Corporate Business Systems repairs snag in Branson contract

A difference between a penny and a dime has forced Corporate Business Systems to rebid the city of Branson’s printer and copier management contract.

The Branson Board of Aldermen last night reviewed a new contract submitted by the Springfield printing services company after city and Corporate Business Systems staff discovered a typographical error in the original bid and awarded contract.

The error amounts to a misplaced decimal point for the fees assessed on color printing overages. City officials say a verbal agreement in mid-2011 set the overage at 10 cents per color copy, but the written bid and contract stated the amount as “$0.010,” or 1 cent, per color copy.

The city had not crossed the color copy threshold until a few months ago, when the error was discovered.

“The difference is only on the overages, and even then, only on the color overages on the less-used desktop machines,” Branson Economic Development Director Garrett Anderson said via email. “This took about a year and a half to discover because it was a rare enough situation that we had not even used that rate yet.”

The city awarded Corporate Business Systems the contract on Aug. 23, 2011, for managed print services not to exceed $50,000, with the contract set to end Dec. 31 of this year. Given the overage pricing error occurred in both the bid and signed contract, city officials decided to rebid the entire contract.

Corporate Business Systems' latest bid offered the services for roughly $3,700 per month. Compared to bids by American Business Systems, roughly $5,500 a month, and Ricoh, more than $6,000, city staff recommend the aldermen approve Corporate Business Systems’ bid.

After the April 9 first reading, Branson aldermen are expected to vote on the contract during its April 23 meeting.[[In-content Ad]]