The governance committee reviewed a recent RFP for the district’s whistleblower hotline and recommended keeping the current provider, the Wyndham Group, instead of switching to an expensive, single RFP responder. Speaker 5 told the committee that the public RFP produced one proposal priced at "$15,635 a month" while "our current individual, the Wyndham Group, that charge is $500 a month." Speaker 5 said the higher-priced proposal provides a full-time, 24/7 service, whereas the Wyndham Group monitors incoming hotline emails and calls on a daily basis.

Speaker 5 said the district’s prior action had approved a contract extension pending an RFP; committee members reviewed the responses and concluded the higher cost did not appear to provide commensurate benefit for the district’s needs. "Based on the cost differential, I'm not sure that we have better services that would be provided by this group based on the district's need," Speaker 5 said, recommending rejection of the RFP proposal and continuation with Wyndham.

Committee members agreed with the recommendation. Speaker 4 said the district does not generally require 24-hour, on-site coverage for most reports and supported continuing with a vendor that can "monitor them daily, when they come in, [and] be able to respond to them, but not 24 hours." Attorney McLaughlin (identified in the meeting) said the existing agreement runs through 06/30/2026 and can be reconsidered in the spring if the board desires.

Next steps: the committee did not direct an immediate board-level vote on the matter; staff will retain the current Wyndham Group agreement through the stated term and can re-open procurement later if the board requests further review.