Discussion:
Council resolution 95/2004 requires a buy versus lease analysis be performed for every new Ministry Standing Agreement, to assess which option is the best for the city. The current Workplace Print and Services VOR Arrangement #11359 became effective on March 1, 2020 for a three-year term with two options to renew for a one-year term. Consistent with past analyses, the current analysis in Appendix A indicates that leasing through the current Ministry Master Agreement using its five-year lease term appears to be less costly than purchasing photocopiers. For comparable models, lease cost and cost per copy are generally lower than the last Standing Agreement.
For all copiers leased or purchased after January 1, 2010, IT has the following three security standards:
- All copiers must have a data overwrite feature that immediately overwrites data upon the completion of every job. This immediate overwrite feature must be configured by the manufacturer or reseller upon delivery to the corporation.
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All copiers must have encryption of its storage device. This encryption feature must be configured by the manufacturer or reseller upon delivery to the corporation.
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The reseller must change the factory default administrator password upon delivery to the corporation.
The current Master Agreement meets the above security standards. Windsor Police may choose to implement higher security standards.
As individual photocopier leases are generally considered immaterial from a financial perspective, and to allow more flexibility and timeliness to respond to operational needs, CR218/2015 amended the City’s Corporate Leasing Policy to exempt individual photocopier leases from the requirement to report to Council to obtain Council approval for each photocopier lease. As long as the photocopiers are procured with strict adherence to the City’s Purchasing Bylaw (in compliance with the vendors selected) and provided there is sufficient funding available within the respective budgets, these procurements are handled within the normal administrative approval process.
Risk Analysis:
Appendix A provides a lease versus buy analysis and concludes that leasing is estimated to be more financially advantageous than purchasing photocopiers under the Ministry’s Master Agreement #11359. Actual costs may vary significantly depending on actual copy volumes including colour, and any additional add-ons or options.