Telecommunications System

The City of Palm Desert plans to replace its current Mitel/ShoreTel on-premise phone system with a modern, cloud-based VoIP/UCaaS telecommunications solution. Incoming calls to main City numbers will continue to be answered by a live receptionist, while department lines may use automated attendants and staff will remain reachable through direct dial numbers.

The selected vendor will be responsible for delivering, staging, installing, programming, and testing all required phone hardware and related system components on-site. The proposed solution must align with the City’s technology standards, including the City’s use of Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams for collaboration, directory access, calendaring, and related integrations.

Zoom will continue to serve as the City’s platform for public meetings, including live streaming, public comment, and required transparency functions. The City also uses the Revolution Activate ENS mass-notification system and requires seamless, documented integration with the new telecommunications platform to support real-time alerts across voice, SMS, and email, including bi-directional communication and continuity of existing emergency notification workflows.

Background

The City of Palm Desert intends to replace its existing Mitel/ShoreTel premise-based telecommunications system with a cloud-based VoIP/UCaaS solution.

Incoming call flow is structured to route callers efficiently based on their needs. Calls to the City’s main line are first answered by a live receptionist. Calls to specific department lines may be handled by an automated attendant, and City staff may be reached directly through their individual direct dial numbers.

The selected provider will be responsible for delivering, staging, installing, programming, and placing all telephone sets at their designated locations as part of the on-site implementation of the new telephone system.

The proposed telecommunications solution must align with the City’s established technology standards, including the City’s use of Microsoft Office 365 (O365) and Microsoft Teams as preferred strategic platforms for collaboration, communications, directory access, calendaring, and related integrations.

The City utilizes Zoom as its standard platform for hosting public meetings. Zoom will continue to support live streaming, public comment, and recording capabilities in compliance with applicable open meeting laws and transparency requirements.

The City owns and intends to continue using its Revolution Activate ENS mass-notification system. The selected solution must provide documented integration with this system, enabling real-time message initiation across voice, SMS, and email without requiring significant modification to the current Revolution deployment. The system must also support bi-directional communication to maintain continuity of operations during emergency and high-volume notification events.

External paging systems are currently used at City Hall and the Public Library. The new system must support these existing analog paging interfaces.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-047
• Department: Finance - Information Technology
• Department Head: Clay Von Helf (IT Manager)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-07-21T22:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Technical Solution and Scope Compliance (30 pts) —

  Completeness and quality of the proposed hosted VoIP / UCaaS solution; ability to meet required telephony, voicemail, automated attendant, call routing, call detail reporting, system management, SMS/MMS, AI tool, and device requirements; compliance with 911/E911 requirements; and clarity of the Scope compliance matrix.

• Microsoft O365/Teams, Revolution Activate ENS, Paging, and System Integration (15 pts) —

  Strength, reliability, and ease of integration with Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Active Directory/LDAP/SSO, Outlook contacts, existing analog paging systems, SIP-enabled conference phones, elevator lines, analog devices, and the City’s Revolution Activate ENS mass notification system; ability to minimize service disruption and maintain security, redundancy, and high availability.

• Implementation, Cutover, and Project Management Approach (20 pts) —

  Quality and feasibility of the implementation approach, including project schedule, departmental station review, system design, number porting coordination, programming, testing, cutover, punch list process, acceptance period support, identification of City/vendor responsibilities, and ability to complete all locations in 2026 with minimal operational disruption.

• Vendor Qualifications, Experience, and References (15 pts) —

  Proposer’s company background, length of time in the telecommunications industry, municipal or public agency experience, experience with comparable multi-location hosted VoIP / UCaaS installations, qualifications of proposed project team, local support capacity, and feedback from references.

• Training, Support, Warranty, Maintenance, and Service Response (10 pts) —

  Quality of user and administrator training; availability of City-customized training resources; warranty and maintenance support; service levels; guaranteed response times for regular and emergency services; lead time for moves, additions, changes, and deletions; and overall post-implementation support model.

• Cost Proposal and Overall Value (10 pts) —

  Completeness, transparency, and competitiveness of pricing; recurring and non-recurring costs; all taxes, fees, shipping, handling, optional components, and add/delete costs; proposed payment schedule and billing commencement; and overall value in relation to the proposed functionality, risk, and long-term support.

Submission Requirements

• Proposal (required) —

  Proposals shall be clear, concise, complete, and organized in the order specified below.  The proposal should demonstrate the proposer's understanding of the City's telecommunications needs and the proposer's ability to provide a complete, turn-key hosted telephony solution, including all system components, services, integrations, implementation, training, support, warranty, and pricing necessary to meet the Scope of Services.

  The City may deem a proposal nonresponsive if it fails to provide sufficient information to evaluate the proposer's qualifications, proposed solution, compliance with required features, implementation approach, support model, or pricing.

  Proposal Submission and Organization

  • Submit the proposal as a single, searchable PDF file.
  • Organize the proposal using the same section headings and sequence listed in this Content and Format of Proposal section.
  • Provide concise, direct responses.  Marketing materials may be included only if they are directly relevant to the proposed solution and clearly referenced in the response.
  • Clearly identify any exceptions, deviations, assumptions, third-party dependencies, optional features, or services not included in the base proposal.
  • All pricing must be submitted using the attached pricing spreadsheet and must include all recurring and non-recurring costs, taxes, fees, shipping, handling, delivery, installation, configuration, training, and any other charges necessary for a complete turn-key solution.
  • The City reserves the right to request clarification or additional information during the evaluation process.

  Required Proposal Sections

  1. Cover Letter
     1. Legal name of proposer and, if applicable, names of any subcontractors, partners, carriers, or third-party providers included in the proposed solution.
     2. A brief introduction of your firm. Summarize general qualifications.
     3. Statement confirming that the proposal is valid for the period required by the RFP.
     4. Include name, title, address, phone number, and email address of the proposer's primary City contact.
     5. Signature and contact information of authorized representative with the authority to bind the proposer and negotiate Agreement terms and compensation. 
  2. Executive Summary
     1. Provide a concise summary of the proposed hosted telephony solution, including the proposed platform, carrier/provider relationship, primary system architecture, and implementation approach.
     2. Identify the major benefits of the proposed solution for the City, including reliability, scalability, user experience, administrative ease, Microsoft O365/Teams integration, E911 compliance, Revolution Activate ENS integration, and support model.
     3. Identify any notable assumptions, dependencies, third-party components, optional services, or recommended alternatives.
  3. Company Background and Qualifications
     1. Age of company and length of time in the telecommunications industry.
     2. Company ownership and organizational structure.
     3. Address of the local office responding to the RFP.
     4. Description of the proposer's experience providing cloud-based VoIP, hosted telephony, and/or UCaaS solutions for municipalities, public agencies, or comparable multi-location organizations.
     5. Description of the proposer's ability to support the City during design, implementation, cutover, training, warranty, and ongoing maintenance.
  4. Relevant Experience and References 
     1. Provide at least three (3) municipal references of similar installed systems. Local city references are preferred where available.
     2. References should involve hosted telephony, VoIP, UCaaS, Microsoft O365/Teams integration, E911 compliance, multi-location implementation, paging, and/or similar features where applicable.
     3. For each reference, provide:
        1. Customer Name
        2. Contact Name
        3. Contact Address
        4. Contact Telephone Number
        5. Contact Email
        6. Installation Date of Comparative System
        7. Description of Comparative System, including number of locations, number of hones, key integrations, and scope of services provided.
  5. Proposed Solution and Technical Approach
     1. Provide a detailed technical narrative describing how the proposed solution will meet the Scope of Services.  At minimum, address the following:
        1. Hosted Telephony/UCaaS Platform
           1. Describe the proposed cloud-based VoIP/UCaaS platform, system architecture, licensing model, carrier/provider capabilities, redundancy, availability, scalability, and administrative model. 
        2. Data Network Coordination
           1. Describe any City network requirements, assumptions, quality of service requirements, Power over Ethernet requirements, firewall or security requirements, bandwidth considerations, and proposer responsibilities for identifying required system set-up requirements.
        3. Microsoft O365 and Microsoft Team Integration
           1. Describe how the solution integrates with Microsoft O365, Outlook contacts, Active Directory, user directories, calendars, meeting scheduling, Microsoft Teams, click-to-call, presence, and related collaboration tools. Identify whether integration is native or requires third-party components and whether it is seamless and bi-directional.
        4. Unified Messaging and Voicemail
           1. Describe voicemail integration, voicemail-to-email, audio file delivery, transcription, Outlook contact integration, caller ID in email subject line, custom greetings, zero-out options, speech recognition, and multi-language greeting capabilities.
        5. SMS/MMS Texting
           1. Describe inbound and outbound SMS/MMS capabilities, two-way messaging, group or bulk messaging, integration with voice and unified communications services, scalability, security, administration, end-user tools, and pricing.
        6. Paging and External Paging Access
           1. Describe phone-based paging, zoned paging, page-all functionality, integration/access ports for existing external analog paging systems at City Hall and the Public Library, and any equipment or interface requirements.
        7. Revolution Activate ENS Integration
           1. Describe how the proposed solution will integrate with the City’s existing Revolution Activate ENS mass notification system, including bi-directional communication, real-time message initiation, escalation workflows, multi-channel delivery, voice broadcasts, SMS, email, contact list management, message prioritization, APIs, middleware, security, redundancy, availability, monitoring, reporting, and coordination with third-party vendors.
        8. AI Tools
           1. Describe standard AI capabilities included in the proposed solution, including conversational AI/virtual agents, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, call transcription, call summarization, sentiment analysis, intelligent call routing, automation, analytics, reporting, security, privacy, compliance, pricing, scalability, customization, and support.
        9. System Administration
           1. Describe the administrative portal, operational programming, voicemail administration, auto attendant administration, unified messaging administration, E911 notification services, role-based permissions, audit trail/change history, single sign-on, and Active Directory/LDAP integration.
        10. Telephone Devices and Licenses
            1. Describe each proposed device type, including elevator line support, analog station ports, Type 2 basic telephone sets, Type 3 WiFi-enabled cordless phone, Type 4 attendant answering position, and license-only support for the City’s SIP-enabled wireless conference phones.
        11. Telephony Features
            1. Describe compliance with required features, including caller ID, calling name ID, transferred caller ID behavior, transfer display behavior, call-forward timer, call routing, departmental answering, hunt groups, standard conferencing, user directory, call history, music on hold, variable ringtones, station paging, voice announce intercom, and on-demand call recording.
        12. Automated Attendant
            1. Describe routing by dialed number, time/day/holiday routing, department or telephone-number routing, text-to-speech greetings, multi-language support, remote override capability, special-event greetings, caller menu behavior, overflow coverage, and reporting.
        13. E911 and Regulatory Compliance
            1. Describe compliance with Kari’s Law, RAY BAUM’S Act, FCC requirements, State of California requirements, PSAP address information, on-network notification, City-owned smartphone notification, softphone user location management, and the ability to distinguish City facilities from remote locations.
        14. Call Detail Reporting
            1. Describe reporting for incoming, outgoing, and station-to-station calls, call duration, frequently called numbers, automated attendant traffic, hang-ups, and access for designated City staff. 
        15. Security, Privacy, and Compliance
            1. Describe security controls, identity management, data protection, privacy measures, retention options, audit capabilities, AI-related privacy protections, and any applicable compliance standards.
  6. Scope Compliance Matrix
     1. Proposers shall include a compliance matrix identifying whether the proposed solution meets each major requirement in the Scope of Services.  The matrix should include sufficient detail for the City to understand whether the requirement is included in the base proposal,, available as an optional item, requires third-party services, or is not available.
     2. Sample matrix layout is provided as Attachment A.
  7. Implementation, Cutover, and Project Management
     1. Provide a detailed implementation plan for all City locations, including City Hall, Corporation Yard, and City Library.
     2. Describe the departmental station review and system design process, including how user requirements, telephone station types, numbering, programmed features, call flows, recordings, automated attendant operation, and voicemail requirements will be documented and approved.
     3. Provide a proposed project schedule that supports the City’s anticipated 2026 implementation and cutover timeline.
     4. Describe the proposer’s approach to number porting, four-digit dialing coordination, cutover planning, business-continuity planning, rollback planning, and minimizing disruption to City operations.
     5. Provide a responsibility matrix identifying vendor responsibilities, City responsibilities, and any third-party responsibilities, including any site preparation or network configuration activities required before installation.
     6. Describe the test plan to be developed and executed with the City’s project manager, including voicemail/O365 integration, phone placement and testing, station-to-station dialing, external dialing, automated attendants, unified communications, Revolution Activate ENS, E911, reporting, and completion of punch-list items.
     7. Describe how the proposer will support the City during the thirty (30) day acceptance period and how performance issues will be tracked, corrected, and retested if the acceptance period restarts.
  8. Training, Documentation, and Knowledge Transfer
     1. Describe the proposed on-site user training for all users, including format, number of sessions, class size, training materials, and use of working telephones.
     2. Describe administrator training for four (4) City staff members, including system programming, reporting, management, and configuration training.
     3. Provide information on any additional system administration or technical training available, including projected cost, location, provider, and format.
     4. Describe digital training resources, including video training and City-customized quick reference cards.
     5. Identify all system documentation to be provided, including as-built configuration documentation, phone lists, call flows, automated attendant menus, administrator guides, user guides, support procedures, and warranty/support contacts.
  9. Maintenance, Warranty, and Support
     1. Describe manufacturer warranty and vendor warranty coverage for equipment, software, licensing, implementation services, and related components.
     2. Identify the hourly rate for service not covered by warranty or service contract.
     3. Specify lead time required for moves, changes, additions, and deletions.
     4. Describe regular and emergency service, including definitions, support hours, response times, escalation process, after-hours support, and guaranteed response times. Guaranteed response times greater than four (4) hours for emergency services and greater than next business day for regular services will not be acceptable.
     5. Describe support ticketing, account management, monitoring, reporting, service-level commitments, and customer communication procedures.
     6. Identify any support limitations, exclusions, optional support tiers, or additional charges.
  10. Pricing Proposal
      1. Complete and submit the Pricing Schedule attached to this project solicitation as Attachment B.
      2. Provide an itemized schedule of all recurring and non-recurring costs for the proposed system.
      3. Include all taxes and fees, both recurring and non-recurring.
      4. Include all costs necessary for a complete turn-key system, including comprehensive station reviews, determination of user requirements, installation, programming, onsite placement of telephone devices, testing prior to cutover, and coordination of four-digit dialing between stations.
      5. Provide cost detail for non-standard features and optional items identified in the Scope of Services.
      6. Identify any shipping, handling, delivery, disposal, or inside-delivery charges. If included in unit pricing, state that clearly.
      7. Provide a recommended payment schedule and state when monthly billing will commence.
      8. Provide an add/delete cost schedule for all system components, user licenses, and station equipment, including how future additions will be handled and whether additions will be coterminous where reasonable.
      9. Identify any penalty, liability charge, or other cost for reducing equipment, telephone instruments, user licenses, or system components before or after installation.
      10. Clearly identify any assumptions that affect price, including minimum quantities, license terms, usage limits, third-party costs, optional items, or services not included in the base price.
  11. Exceptions, Assumptions, and Additional Information
      1. List all exceptions to the Scope of Services, RFP requirements, contract terms, delivery requirements, warranty requirements, service-level requirements, or pricing requirements.
      2. For each exception, identify the specific requirement, proposed alternative language or approach, and the reason for the exception.
      3. Identify any assumptions that the City should consider during evaluation, including network readiness, third-party access, Revolution Activate ENS coordination, carrier dependencies, City-provided data, training attendance, or scheduling constraints.
      4. Identify any optional services, enhancements, or recommended alternatives that may benefit the City, including AI features, advanced analytics, enhanced security, monitoring, additional training, or support options.
• Price Proposal (required) —

  Complete pricing proposal provided as Attachment B and upload document here.

• Non-Collusion Declaration (required) —

  The undersigned declares:

  I am an authorized representative of my company, the party making the foregoing Bid, to certify the following.

  The Bid is not made in the interest of, or on behalf of, any undisclosed person, partnership, company, association, organization, or corporation. The Bid is genuine and not collusive or sham. The Bidder has not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other Bidder to put in a false or sham bid. The Bidder has not directly or indirectly colluded, conspired, connived, or agreed with any Bidder or anyone else to put in a sham bid, or to refrain from bidding. The Bidder has not in any manner, directly or indirectly, sought by agreement, communication, or conference with anyone to fix the Bid Price of the Bidder or any other Bidder, or to fix any overhead, profit, or cost element of the Bid Price, or of that of any other Bidder. All statements contained in the Bid are true. The Bidder has not, directly or indirectly, submitted his or her Bid Price or any breakdown thereof, or the contents thereof, or divulged information or data relative thereto, to any corporation, partnership, company, association, organization, bid depository, or to any member or agent thereof to effectuate a collusive or sham bid, and has not paid, and will not pay, any person or entity for such purpose.

  Any person executing this declaration on behalf of a Bidder that is a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or any other entity, hereby represents that he or she has full power to execute, and does execute, this declaration on behalf of the Bidder.

  I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

• Iran Contracting Act Certification (required) —

  (Public Contract Code section 2200 et seq.)

  As required by California Public Contract Code Section 2204, the Contractor certifies subject to penalty for perjury that the option selected below relating to the Contractor’s status in regard to the Iran Contracting Act of 2010 (Public Contract Code Section 2200 et seq.) is true and correct.

  Note: In accordance with Public Contract Code Section 2205, false certification of this form shall be reported to the California Attorney General and may result in civil penalties equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the Contract amount, termination of the Contract and/or ineligibility to bid on contracts for three years.

• SAM.gov (required) —

  Please enter your legal entity name for SAM.gov verification.

• Type of Business (required)
• Litigation (required) —

  Provide litigation history for any claims filed by your firm or against your firm related to the provision of Services in the last five (5) years (or type "N/A").

• Changes to Agreement (required) —

  The City standard professional services agreement contract is included as an attachment herein. The Proposer shall identify any objections to and/or request changes to the standard contract language in this section of the proposal (or type "N/A"). If you are identifying changes here ALSO upload a copy of the redlined Language/Agreement with your Proposal. Changes requested may affect theCity's decision to enter into an Agreement.

• No Deviations from the RFP (required) —

  In submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, Proposer is certifying that it takes no exceptions to this RFP including, but not limited to, the Agreement. If any exceptions are taken, such exceptions must be clearly noted here, and may be reason for rejection of the proposal. As such, Proposer is directed to carefully review the proposed Agreement and, in particular, the insurance and indemnification provisions therein (or type "N/A").

• Project Team Resumes (required) —

  Submit resumes of all key personnel/support staff that will produce work product for the Services. Describe their qualifications, education, and professional licensing.

• List the Signatory(s) Authorized to Sign and Bind an Agreement. (required) —

  (If two (2) signatures are required, include the following information for both signatories)

  1. Full Name
  2. Title
  3. Physical Business Address
  4. Email Address
  5. Phone Number

  Corporation (C-Corp): Requires two signatures from authorized officers— one from President or Vice President, and the other from the Secretary or Treasurer.  

  An alternate signatory may be used if authorized by a Notarized Corporate Resolution or Article of Authority.

  LLC: Usually requires one signature from an authorized member or manager. For significant contracts (e.g., over $50,000 for construction or over $25,000 for service agreements), additional approvals or signatures may be required.

  Sole Proprietorship, Non-Profit, Single LLC: Only the one signature is necessary.

• Conflict of Interest Disclosure (required) —

  The proposer understands that any and all relationships with construction firms that may submit bids for projects developed under this agreement will require full disclosure of any direct or indirect conflicts of interest, financial interests, relationships, and the nature of any relationships with any related project bid submitters; and that any violation of this provision may result in the immediate termination of the Agreement  

• Certification of Proposal (required) —

  The undersigned hereby submits its proposal and, by doing so, agrees to furnish services in accordance with the Request for Proposal (RFP), and to be bound by the terms and conditions of the RFP.

• What is the Project Number? (required) —

  If not required, type "N/A"

• Agency (required) —

  What agency is this for?

• Agency Awarding Body (required)
• Select the appropriate Agency abbreviation/acronym. (required)
• Insert brief Project Description (required)
• Are there any special licenses or certifications required? (required)
• If a CA Contractor's State License IS required, enter the license classification requirement here. —

  ex.) Class A, General Engineering

• Insert background information regarding need for services requested (required)
• Select option below for pre-proposal meeting. (required)
• Use electronic pricing tabulation? (required) —

  If "NO" Proposers will be prompted to upload their own fee proposal.

• Prices valid for how many days ? (required) —

  Prices provided by Proposers in response to this RFP are valid for ____ days from the proposal due date.

• Will this project exceed $1,000,000.00? (required) —

  (this will determine the Iran Disclosure requirement for proposers)

• Agreement Name (required) —

  What is the agreement name?

• Does this project require a City issued permit? (required) —

  (ie, encroachment/building permits)

• Select the appropriate Agency abbreviation/acronym (required)
• What is your contract term? (required)