WATSEKA, IL. (ECWd) –

According to an email form the Iroquois County State’s Attorney, he concurred with the purchase of Emergency Telephone System Computer Aided Dispatching software without putting it out for bidding as state law requires.

His email claims that:

• EmergeTech is already compatible with their existing hardware
• EmergiTech would put the 911 center closer to next generation 911 mandates
• Purchasing different hardware would require all new technology, incompatible with existing hardware with unknown results
• EmeriTech’s track record is known and has been proven to be reliable and any enhancements would follow suit because of its known compatibility and reliability
• Training staff on new hardware vs existing hardware with enhancements would lead to mistakes costing lives

What he didn’t say was whether all the other companies out there were incompatible with existing hardware, could not get them closer to next gen 911, required different hardware, were not reliable or known, or would cause mistakes with training on other software.

There are numerous CAD software companies out there that could have effectively done the job, and maybe a little less expensive, but they didn’t even get the chance, even though state law requires bidding on contracts of this size. Nothing in the statutes even mentions any of the items mentioned in the email as reasons not to bid the contract out.

This is yet another example of a State’s Attorney failing at their post by providing legal advice that is in conflict with the law.

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