Council was disappointed this was the first time they were meeting and had questions about his company's structure
TRENTON -- The city's new IT vendor acknowledged Tuesday that after a rocky start, most issues have been worked through and upgrades to the computer systems and network are beginning to take shape.
Representatives from FCC Consulting Services appeared before City Council to give an update on its transition and upcoming projects, but were met with some backlash from council members.
"This is the first time you appeared before council," Councilman Alex Bethea said. "I didn't know what you looked like. ... I want you to understand that we approved the contract and we requested a meeting to have you do what you're doing. You're four months late."
The city's business administrator, Terry McEwen, said FCC had been working through a number of transition issues and he wanted those resolved before he brought them to council.
"It was my responsibility to bring them to council, not theirs," he said.
FCC Consulting Services replaced the city's longtime IT vendor, ADPC, last fall.
The hiring prompted criticism and lawsuits from ADPC alleging a flawed RFP process and claiming that FCC was favored to win the contract from the start despite submitting a defective bid.
Questions were raised about president Chris Carothers' qualifications and his connections to city officials. A temporary injunction was issued and later lifted by a state Superior Court judge, allowing council to move ahead with its vote.
FCC was eventually awarded the $2.4 million contract in a 5-2 vote. The agreement is for three years, with an option to extend another two years.
On Tuesday, Carothers was joined by Chief Information Officer Joseph Durham and Andre Gibson, director of network administration and infrastructure. Durham is the on-site project manager and there are as many as 7 to 10 people who work on the city's contract.
Councilman George Muschal asked Carothers whether they were independent subcontractors since he was the only listed employee when the contract was awarded -- a question he refused to answer.
"Our focus here was to give you an update, but not to talk about how we're organized or anything of that nature," Carothers said. "We went through the RFP process."
Muschal, who was one of the "no" votes, again called him out on being a no-show at a meeting council had requested.
"We wanted answers before the contract went out," he said. "Now the contract's out, you're standing in front of us and you're still refusing to answer questions that I'm asking. It's a common question -- independent subcontractors, are they or aren't they?"
Carothers only gave an answer after Councilwoman Phyllis Holly-Ward said his response was "unacceptable."
"When we hire you, you work for us ... and we have the right to know how you're set up and where our information is going," she said. "If you're subcontracting, that means you're farming our information out to someone else."
Carothers, who works out of a home office but has 20 people working for him, said his structure includes a mix of independent contractors, team agreements and some employees. Those working in the city have gone through security clearance and have signed confidentiality agreements with both him and the city.
"I've been doing this for 17 years," he said. "That's the way I operate."
Since coming on board, Carothers said FCC has met with all department heads and will prioritize their needs for 2016, has met with all of the suppliers and analyzed the city's local and wide area network design.
Their new help desk, which tracks all computer-related problems, has handled 433 tickets, solving 406 of them. The remaining 27 tickets largely have to do with the email system, which is being upgraded. The upgrades to Microsoft Exchange and Office are expected to be complete by April 30.
The anti-virus system was replaced and plans are moving ahead to have the initial phase of Wi-Fi in City Hall by June.
Other upcoming projects include activating existing telecommunications fiber links to improve network performance and upgrading and redesigning the city's wide area network.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.