not complete 13 vehicles from what would have been the 2324 budget. Uh we found uh another vendor, Brooks uh out of um Gibsonville, North Carolina. They agreed to take on those vehicles and upfit them for us. They are currently returning those 13 vehicles to us now. Uh we've received about six of those vehicles back so far. Um I worked with Mr. Redfield and the police department did to try to do a five-year RFP bid out for our vehicles, which would be a change from the way we've been doing it in the past uh to be more efficient and to get our vehicles upfitted. Uh we currently have 60 vehicles that were purchased in this past budget uh that we are waiting to upfit. Uh they've been sitting here for several months now, and we have not been able to get them upfitted and out on the patrol where they need to be. Uh and here we are now coming on to another budget year, which we'll be bringing in more vehicles hopefully when the budget comes out. Uh so we we did end up going with what ended up being the highest bidder, but the reason we did so is because Brooks is offering uh services that the others are not. Uh federal signal is who we use for our lighting packages. Federal signal gave a professional reference for Brooks, as they are one of their high highest vendors. Uh Brooks also is going to be installing a ballistic door panel in the driver's side of all of our patrol vehicles, which we do not have now. Um that is that expense will stop multiple rounds uh taken to a driver's door should they be shot, so that incurs a large officer safety piece that is included in their bid. Uh and then additionally, they offer a five-year warranty uh where they will send technicians to us if we have any type of problem with any of the uh uh installation of any of the pieces, not just the lighting packages, but lock boxes, uh the panels in the back that uh the shields, any anything that they do installation on, they do a five-year. It's basically kind of like a bumper to bumper warranty that they do where they will fix those uh here in Winston Salem. They will send a technician here to fix those. Um we spoke with um batteries of North Carolina who also bid, they came in as the lowest. Uh we requested a uh upfit for them for the uh ballistic panels to be added into their doors, uh which came out to be about $2,000 per vehicle, which put them much closer to the 1,000 uh or $1,000 for that, uh, as well as there was not something factored into Brooks or into batteries bid, which was they are gonna charge us $650 per vehicle to transport them to their facility, which is just south of Raleigh, about a two and a half hour trip for us. Uh all of those things taken into consideration were why we decided that Brooks was going to be the best choice for us. Everything runs so well in our city, and we observe all of the regulations like the one with the lowest bidder, etc. But uh, I had seen these vehicles parked down there at the yard, and I kept wondering why aren't they on the street? So now I know. Thank you so much. Uh but I I move for approval. I just wanted us to see the complexity. Is there a second? Second. Motion second, any other questions or comments. Yes, ma'am. In light of the delay, uh has that hampered us being able to provide staff with the vehicles, and or do we get the 60 vehicles? What happens to the other fits on vehicles? The auction on the yes, yes, ma'am.