Summary#
Montréal city council unanimously adopted its position to enter a framework agreement with Conseillers en gestion et informatique CGI inc. for digital development services. This is an orientation for the agglomeration council, which makes the final decision at a later meeting. City staff say the goal is to add temporary technical capacity for the City’s digital projects.
- The proposed agreement would run for 36 months, with an option to extend it by 12 months.
- CGI would provide web, application and transaction-based digital development services to the City on request, up to a maximum of $4,828,950, taxes included.
- The City must evaluate CGI’s performance.
- The City would charge the spending to the Information Technology Department’s budget as needs arise.
What it means for you#
- Residents: City staff say the work could support improvements to digital services. The decision does not guarantee that a particular service will be created or changed.
- City staff: CGI would provide outside development expertise when requested; the decision does not set out how many hours or projects the City will buy.
- Taxpayers: The proposed agreement has a spending ceiling, not a commitment to spend the full amount.
Money#
The proposed maximum is $4,828,950, taxes included; the agglomeration council makes the final decision at a later meeting.
- The City would pay for services as needed from the Information Technology Department’s budget.
- Eight bids were submitted. CGI received the highest final score under the set evaluation criteria. Its bid was $2,164,979.25 (30.96%) below the City’s latest estimate of $6,993,929.25.
What is unclear#
- The decision does not say how much of the maximum the City expects to spend, or which projects it will request services for.
- It does not give details such as staffing levels, timelines for specific work, or how the City will assess CGI’s performance.
- The decision does not describe how this agreement will overlap with the City’s existing digital development contracts.
Case for#
- City staff say the agreement would add specialized expertise when several major technology projects are underway, while allowing the City to retain control of operations and technology decisions.
- CGI received the highest final score under the criteria set before bids were assessed.
- Its bid was below the City’s estimate and the second-highest-scoring bid.
Case against#
- Six of the eight bids did not meet the quality threshold, leaving only two bids that passed that stage. This limits the price comparison.
- City staff report that one firm withdrew over the agreement’s unlimited-liability requirement, and another said a single hourly rate was unsuitable for a large mandate with needs not yet defined. These concerns raise questions about risk allocation and how costs can be estimated.