Committee authorizes up to $40,000 to hire consultant for jail medical RFP

The LaSalle County Public Safety committee approved forwarding a finance request capped at $40,000 to hire consultants to develop a request for proposals (RFP) and to provide contract monitoring for jail medical services.

Tom moved the action to forward a finance request "not to exceed $40,000" to retain consultant Carla (and consultant support) for RFP development and initial monitoring work; Wall-E seconded the motion and the committee approved it unanimously. Tom explained that the RFP is the priority and that final monitoring costs could be budgeted later.

Staff presented cost estimates received during outreach: Health Management Associates quoted $55,000 to develop an RFP, $35,000 for annual monitoring and a separate $12,000 project-management fee; a local consultant ("Carla") provided a lower range — roughly $24,000–$36,000 for RFP work and an estimated $1,500–$3,000 per month for monitoring depending on scope. Committee members urged moving the procurement to finance to avoid delays and discussed having the consultant participate in bidder walk-throughs and bidder Q&A sessions.