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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-02-13 City Council (7)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTENTION: FINANCE COMMITTEE FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: POLICE AGENDA DATE: February 13, 1996 CMR:143:96 SUBJECT:Rejection of Proposals for Computer Aided Dispatch System and Approval for Consultant Assistance REQUEST In September 1995, the Finance Committee approved additional funding for the Police Information Systems Master Plan Capital Improvement Project associated with the purchase and installation of a Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD). The additional funding had been requested after staff had identified Unisys Corporation through an RFP process as the vendor from which the system would be purchased. Since then, during negotiations with Unisys, staff has met with several significant obstacles and has obtained information that has led to the determination that it would not be in the City’s best interest to continue negotiations with Unisys. Therefore, staff requests that Council authorize staff to reject the proposal..Based upon this recent experience and due to the fact that five years have elapsed since the original needs analysis was completed regarding CAD, staff also requests authorization to use existing Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds to hire a consultant to update the analysis, conduct in-depth research into available systems, and to provide information regarding the feasibility and cost effectiveness of in-house development of a CAD system versus the purchase of a system from a vendor. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends rejection of all original proposals for a CAD system and recommends Council provide authorization to contract with a consultant to update the needs assessment, to provide more extensive information about current CAD systems, and develop recommendations regarding in-house development versus purchase of a CAD system. After approval of the Finance Committee and Council, staffwould follow the City’s request for proposal procedures for consultant selection and return to Council for approval of an agreement with a consultant. CMR:143:96 Page 1 of 5 POLICY IMPLICATIONS There are no policy implications associated with the recommendations contained in this report. Pending Council approval and the recommendations developed by the consultant, a policy decision regarding the decision of in-house development or purchase of a CAD system would probably have associated policy implications. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Summary of Project Information regarding the history o.f the CAD project is contained in the attached CMR: 404:95. Preliminary negotiations with Unisys began in June 1995. Based on those discussions, staff returned to the Finance Committee on September 11, 1995 and received approval for an additional appropriation of $82,000 for CAD and $48,000 for the Fire CIP for the f~re alerting system. At that time, staffwas fairly comfortable with proceeding with Unisys, based upon the information received through site visits, discussions with other agencies, and information from other vendors. Since that time, negotiations with Unisys have occurred in order to provide more detailed specifications of the system’s capabilities and customization.During these negotiations, however, several significant concerns surfaced. Concerns Staff learned that a Unisys CAD implementation in Pierce County, Washington, was not proceeding well. Of the four major components, Unisys was late delivering all of them and three did not work correctly. Although they are trying very hard, problems were still being encountered. This experience has created concern regarding Unisys’ ability to deliver a workable product on time. Very recently, Unisys Corporation announced a $676.8 million dollar fourth-quarter loss and as a result is expected to lay off 7,900 workers. While Unisys is a Fortune 500 corporation and is not in jeopardy of going out of business, this development, together with the unconftrmed information that they are considering eliminating their project to develop a police records management system, raises considerable doubt about the Company’s continued involvement in public sector systems development, sales and support. CMR:143:96 Page 2 of 5 Additional concerns raised during meetings with Unisys centered on their software’s ability to fimction on the City’s preferred hardware and network systems. The City’s computer architecture is Hewlett Packard for computer hardware (mini and personal computers) and installation of Windows NT as its network operating system. Unisys stated that their application was compatible with the City’s computer environment software and provided cost estimates to that effect as part of their proposal. However, during discussions it became evident that Unisys was not willing to agree to the original cost estimates and that costs would significantly increase. Unisys representatives also indicated that they could not guarantee that the product would perform as expected if it were on a platform other than Unisys proprietary hardware. Although Unisys has not provided exact figures, staff estimates the increase to range between $37,000 and $50,000. Due to these concerns about system capability, staff believes it is not in the best interest of the City to continue negotiations with Unisys. Staffhas learned that a number of companies that heretofore had manufactured CAD systems are getting out of the public sector arena. CAD, fire and police records management systems usually are highly customized to meet the needs of individual agencies. Therefore, such systems are labor intensive and, consequently, it is not cost effective to develop software programs requiring that level of customization. One of the largest manufacturers of CAD systems, and one that has been considered the most stable by experts in the industry, has recently sold their public sector division to another company. Another CAD provider is also in danger of going out of business. Additionally, one of the companies that submitted a proposal has since actually gone out of business. As a result, staff is concerned that the instability of the industry may have negative impacts and subsequent cost increases on the implementation of a CAD system. Alternative Options From the beginning of the project, staffhas taken a very cautious approach. As a result of this approach the experience of other agencies, who rushed into the purchase of CAD systems only to run into cost overruns, system incompatibilities, and/or failure of the systems to meet their needs, has been averted. Staff has considered several alternative courses of action. One option would be to select another vendor from those that originally submitted proposals. This option has been rejected for several reasons. Some of the proposals were submitted with associated costs well over $500,000, while other proposals did not appear to meet the needs of the City. One option staff considered was to initiate another RFP process. Staff is not confident that this would be a productive use of time, because only seven vendors submitted proposals originally; CMR:143:96 Page 3 of 5 and some of those vendors, as previously mentioned, have subsequently gotten out of the CAD business. Staffhas considered the alternative of developing an in-house system. Based upon the City’s recent experience with the Utility Customer Information System and the lessons learned from that experience, staff is very mindful of not pursuing this alternative without substantial research and thought. As a result, staff is proposing to hire a consultant to assist in the development of recommendations. Specifically, the consultant would update the needs assessment that was completed over five years ago, to ensure that the system needs that were identified then are still accurate. The consultant would also conduct an extensive survey of existing off-the-shelf systems, their cost, system compatibility, and support factors. Additionally, the consultant would assist in determining the cost and feasibility of developing an in-house CAD system. Upon completion of the consultant’s work, staff would return to Council with the information and recommendation. After Council’s approval of using CIP funds to hire a consultant, staff would follow the City’s RFP process in consultant selection and return to Council for approval of the consultant agreement. It is important to point out that this approach is not likely to result in cost savings. However, staff feels strongly that it is consistent with the cautious approach that has been followed to date that has prevented t.he waste of considerable dollars. Fire Alerting System In September, staff provided information (CMR:404:95) regarding the deterioration of the current ftre alerting system and requested additional funding to cover the costs of interfacing the proposed system to the Unisys system. With the requested rejection of the Unisys proposal, an interface is not needed at this time. However, staff believes it is important to proceed with the purchase of the "-fire alerting system, using funds available in the Fire Department’s CIP budget. The new system would be operated manually until a CAD system is implemented and an automated interface is developed. One of the requirements for a CAD system would be compatibility with the fire alerting system. FISCAL IMPACT Originally, $230,000 of CIP funds were earmarked for a CAD system. Council approved an additional $82,000 for a total of $312,000 for the Police Department’s CIP plus $48,000 from the Fire Department’s CIP, which was to cover the cost of software to interface the fire alerting CMR:143:96 Page 4 of 5 system, for a total of $360,000. Staff proposes to use CIP funds to contract with a consultant, thus reducing the available dollars for the actual purchase or development of a CAD system. The anticipated cost for a consultant is $35,000. Funds for the ftre alerting system in the Fire Department’s CIP are $60,000. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT This project is not a project for purposes of CEQA. ATTACHMENTS CMR:404:95 PREPARED BY:Lynne Johnson, Assistant Police Chief John Bush, Communications Coordinator DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: CHRIs DURKIN, Police , F~LEM ~,~~i~~g. ~ er CMR:143:96 Page 5 of 5 City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO: A’ITENTION: FROM: HONORABLE CI~ COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:POLICE 2 AGENDA DATE: SUBJECT: September 11, 1995 CMR:404:95 Request for Additional Appropriation of Funds for Computer Aided Dispatch and Fire Alerting Systems REQUEST ~s report requests that Council appropriate additional funds for the Police Information Systems Master Plan Capital Improvement Project (CIP 19109) for the purchase of a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system and the Fire/Communications Computer System Capital Improvement Project (19312). The purchase of a CAD system represents the fourth and final phase of a C~ for a state-of-the-art integrated police records management CAD system, which was originally approved by Council in 1990-91 for $855,000. A CAD system was originally projected to cost approximately $230,000. Staff’s original projected costs, based on consultant estimates, did not include professional support. However, in the last five years, significant changes in technology have occurred that have necessitated the rethinldng of solutions to a CAD system and architecture. This rethinking has resulted in staff’s strong belief that this professional support is required. Therefore, staff is requesting approval of an additional appropriation of $82,000 for.a CAD system. As part of the Fire CIP, $60,000 was originally earmarked for the replacement of the Fire Station Alelting System. After a careful analysis of the existing system and an examination of new technologies, staff has concluded that the system needs to be replaced soon due to its deterioration. Staff has determined that the price for such a system is actually $108,000. Therefore, staff is requesting an additional appropriation of $48,000 for the Fire CIP. RECOMMENDATIONS Staffrecommends that Council refer this report to the Finance Committee to discuss approval of an additional appropriation of $82,000 for the Police Information Systems Master Plan CIP for the purchase and installation of a CAD system and an additional $48,000 for the Fire Station Alerting System. Pending the approval of the Finance Committee, staff would return to the CMR:404:95 Page 1 of 8 Council with a Budget Amendment Ordinance for the additional costs together with an agreement for the purchase and installations of the systems. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The approval of additional funds does not represent any change to existing policies. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Summary_ of Project to Date: As part of the FY 1990-91 CIP budget, Council approved a four-phase project that was intended to provide a state-of-the-art integratedpolice records management and CAD system. The first phase ($55,000) consisted of the completion of a needs analysis, proposed system design, and cost estimates by a consultant. As part of t_he needs analysis, five priorities were identified in the areas of information collection, storage, and retrieval. The top five priorities identified were 1) case management, 2) integrated single point access to law enforcement databases, 3) integrated records management systems, 4) portable computing and 5) CAD. With these needs in mind, the consultant’s report recommended the acquisition and/or implementation of an optical document imaging system; a message switch that would allow a single inquiry to access multiple databases (federal, state, local); a combined police records management system; stand alone laptop computers for use by officers to enhance report writing capabilities in the field; a network that would allow inquiries through the message switch from computers in vehicles and provide car-to-car and car-to-station communications; and a computer aided dispatch system that would increase the speed in which fire, police, and medical calls would be dispatched. At the time of the study, the consultant estimated the cost of the entire project to be as much as $1.7 million. Staff’believed, however, that by using internal expertise and assuming project management responsibilities, significant cost savings could be achieved. Additionally, staff decided that, based upon the experiences of other agencies who had previously ventured into this area of information technology with a "bleeding edge" approach which resulted.in very expensive failures, as well as development of personal computer technologies, a cautious approach was warranted. It is important to note that due to the complexity of the individual phases of this project, actual cost per phase does not precisely correspond to the phases outlined in the CIP budget. Therefore, during the second phase of the project ($150,000), staff concentrated on the CMR:404:95 Page 2 of 8 acquisition and installation of a Message Switching System which allows officers to access over 12 law enforcement databases with a single inquiry. Additionally, some notebook computers were purchased for in-field report writing, resulting in a time savings of about 20-30 minutes per officer per report and an increase in the overall quality, legibility and acceptability of each report. Also during the second phase, in conjunction with Information Resources CIP (19011), an optical imaging system for case management, tracking, and storage was implemented. During the third phase ($420,000), an upgrade of the Police Department’s records management computer hardware, an integration of all of the available modules of the records management system and installation of a mobile communications network was completed. The installation of the remaining notebook computers in patrol vehicles was initiated for database inquiry and car-to-car communications. Proposed Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System The fourth and last phases of the project involves the purchase and implementation of a CAD system. Currently, dispatchers record all the pertinent information associated with all calls for service for Police and Fire on 3x5 cards. At a later time, the information from these cards is entered into a separate fire and police records management computer system. This process is time-consuming, inefficient, redundant and creates delays in the dispatch of units. During the needs analysis study, the consultant identified additional significant issues in the Communications Center operation that would be alleviated by the implementation of a CAD system. These issues included the unavailability of immediate geographic information that would be helpful to responding units, the high level of radio traffic on police channels, the unavailability in a timely and automated manner of hazardous material information, the relatively slow dispatch process for fire emergency calls, and the redundancy associated with manual dispatching operations. The proposed CAD system would address each of these issues. Calls for service information would be entered into a computer system as the events occur. The status of pending and active calls, as well as unit status changes, would be easily tracked. Geographical information would automatically provide location history, site details, and hazardous materials/situations information. The proposed system would have the capability of incorporating multiple interfaces into one software application and would include the ability to send/receive messages from mobile data. computers in police cars and fire apparatus. Additionally, the system would automatically validate "9-1-1" data and provide recommendations for ftre/police unit response. Staff estimates that the time required to dispatch ftre emergency calls will be reduced by as much as up to one minute. CMR:404:95 Page 3 of 8 It should be noted that Palo Alto is the only agency in Santa Clara County that does not have a CAD system, and all but three agencies in San Mateo County have operational CAD systems. Vendor Selection Process Police, Fire and Information Technology staff prepared a request for proposal (RFP) for a CAD system, a_,Sgr a considerable mount of research was conducted into different types of systems and after site visits to agencies with operational systems. The R~P was developed to address the current and future needs of dispatchers, as well as the officers and firefighters, in their efforts to enhance the level of public safety service to the community. A list of 20 potential vendors was compiled. In December 1994, RFPs were sent to those 20 vendors. Proposals were originally requested to be submitted within a four-week period. Due to the scope of work involved and the number of requests staff received for extensions, the proposal submittal deadline was extended for an additional two weeks for all vendors. No pre- proposal conferences were held. Proposals from seven vendors were received. Staff believes that the low response was due to the fact that many vendors do not have a "Windows" based product that was specified in the RFP as being highly desirable. Attachment A summarizes the list of 20 vendors, the seven responses and the associated estimated costs for each proposal submitted. Estimated .costs ranged from $161,300 to $589,000. The range of costs was associated with the size of the company, the company’s resources available to support the system, the functionality of the company’s system and its ability to integrate with other systems, and user friendliness. A CAD project team consisting of the Coordinator of Communications, a Dispatcher, the Police Department Executive Assistant and Computer Systems Manager, a Police Officer, a Fire Captain and Emergency Medical Services Chief, reviewed the seven proposals. Reviews and discussions with representatives from the Administrative Services and Public Works Departments were also conducted. Team members rated the proposals based upon the systems’ ability to perform specific tasks; user friendliness; ability to integrate with other law enforcement, fire and other software databases; the type of hardware platform (client-serve versus main frame and programming language); cost; and the ability of the company to provide adequate maintenance support and customer service. Four of the seven companies (Tiburon, Inc., RAM/BSE System Development, Inc.; HiTech Systems, Inc. and Public Safety Systems, Inc.) were removed from consideration, based upon CMR:404:95 Page 4 of 8 their inability to meet the specification requirements presented in the RFP. Interviews were held with the remaining three vendors. On-site demonstrations of the individual systems and reference checks were conducted as well. Based upon the information obtained during this process, staff determined that two companies, Executive Information Systems and Unisys Corporation, may possibly meet the City’s needs. Upon further review, however, staff determined that while Executive Information Systems appeared to have a viable product and a lower cost, the system they were proposing was still under development and would not be ready for beta testing until December 1995 or early 1996. While the delay was of concern, the issues related to being a beta site were even more troublesome. Staff consulted with other agencies who have been beta sites for similar systems, and determined that there were usually significantly higher hidden costs (e.g., internal staff resource time), testing and conversion problems, and extended implementation timelines associated with them. With this information, staff believes that the potential system cost savings associated with the Executive Information Systems’ system could not be justified. Staff, therefore, selected Unisys Corporation as the vendor for their CAD system. Police and Fire Department representatives made a site visit in April 1995 to Columbia, South Carolina, one of the first users of the Unisys system. They were able to interview management, line staff and support personnel about the system and observe its real life operation. After the site visit, staff determined that the system would meet the City’s needs in the areas of functionality, reliability, user friendliness, expansion capabilities and customer support. Staff firmly believes this system represents the technology that will increase the efficiency of the dispatching operations and bring the City in line with surrounding agencies. Additionally, the system allows for expansion (potential Fire Department consolidation) and future interfaces with additional records management systems. Pending approval for additional funds, staff would return to Council in October with the actual purchase agreement .with Unisys Corporation. Summary of Fire Proiect to Date The City Council app~:oved a phased Fire/Communications Computer System project beginning in 1991-92. The first phase was to conduct a data needs analysis and an evaluation of software and hardware needs. At the conclusion of the study, the Police and Fire Departments opted to work together on the CAD portion of the Information Management Plan. The Fire Department’s Information Management Plan consisted of three phases. The first phase ($108,750) was originafly intended to consist of implementation of a communications address CMR:404:95 Page 5 of 8 find system, an incident reporting system to comply with state requirements and field efficiency system. In the second phase ($191,000), the intent was to replace the fire alerting system and to implement a fire prevention/hazardous materials reporting system. The third and final phase ($108,550) was to cover costs associated with administrative management and scheduling modules of a records management system and for Mobile Data Computer purchase and installation for fire apparatus needed for a CAD system. Fire Department personnel researched the available fire records management systems in operation at other agencies and determined that there was currently not a vendor who could provide a system that would meet future needs. The Fire Department is currently developing specifications for software needs to be met by custom designed systems which are compatible with other Citywide systems. As a result, Fire Department staffhas also taken the cautious approach similar to that taken by the Police Department and has not yet determined the best and most cost effective course of action. The current Station Notification System (SNS), which alerts firefighters to the incoming alarms at each station, is over 20 years old and is currently being maintained throu.~h the use of spare parts inventory that isnearing depletion. The procedure for fire dispatching using SNS is as follows: After a dispatcher receives a "9-1- 1" call, a manual search of a street map "tub" is conducted. The information from the map provides data to the dispatcher about which fire-station and which fire apparatus is the most appropriate to respond. Associated with each type of response is a code that the dispatcher enters in to the SNS board. The code allows for a tone to be transmitted to the specific station, which results in the activation of bells and lights at the station alerting the firefighters. Additionally, a signal is sent over the normal radio frequency and the City’s cable system to ensure notification. The firefighters respond by pushing a button which alerts the dispatcher that they are ready to receive the information about the call. At the time the Fire/Communications CIP was originally proposed, it was apparent that the system would have to be eventually replaced. Based upon the condition of the system at that time, $60,000 was budgeted for replacement during the fourth phase of the project. It was not until staff took a closer look at the system, relative to a proposed CAD connection, that the level of system deterioration was realized. Replacement parts and other equipment are no longer CMR:404:95 Page 6 of 8 manufactured and, thus, system failure is a real possibility. A failure of the system would result in an increase in the dispatch and Fire Department response times. Staff, therefore, believes the immediate replacement of the fire station alerting system is critical to the public safety of the community. Proposed Fire Alerting System As staff reviewed the CAD proposals that were submitted, it became apparent that due to its age, SNS would not be capable of interfacing with any CAD system. Additional research into current fire alerting systems was conducted. Preliminary finds demonstrated that only one vendor could supply hardware that provided the three requirements of the Fire Department. Those requirements include the following: 1) soft alert capability: this feature starts offwith a soft tone and gets progressively louder and wakes firefighters more gradually rather th~ with a single, harsh tone which lowers stress levels and minimizes physiological impacts; 2) printed copy capability: this feature sends a printed copy of ~e call to the specific station, as well as simultaneously providing the same notification on the notebook computers in the fire apparatus; and 3) status change capability: this feature allows for user friendly and timely apparatus status changes that can be entered by firefighters. The cost for the associated hardware is estimated to be approximately $50,000. As part of the proposal submitted by U~.isys, software needed to interface with the hardware would cost $58,000. With the proposed system, the procedure for dispatching fire units would be a s follows: After receiving a "9-1-1" call, the address and telephone number of the reporting party automatically appears on the dispatchers screen. The dispatcher enters a call-type (medical aid, fire, etc.) code and a response priority. The system is connected with the geo-file, which automatically validates the location and provides an immediate appropriate fire station response based upon the available equipment. The system activates the station alerting system, which turns on the fire station lights and opens the doors. As the firefighters are preparing for their response, a copy of the call is sent to each station, alleviating the need for firefighters to write down the available details (e.g., hazardous material information, available water resources, location history, etc.). As stated earlier, staff believes this system would reduce the dispatch time and, thus, the response time for Fire calls by as much as a minute. Pending Council approval for additional appropriation of funds for the fire alerting system, staff would follow the City’s formal bid process to actually determine the vendor for the hardware and return to Council with the actual purchase agreement. CMR:404:95 Page 7 of 8 FISCAL IMPACT Originally, $230,000 of CIP funds were earmarked for a CAD system. The Unisys systems costs $312,000; thus, an additional $82,000 is needed to cover the costs of the system. For comparison purposes, other cities in the County have recently spent over $500,000 for similar systems. As mentioned earlier, $60,000 was originally budgeted for the replacement of the Fire Alerting System. Based on recent cost estimates, staff believes that both the software and hardware needed to replace the current system with a state-of-the art system would not exceed $108,000. Attachment B relects Stanford University and Enterprise Fund reimbursement figures for both the proposed CAD and Fire Alerting systems. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT This project is categorically exempt and no environmental assessment is needed. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: RFP Submittals Attachment B: Reimbursements PREPARED BY:John Bush, Coordinator, Communications Services Lynne Johnson, Assistant Pohce Chief DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: RUBEN Chief CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: CHRIS DURKIN, Police Chief J~ FLEMING, City~anager CMR:404:95 Page 8 of 8 ATTACHMENT B CAD $ 312,000 < 49,000> (a) < 34,320> (b) Total Cost Stanford Reimbursement (16%) Emerprise Funds (11%) $227,760 Fire Alerting System $108,000 <27,000> (c)Stanford Reimbursement (25%) $ 81,000 (a) (c) $33,600 already reflected in 1992-1997 CIP budget $23,100 already reflected in 1992-1997 CIP budget $15,000 already reflected in 1992-1997 CIP budget