City staff proposed replacing Huber Heights’ aging telephone system with a cloud-based service and asked council to approve a not-to-exceed limit for a three-year contract with Pro On Call.

Staff said the existing system dates to around 2010 with the last upgrade in 2014, and that the city is paying AT&T for many copper lines, some of which are out of contract or unused. "We're hoping to realize about a $2,000 a month savings right off the bat just on telephone service," a staff presenter said.

The recommended contract would cover telephone service for city-owned facilities for three years, include new handsets and equipment, and budget a small contingency for rate increases and additional equipment as new buildings come online.

Staff described features that would be available to council members: an app that allows them to make calls showing a city number rather than their personal cell number, voicemail delivered to email, and replacement of business cards with city numbers.

Council asked about referrals and references; staff said most cloud providers offer similar features and that the city selected Pro On Call in part because a local sales representative is a Huber Heights resident and assisted with on-site evaluation. Staff said go-live is targeted for Oct. 29 and that the purchase was budgeted for this year.

At the work session there was no formal roll-call adoption recorded; staff said the item is within the adopted budget and staff intends to move forward with implementation.