Countywide Emergency Alerting and Community Mass Notification System

The Unified Fire Authority (UFA) is soliciting proposals on behalf of Salt Lake County, Utah, for a countywide emergency alerting and community mass notification system, with proposals due December 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. MST through the Bonfire platform. The source names no set-aside, preference, or cooperative-purchasing requirement.

The vendor must provide, implement, host, maintain, and support the system for Salt Lake County and participating municipalities, public safety agencies, special service districts, and other eligible public entities. Required capabilities include integration with FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), opt-in community notifications, two-way communications, multichannel delivery (SMS, voice, email, and push notifications), multilingual capabilities, geographic targeting, alert-status tracking, and secure audit trails for all alerts and system activity. UFA retains authority over alert decisions, message content, and approval of protective-action instructions, and the contractor works directly with UFA as primary coordinator. Vendors must demonstrate the system, and shortlisted offerors may be required to complete scenario-based evaluations.

The anticipated master contract runs five years from the effective date, with two optional one-year renewals at UFA's discretion, subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance. No minimum number of participating jurisdictions, users, contacts, or messages is guaranteed. Pricing must be submitted as a separate file in auditable line-item format, covering one-time implementation, annual platform and licensing fees, jurisdiction enrollment charges, IPAWS integration costs, delivery charges by channel, training and support, and optional services. The pricing schedule must cover five years with unit rates, assumptions, and escalation terms, plus a fiscal allocation methodology that supports staggered jurisdiction onboarding. Proposals must include cost-allocation examples for low-, medium-, and high-participation scenarios.

Evaluation weights are 30% for system capabilities and functional fit, 25% for pricing and total cost of ownership, 25% for fiscal approach and multi-jurisdiction cost model, and 20% for implementation, onboarding, training, and support. UFA's Selection Committee will score the proposals, and UFA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive minor technicalities, and accept all or part of any offer.