Answering Service - After Hours

The City of Tampa Water Distribution department is soliciting quotes for an after-hours answering service under solicitation 27-P-00025. The selected provider will be responsible for answering, assigning, dispatching, reporting, and recording all calls 365 days per year, including holidays and weekends, in accordance with City protocols. Key requirements include the ability to support Telecommunications Relay Service or IP-relay in both English and Spanish. The contract includes specific line items for 14,000 standard completed calls and 1,000 emergency or outage-related calls. Bidders must provide an organizational history, at least three professional references, a detailed methodology and approach, an implementation timeline for account setup, and a list of dedicated employees and equipment. To avoid disqualification, applicants must certify their Florida business license and adhere to strict non-discrimination and civil rights compliance standards. The City may award the contract by division, line item, or aggregate total. The awardee is required to perform at least 51 percent of the work with its own forces and must provide daily call records, preferably in XML format. Failure to submit these reports may result in a 25 dollar per day penalty, and five such deductions within one month may trigger termination proceedings. Payment is processed approximately every 30 days following the receipt of correct invoices and is subject to the Florida Prompt Payment Act. All quotes must be submitted electronically via the OpenGov portal by the October 30, 2026, deadline.