Council grills vendor billing for dispatch software after two-year unpaid invoice; directs staff to negotiate

City staff brought a late, multi-year invoice from CMI (dispatch/records software vendor) to council after the University of Oregon contract ended and an internal review found unbilled charges for prior years.

Chief Whitehall explained that CMI had not invoiced the city for two years and only billed retroactively when auditing the University of Oregon contract. "They billed us the initial year, didn't bill it for years 2 and 3," Whitehall said. Legal review advised that the city is contractually obligated to pay for services rendered but noted the vendor admits to the oversight.

Councilors pressed staff on options other than immediate payment. Several members expressed frustration with the vendor's business practice. Attorney Conley said the city could seek negotiation: "You absolutely can negotiate. Jason can go back with direction from Council to say they're not happy with the non performance. It should excuse payment or it should excuse partial payment and see what happens," he said, while noting the contract lacked an invoice-deadline clause and that legal remedies could be limited.

A motion to approve payment of $29,300 and authorize the city administrator to sign was made and seconded. The roll-call vote on that motion recorded several 'no' votes; the presiding officer then stated the vote was negative. Council therefore did not approve immediate payment and instead directed staff to return with negotiation results and potential legal options, including the possibility of executive-session legal briefing if appropriate.

What happens next: staff will attempt negotiations with CMI to seek a partial waiver or payment plan and will report back to council with the results; council also discussed updating future contracts to set invoice timing requirements to reduce similar exposure.