Request for Proposal - Cloud Telephony

Location:	Illinois
Posted:	Jun 24, 2026
Due:	Jul 15, 2026
Agency:	City of Lake Forest
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	D - Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunication Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Request for Proposals

Cloud Telephony Phone System

ISSUE DATE: 06/24/2026

PROPOSAL DEADLINE: 07/15/2026, 4:30 PM CENTRAL

PROPOSALS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE

CONSIDERED

All proposals must be submitted in a sealed package and labeled, “Sealed Proposal: VoIP Telephone System.” Proposals

received after the deadline will not be accepted and will be returned to the sender unopened. Proposals may not be delivered

via facsimile or e-mail. Proposals shall be sent by Federal Express (or comparable carrier) or hand delivered to the address

indicated in the Proposal Submission Summary. The full name and address of the proposer will be clearly marked on the

outside of the package that is inside the Federal Express package or comparable carrier.

Proposal Submission Summary

Submit:

1. One (1) printed, signed, original Proposal and signed addenda

2. One (1) flash drive containing Proposal which needs to include:

a. General Certifications Form

Send to:

City of Lake Forest

Sealed Proposal: Lake Forest Cloud Telephony System RFP

Cameron Burrell, Director of IT

800 N. Field Drive

Lake Forest, IL 60045

Effective immediately upon release of this Request for Proposals (RFP) and until notice of

contract award, all communications from proposers regarding this RFP shall be directed to the

City designee:

Cameron Burrell, Director of IT

burrellc@cityoflakeforest.com

The City, or designee, shall distribute all official changes, modifications, responses to questions or

notices relating to the requirements of this RFP. Any information from any other source shall not be

considered official and proposers relying on information from other sources do so at their own risk.

Listed below are specific and anticipated dates and times of actions related to this RFP. The actions

with specific dates must be completed as indicated unless otherwise changed. An addendum to this

RFP will be issued in the event that it is necessary to change any of the specific dates and times in

the summary of events listed below:

Schedule

Milestone

RFP Issuance

Deadline for Clarification Questions

Intent to Propose Requested

City Distributes Final Addenda

Vendor Proposals Submission Deadline

Demonstrations of System

Contract Award

Anticipated Receipt of Hardware &

Installation Start

Timeframe

06/24/2026

07/08/2026

07/10/2026

07/15/2026 by 4:30 PM Central

08/05/2026

09/08/2026

09/09/2026

Index

1 Scope of Work .....................................................................................................................................4

2 Submission Procedures .....................................................................................................................7

3 Proposal...............................................................................................................................................9

4 Contract Terms & Conditions ..........................................................................................................15

5 Attachments .....................................................................................................................................18

5.1

Attachment A – General Certification ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18

The City of Lake Forest

Request for Proposals

1 Scope of Work

The City of Lake Forest is preparing to replace its on-premises Mitel telephony platform with a modern,

cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution. To support that effort, the City

has elected to conduct a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select a technology supplier.

The specifications of this project are an integral part of the City’s formal Request for Proposal (RFP).

All responders are required to review this document in detail and acknowledge their understanding of

the technical aspects of this project in order to be considered a responsible Proposer.

The intended primary objectives of this project are:

 To improve communication to City residents by telephone

 To provide uninterrupted and continuous service to constituents

 To provide the capability to expand the services a telephone system offers

 To replace outdated equipment which can no longer be adequately serviced

The project encompasses the following:

 Gathering end-user information to be used in programming the new system

 Providing, programming, installing and connecting all equipment necessary to provide a fully

functioning telephone telecommunications system that meets the City’s voice call processing

requirements

 Connecting the system and programming the system to external paging/intercom systems

 Connecting the system and programming the system to support existing analog devices (fax,

credit card machines and analog telephone instruments)

 Conduct end-user and system administration training

 Provide on-site “post-cutover” support

 Removal of the existing telephone system equipment after the new system is installed

Desired Functionality

The Desired Functionality section is intended to identify functionality that the City would require for

replacement and additions to our City’s phone system. The City has experienced telephony outages

historically. Current hardware and servers are aging, and the Mitel platform is considered antiquated.

Reliability is the single most important objective. The goal is to move the phone system off premises

and into the cloud for improved reliability and supportability. We want to equip staff with modern

communication tools that are not available on the current platform. A mobile client will allow

employees to place and receive calls from their City phone number on a mobile device, which is

something they cannot do today, where calls can only be forwarded to a personal cell. Desktop and

mobile soft clients will give staff a consistent calling, voicemail, and presence experience whether they

are in the office, working hybrid, or in the field. This directly supports the City’s hybrid workforce and

reduces reliance on personal devices for City business.

The City of Lake Forest

Request for Proposals

Current Environment

The City currently uses Mitel Connect on-premises. Our current SIP infrastructure contains ADTRAN

devices, a primary and a backup, that helped improved stability over the prior SIP setup, but is more

of a band-aid solution than anything else. The hardware we currently have in place is aging and

antiquated, which means we are still dealing with intermittent issues and the platform is effectively

end-of-life.

We have approximately 310 users, and that includes actual users and labeled locations within the City.

We have 11 sites that will need phone hardware and we are a hybrid workforce. With some users being

able to work from home, remote phone feature capability is a must. The City will also have a new police

department building completed with a target date by the end of 2026. We will need to account for an

external phone that routes to Glenview’s dispatch center, along with one at our current Public Safety

building.

Our current carrier is BCMOne and we have recently renewed contract with them for one more year

until April 2027. We have a DID count of 251 that we would like to maintain and port over to the new

carrier. We understand that retaining each number, whether in use or held in reserve, comes with a

recurring cost.

We currently use Microsoft Teams for meetings and messaging in our environment as well. We know

that Teams phones are an option for cloud telephony. We currently use Microsoft 365 G3 licensing

which we know does not allow for direct routing. We are asking vendors to describe their G3 approach

and provide the optional path of upgrading to G5 and what that looks like for our users as well.

Our existing hardware consists of the IP480 series of ShoreTel phones, along with approximately six

IP930D conference room phones that would all be replaced as part of this project.

ACD/Group Calling

The City uses hunt groups at multiple locations. About 12 workgroup/supervisor licenses are currently

being used, but no formal queueing is in use. Our current hunt group setup is adequate, however, the

City would be interested in lightweight ACD with basic reporting features would be useful. We do not

currently use real-time or historical reporting.

AI Front Desk

The City is interested in exploring the opportunity to leverage current AI tools in order to provide a

better experience to residents who need to call in for different City services. We understand that large

advances have been made in this regard and would like the opportunity to assess how it would

function in our environment and how receptive residents would be. The City does not currently have

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

description	Opening Date	Closing Date
Request for Proposal - Cloud Telephony	June 24, 2026 8:00 AM	July 15, 2026 4:30 PM