Township uses ARPA funds for new phone system

By Dana Casadei

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds Bloomfield Township had received were unanimously approved to be used to purchase an Avaya phone system through Teoma Systems at the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees’ meeting on Monday, October 9, replacing the current phone system.

The new on-premise phone system will cost $151,053.98 in total, and consist of two phone systems, one on campus and another in a co-location. This new phone system will include redundancy, interactive voice response menus and mobile options.

“We have the ability, if we go to a co-location, to provide cell phones and direct access to the phone systems for 30 people,” said Wil Babinchak, township director of Information Technology, about this new phone system.

A co-location would be vital if there was any sort of disaster and would give those 30 individuals – who would primarily be elected officials and department heads – access to the phone system to stay in contact without having to go through their personal cell phone lines.

Babinchak spoke highly about the references they received from cities of Troy and Sterling Heights, who both work with Tecoma Systems, a Troy-based business.

The quote is priced off of a National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance through an Omnia Partners contract. Bloomfield Township has been a part of the Omnia contract since 2012.

If the township had decided to stick with their current company, they would have to pay nearly $10,000 for their yearly support renewal. That looming upcoming deadline is part of the reason why Babinchak wanted to be sure to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later on this purchase.

Township officials say they hope to implement the phone system before the 2024 election season.