Scammed: Uk Taxpayers Foot £150k Bill to Rent 1 Xerox Machine

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Scammed: Uk Taxpayers Foot £150k Bill to Rent 1 Xerox Machine
Don't copy this deal: Brentwood taxpayers foot £150k bill to rent Xerox machines
By Brentwood Gazette 

BRENTWOOD Borough Council is tied into a £150k deal for photocopying machines that would cost around £66k to buy new.

The five year-arrangement with American company Xerox was struck in 2011 to replace an existing agreement with Oce, who employed 300 people at its Brentwood-based headquarters at the time.

While the current rental agreement includes maintenance, the council could own the equipment it rents for around £84,000 less than what it will have paid to Xerox by the time the contract ends in 2016.

The council's nine photocopiers and two multifunction devices boast DVD and CD-writing capabilities and can produce up to 590 copies every minute.

They are "essential to a modern council," according to the local authority.

"I always questioned why we stopped supporting a local business," said opposition councillor Phil Baker, who sits on the council's Audit Committee.

"We've had a reduced workforce in the Town Hall in the last three years and given that we have reduced numbers and we're outsourcing more, does the business case still stand up?

"Should we not be looking to revaluate the contract?"

Oce remains a large employer in the area from its Chatham Way offices, despite rival Canon announcing a takeover of the firm in 2009.

Since the beginning of that year, more than 60 positions have been lost through redundancy at Brentwood Borough Council including the town centre manager, the dog warden and a planning officer, saving the council a reported £1.3 million.

As previously reported in the Gazette, three staff members left the council with a severance package before later being recruited by the same authority for a total of £75,713.

A spokeswoman from the council said: "Our previous contract with the multinational print company Oce (now Canon) was terminated after a procurement process in November 2011 under a Government framework that established the Xerox bid was of better value to Brentwood Borough Council.

"These machines have replaced the desktop printers in the building and are used for all scanning, copying and printing.

"Multi-functional devices meet the current and future needs of a modern council."

Scammed: Uk Taxpayers Foot £150k Bill to Rent 1 Xerox Machine
Don't copy this deal: Brentwood taxpayers foot £150k bill to rent Xerox machines
By Brentwood Gazette 

BRENTWOOD Borough Council is tied into a £150k deal for photocopying machines that would cost around £66k to buy new.

The five year-arrangement with American company Xerox was struck in 2011 to replace an existing agreement with Oce, who employed 300 people at its Brentwood-based headquarters at the time.

While the current rental agreement includes maintenance, the council could own the equipment it rents for around £84,000 less than what it will have paid to Xerox by the time the contract ends in 2016.

The council's nine photocopiers and two multifunction devices boast DVD and CD-writing capabilities and can produce up to 590 copies every minute.

They are "essential to a modern council," according to the local authority.

"I always questioned why we stopped supporting a local business," said opposition councillor Phil Baker, who sits on the council's Audit Committee.

"We've had a reduced workforce in the Town Hall in the last three years and given that we have reduced numbers and we're outsourcing more, does the business case still stand up?

"Should we not be looking to revaluate the contract?"

Oce remains a large employer in the area from its Chatham Way offices, despite rival Canon announcing a takeover of the firm in 2009.

Since the beginning of that year, more than 60 positions have been lost through redundancy at Brentwood Borough Council including the town centre manager, the dog warden and a planning officer, saving the council a reported £1.3 million.

As previously reported in the Gazette, three staff members left the council with a severance package before later being recruited by the same authority for a total of £75,713.

A spokeswoman from the council said: "Our previous contract with the multinational print company Oce (now Canon) was terminated after a procurement process in November 2011 under a Government framework that established the Xerox bid was of better value to Brentwood Borough Council.

"These machines have replaced the desktop printers in the building and are used for all scanning, copying and printing.

"Multi-functional devices meet the current and future needs of a modern council."

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January 23, 2014 at 12:32 PM