First you would need to get the bid and read that. Ask for a copy or use FOI.
Then figure out what they intend to cover in terms of services. A radio system for just one agency should be considerably less than PD, FD, DPW, town hall, & Board of Ed.
Next, you have to look at other factors such as changing frequencies, replacing dispatch center equipment (or even a new facility), and can any existing equipment be reused.
Finally, I would look at the deadline (if any). Some municipalities will wait until the equipment fails then want everything delivered and installed within a month. You pay extra for shorter deadlines.
Often bids can be written to exclude certain manufacturers/dealers. CT DOT had a bid several years ago that listed mandatory tower sites. They happened to be the same as Marcus's tower sites. The radio specs fit the capabilities of Passport radios. But neither was mentioned in the bid.
You could ask who prepared the bid and if they used any vendors to assist. Often times "consultants" have past employment with certain shops/manufacturers and may be biased for or against certain ones.
A brief search online shows that they are replacing everything plus adding two new tower sites to the existing two. I would say that it would not be too hard to hit $4 million.
Since the funding and the Motorola winning bid have already been approved, it seems a bit late to be looking into how much is too much.
chris
