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City of Palo Alto
City Manager's Report
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HONORABLE CITY COL'NCIL
FINANCE COMMITTEE
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT, POUCE
AGENDA DATE, September 11, 1995 CMR:404:95
SUBJECT:
ROOUEST
Request lor Additional Appropri.tion .fFunds lor
Computer Aide<! Dispatch and Flre Alerting Syotenu
2
This report requests Iha! Cuun<:il appropriate additional funch for 1M Police Infonnation
Systems Master Plan Capitallmprovemenl Project (CIP 19109) for 1M purchase of. computer
aided dispatch (CAD) system and the firelC<>tnmunications C.omputer System Capital
ImprcMmenI Project (19312). The purchase of. CAD system represents the fourth and final
pllAse of. CIP for • sIale-of-lhe-art inregnted police records management CAD system, wbi<:h
'ION originally approved by Council in 1990-91 foc S85S,OOO. A CAD system was originally
projected to rosr approxima:ely $230,000. Staff. origiu! projected costs. based on consu/tant
estimates, did no! include professloaal support.
However, in the last five years, significant changes in technology have OCCUfTCd that have
~ lbe ret&inking of soIutioos 10 a CAD system and architecture. Thi. rethinking has
resulted in mlfs strong belief that Ibis prolessloaal support is required. Therefore, staff is
mpesring appro~'il ohn additional appropriation of $82,000 for • CAD system.
As part of lbe fire CIP, $60,000 was originally earmarl<ed for 1M replacement of the fire
SIa1ion AlcIIing System. Afte>: a careful analysis oCtile existing system and an examination of
new teclmologies, staff~.as concluded \hat lbe system needs to be replaced soon due 10 118
dcterioralion. Staff has de!erDUned that the price for such • system is actually $108,000.
Thcoefore, staff is rcqucsring an additional appropriation of $48,000 for the Fire CIP.
RECOMMENDATIONS
SIatf n:ccmmends !lUll Council refer 1bi5 repon 10 the Finance Ccmmittce to discus.! approval
of an odditiooaI appropristioo of $82,000 for lbe Police Infoonation Systems Master Plan CIP
for lbc pun:hase aIld instaI!ation of I CAD system aIld an additional $48,000 ro. the FIfO Station
Alerting System. Pending the approval of the finance Committee, staff would retun! to the
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Council widl • Bodsct Amendment Ordinanu foe the odditional costs tcgether with an
agreement for the pun;hase ond installations of the sysl<ms.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The approval of additional funds does not represent any change 10 existing policies,
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
S!!mmary of Project to Oato:
& part ofllle IT 1990-91 CiP budeet. CounciI:oppro1i'Od a lOur-phase pcoject dla' was intended
Ie pnMde • staIe-of-1he-al1 integrated police records management and CW system. The first
pbasc ($55,000) consisted of the completion of. needs AIWysis, proposed system design, and
COS! estimates by • COOS<JItml & p8,1 of the needs analysis, five priorities were identified in
IIIe areas of infOftJUl1ioo coI!ee6on. srorage, ond remeval The \Cp five priorities iderotified WeTe
I) case management. 2) integrated single point ICcess to law enfoecement databases, 3)
integnIIed records IJllII188I'IIl< systems. 4) fO!1abIe computing. and 5) CAD, Wrth these needs
in mind, the consuItanf. report recommended the acqui.ition andloe implementation of an
op6caI documeut imaging system; I message swilcl! !hat would allow I single inquiry to access
muhipIe ........... (fedenI. state. \oc:aI); I combined ¢ice records management system; stand
alone laptop computm for use by officers to enhance report writing capabilities in the field;
, netwod< tIW: woold aJlcw inquiries throogl! the message switch from compu!clS in vehkles
ond provide car-to-ear and C8r-!<>-sta!ion eommunicatioos; and • computer aided dispatch
system tIW: would increase the specd in which file, police, and medi<:&1 calls would b<
dispatched.
N 1be time of1be sbldy,1be consultant estimated the cost of the entire project to b< IS mnch IS
$l.7 million. Staffbelicved, hovtevec, tIW: by using in!emal expertise and assuming project
management responsibilities, significant c<>St saving. cooId be achieved Additionally, staff
decided Ihat. based upon the cxpericnccs of other agencies who had previously ventured into
this area of information technology with • "bleeding edge· IPP',,"ch which resulted in very
expensive failures, IS wen as development of personal computer le<:hnologies, • cautious
approach was warranted.
II is imjxlotant '" noIt !hat due to !be complexity of the individual phases of this project. actual
cost per phase does not preeiscly cocrespond to the phases outlined in the CIP budget
Therefore. during the second pb.ase of !he project ($150,000), staff concentrated on the
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qDsiiion and iasIaI!sIion of. ~ Swilchi."l8 System ",ilieh allows offi<en 10 access over
12 law enforcement databases .. ith a single inquiIy. Additionally. some notebook computers
were purclI&sed far in-tick! rep<>rt writing, resulting in • time ..,w,g5 of .bout 20-30 minules
per officer per reporI and an in<:rease in the ovcnJl quality. "'81oility and acceptsbility of each
npcn Also during the <econd pbase, in conjunction with Information Resources CIP (190 II),
an optic:aI ~ symm for case lD8n"8ement, Incldng, and storage was implemented.
DuriD&!be IhinI pIIase ($420,000), an. upgrade of the PorKe Department. re<:Ofds manAgement
computer hardware, an integrBtion of an of the available modnIes of the re<:Ofds ~
S)-mem and insIaIIalion of. mobile communications netwod< was completed. The installation
of !be ,.,."a;ning _book computers in patrol vehle"'. was initiated for database inquiry and
car-Io-«r communications.
Propos.ed Cmnpgler Aided Dig>af~h (CAD) System
The four1h and lI5I phases of the project involves the purchase and implementation of ~ CAD
system. Currently. disparchers record all the pertineIU information associated witll all calls for
service for Police and Fir: on 3IS cards. AI. Iales time, the information from these cards is
enlcred into a sep&rate fire and police re<:Ofds management computer system. This process is
~ inefficient, redundant and CROfes delays in the dispatch ofunilS.
Doring the needs anslysis study, the consultant identi&d additional signl6caru issues in the
Communications Ccnrer openotion thai would be ane.ia!ed by the implementation of. CAD
sysrem. These issues included the unavailability of immediate geographic information that
would be belpfullo responding units, !he bigllievel of radio Iraff>e on police channels, the
unavailability in • timely and autOlDllt.:d manner of hazardous material information, the
relalively slow dispatch process foe fire emergeJ!C)' calls, IIld the redun<Ju,cy as sociated with
manna! dispatching operations.
The proposed CAD symm would address each of these issues Calls foc service infocmatioo
would be cn!tred into • c:<>DIj>IltU system as tbe events occur. The S!atus of pending and acti, ..
calls, as well as unit -... <:hang.., would be easily tracked. Geographiclll information would
automatically provide Io<:alion hislory. site details, and hazardous materialsfsituations
iDformalioo. The proposed system would have !be capabtlity of inco<porating multiple
inttrliK:es into one software application and would include the ability 10 sendlTeceive message.
from mobile data computers in porKe CMS and fire apparatus. Additionally, the system wool d
lUIoma6cally \'IIIidate "9-J -I" daIa and provide rewmmendations foe firefpolice Wlil response.
Staff estimates thai !be time required 10 dispatch fire emergency calls will be reduced by as
muck as up 10 ODe minute.
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k IbouId be noted that Palo Alto is the only agency in Santa Clara Cc.mty thai does DOl !!a"e
a CAD sys1mI. and all bullhr .. agencies in San M8Ieo Cowlty have operational CAD systems.
Police, F"Jre and 1nf0l1ll8lictl T eclmoIog).' staff prepared • request for proposal (RJ'P) for a CAD
sysfI:DI, aft<. a considerable IJIl()OOt of re:IUKh WiS ronduc!ed inlo differnlt types of S}-.tems
and aft<. site visits to agencies with operational systems. The RFP WIS de1.-eloped to address
the current and future Deeds of dispatchers, as weD IS the of!ken and firefighters. in their
efCoIfs to enhance the level of p'Jblic safety service to the community.
A list of 20 potential vendors WIS compiled. In De<:ember 1994, RFPs were Iel1t 10 those 20
vc:ndors. PropoWs w= originally roque.ted to be .ublnitt<d withln • four-week period Due
10 the scopc: of work involved and the Dumber of requests staff received for extensions, !be
proposal submittal deadline was exteDded for an additional two w.,,15 for all vendors. No pre
proposal conferences were beld.
PropoWs from seven vendors were received. Staffbelieves that the low response was due to
the f.&ct that many vendors cSa DOC have • 'Wmdows' based product that was specified in the
RFP as bein& highly desirable.
AtllK:hmeIlt A swmnarizes the list of 20 vendors, !be seve" response< and !be ISsocu.red
estimated costs for cad proposal submitted. Estimated costs ranged from $161.300 to
$589.000. The range of costs was associated with the size of the company. the compan-/.
resources available to support the system. the functionality of the company's S}-stero and irs
ability 10 integrale with OIlIer systems, and n.o;er friendliness.
A CAD proje<;t -.. <XJnSisIing oflbe CoordinalO£ ofCommunica:ions. • Dispalcber. the Polk<
Dep4J1men! Executive Assistant and Computer Systems Manager. a Polk< Officer. a Fire
CapIaiD and Emergency Medical Services Clrief. reviewed !be seveR proposals. Reviews and
discussions with representative. from the Administrative Services and Public Works
DepartmeuIs w= also oonducred. Team membc.-5 raled the proposals based upon the S}"Stems'
ability to perform specifi<: taoks; nser frieadliness; ability to inlegn>te with OIlIer law
eaforcemenl. fire and OIlIer software databases; !be type of hardware platform (client-serve
......... main frame and programming language); cost; and the ability of !be company to provide
adequate maintenance 5UpPOr1 and customer service.
Four oftbe sevea companies (Tiburon. Inc .• RAMlBSE System Development. Inc.; HiTeclt
SystcrDs.Inc. and Public Safety Systems, Inc.) were removed from ronsicleration. based upon
their inability 10 meeI d>e spe<ification requirements presented ill the RFP. Intmicws were
held with d>e renairting thlee vCDdon. On·site dem<>nslratioos of the indi ,idual S}'S!em' and
referenee .hc«s were caodllCted as well. &sed upoo the infonnation oIJtalned during dU.
proeess, staff detennined Ihal two companies, E".Cllb ... Information SysteItlS and Uni>ys
Corporation. may possibly meet the City'. Meds. Upon further remw, bowever, staff
debmincd 1bat while Extcmi"" lnfonnation Systetru appeared 10 Ia"" • viable product and •
lower 006f, Ibe sysIaD Ibey _ proposing was stiH under developmetit and would not be ready
foe bela Ios6na UIIIiI Oeccmba" 1995 III early 1996. Wlri1e the delay was of <XlIlCCt1I, 11>< issues
relaled 10 beiDa • bet. site "OR eveD !DOle Irooblesom<. Staff COIISulted with oCher agencies
who ha"" bees. bela siles for similar systems and determined that therc were usuaIJy
.ignifieantly higher hidckn com (e.g .• internal staff resource time). testing and conversion
problems. and exIcnded im:JIeroenIaIiOll timelioes &SSOCiatcd with Wm. WIth this infonnation,
Slaffbelievcs 1hat the pokIlliaI system wst "'lings associated wilh d>e Executi"" Information
Systems' system could not be justified.
Staff, lherefoce, selected Unisys CO<p<lRMn as the venda< foe their CAD system. Police and
Fire Department representatives made a site visit in April 1995 10 C<Jlumbi., South Carolina.
ODe ofibe first ...... of the Uoisys system. They were able 10 intmicw managetnalf, line staff
and supp<Jrt pmormeI abouIthe sys1em or.! observe its reallif. operation. After the site visit.
staff determined that the system would meet the City's n«ds in the areas of functionaIjly,
1dlabiliIy, ,..... ~ expansion capabili1ies and customer support. Staff fumly boli...."
this system rePresents the Iechnology Ihal will increase the efficiency of the dispatching
operations and bring 1he City in line ... ,th surrounding agenQes. Additionally, the system
allows for Cl<paIIsiOlt (potential Fire Department consolidation) and future interfaces with
additiooal records man&gemenl systems.
PCDdiDg approval lOr additiooal funds, staff would feturn to Council in October with the aC!UaI
purchase agreemenI with Unisys C«ponli<ln
Snmmery of Fire ProjecllO Date
The C'dy C.ounci! "Jlll<O""d • phased FireICommunications Computer System project beginning
in 1991·92, The first phase "'as to conduct. data needs analysis and an evaluation of software
IItld hardware~. AJ.1hc wnclusi<>n ofll".., study, the Police and Fire Departments opted 10
won Iogether en the CAD portion of the Info<mation Management PI ....
The File Department'llnformalion Management Plan coosisted oflhree phases. The fir.;t phase
(SI08,1SO) was criginaIIy intended 10 coosisl of implementation of I commurucaMns address
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find system, III incideIll rq>Cr1ing sy5Iem 10 comply with star<: requirements and field efficier.cy
syst=.
In the second plwe ($191,000), \he intent wu to ~loee \he fire alerting S)"tem and 10
implement a fire pRVeDflonIhazardons mstcrial. reportins system.
The third and final ~ (5 I 08.,550) was 10 cover costs associated with administraIi>-e
management and schedulillg modules of. records management system and foe Mobil. Data
Comporu:r purolwe and installation f()[ fire apparatus n«<Ied foe a CAD system.
Fin Departmenl penonnel rescarcbed the av.ulable fire records ~emcnl S)"1ems in
operation It other agencies and detennined that there was cur.-ently nol • vendo< who could
povidc • system thal would meet future oeeds. The Fire Department is currently developing
specifi<ations fa< software nec<Is 10 be mel by custom designed systems which are compatible
with other Citywide systems.
As. RSU1t. r ... Depa<\meDt slaffhos alS<! taI<eto the cautious appcoach sirru1sr 10 that takes by
the Police Department and has nOl yet determined the best and m05t cost effective coors< of
action.
The ~ SIaIion NoIiDcaIiou System (SNS), which alerts firelighters \0 the ~ alarms
at eoch staIioo. is O\'a' 20 years old and is currently being maintained through the use of spare
parts inventocy that is'nearing dePletion.
1'be procedure b fin: dispaIl:hing usinB SNS is as follows: After. dispatcber r~v ... "9-1-
'" call, • manual search of. street map "tub" is conducted. The information from the map
provides dati 10 the dispatcher about whicb fire station and which lire apparatus is the most
appropriate 10 respond. Associated with eacb Iype of response is • code that the dispatcher
eoItrs in 10 \he SNS boatel. The code allows b • \One 10 be transmitted 10 the ~ific station.
which Jesuits in \he activation of ben. and bghts It the Slation alerting the firefightm.
Additionally, a signal is sent over the Donna! radio frequency and the City'S cable system \0
ensure noIifieation. The firefighters respond by pushing. button which alerts the dispatcher
lhat !beY are ready 10 receive the information about !he call
AI the time !he FireICommunications ClP was originally proposed, it was awarent !hat the
system would have to be tvenrually replaced. Based upon the condition of \he system ltlhat
lime. $60,000 ..... budgeted {or replacement during the fourth phase of !he project. It was Dol
1IDIil staff look • closer look at the system, relative 10 • proposed CAD connection, thlt!he level
of system deterioration was realized. Replacement parts and other equipment are no longer
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m",,""""nd md. dws, system f'aiIure is • real possibility. A failure of the system would result
in an increase in the cIispatcli and Fare: DeparImenI response limes. StafI; therefore, believes tbe
immediate rep\acemeDl of!he fire statioo alerting sy>lem is critkll to the pllblic safety of the
a>IIIiIIUIlity .
Proposed FiR Alerting System
AJ staff reviewed the CAD proposals lbat were 5ubmitled, it beeame apparent !hat due 10 m
.. S!\'S would not be capable of interfJlcing with any CAD 5)'5telIL Additiooal re5W"~h into
current fire alerting systems was conducted. Preliminary finds demoostrated that only ODe
vendor «mId supply Iwdware that provided the dire. <tquirements of the Fire Deportment.
n.o.e requirements incll1~ tbe foll<>wing: I) soft alert capability: this feature starts off with •
soft lone and gels progressively louder and wakes firefighten more gradually ratner than with
• siIIgle, harsh lone whiclllowers stress levels and minimizes physiological impK!s; 2} printed
copy ~ty: this feature sends I printed ~Ojly of the ealllO the specific station. as wen IS
simultaneously providing the same notifieatioo en the I>Olebook eompu!ers in tbe fire
apparatus; and 3) _ change eapabt1jty: dus feature allows for user friendly and tiruely
apparatus status clwIges that can be entered by firefighters. The eo<t fo< the associated
hardware is estimated Ie be aps>roxima!ely 550,000.
AJ part of the proposal suhmitlCd by Uoisys, software needed 10 inw.face with the hardware
would eo<t $58,000.
WIIh the proposed system. tbe procedure for dispat.:1Ung fire units would be •• follows: After
reccMng I "9-1-1' eaII, the address and telephone number of tbe reponing porty au!ornatkaIIy
appears on tbe di"Palchers screen. The dispatcher entcn I call-t)JlC (medical aid, fire, etc.)
code and I response prioriIy. The system is connected ,..ith the geo-fi!~ which aulomsli<:ally
vaIi4aIes the loea!ioo and provides an immediate appropriate fire station response based upon
\he ....,lablc equipment. The system aclivr.les the statloo alerting system, which tunis OIl the
fire station lights and opens the doors. As tbe firefighters are preparing for their response, I
copy of tbe call is senllO each station. alleviating the need for firefighters 10 write dowu the
lvailable details (e.!., hazardoos material informatioa. IV1l11able water resources, location
hisIofy, de.). As stated earlier, staff believes this system would reduce tbe dispatch time and,
thus, the response lime for FiR calls by as m~" as I minute.
Pendios Council approval for additional appropriation offunds for the fire alerting system. staff
woold follow the City's fonnaI bid process 10 actual1y determine the vendor for the hardware
and returJI to Council with tbe actual purchase agreemenl
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J11SCAL IMPACT
Originally, $23(),OOO of CIP funds were eannarked for. CAD system. The Unisys systems
eofIlI $312,.000; thus, &D additional $82,000 is needed to cover the costs of the >}"tem.
Foe comparison pwpose .. ocher <;ties in the County Ita"" recently spent ova: $500,000 for
similar systems.
A!J IiIC:IIlicJoed earlier, $60,000 was originany budgeted foe the repl.<emeDl of Ibe y...., Alerting
System. &sed on re<enI cos! estimate .. staff believes tItat beth the softwsr~ and hardware
DO£ded 10 replace the cuzrent system wilh • staIl:-of-the art system would nO( exceed $108,000.
AIII<:hmcnt B n:\ects Stanford University and Enterprise fund reimbursement figures for both
the proposed CAD and y".. Alerting systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSME!\ff
This projecl is categorically exempt a."ld 00 environmental assessmenl is needed.
AITACI!Mf:NTS
A~ A: RFP SubmillBls
Allachmem B: Reimbursements
PREP ARID BY: John Bush, Coonfulator, Communications Sen-ius
Lynne JobnsoD, As.;istant p~ Oller
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CHRIS DU1lKIN, P~ ClUef
CITYMANAGERAPPROVAI..: _~ QvY'I\IIIAI.L"",d~O.&!UI1~iI'~'IJ~ ____ _ Rf1FLEMIN~anager
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ATTACHMENT A
COMPANY COMMENTS ESTMA TFD COSTS
C~T E>=dido.CA IM""'~~ • "'< .......... TN
Did"", __
Eb:InlCamC ...... _ s_~ SelI.f,-'CA DiJod_"-
~ ,_.UT Sub",;"", """""" S 161.lOO
Fmor .. ,'" OIl
N"" __
_OEMobiIo . Lwd;l" .... VA
[)idN __
HiT"'" _ "" I.oo...-.CA SuI>mi1I<>lD<Ol>OSOl U.l1.ooo
t.e.d I F'-C;.,..CA o.I""'''''''''''~ Mi ___ \IT ~ """"'" S~~900
NaIioool Scfdy _ "'" 00l1!rooL L
0;,,,,,, __
OCS . VA
Did""' __
rocifioA=A RJoodIoc.roo...CA 0;' "" """'"' """"'""
PRe rubfic ....... ""'. Md<on. VA [);d DO! oubmit """"""
rubfic-": t_MO SUl>minal_ S 539.000 • IlAMt1lSE_ Inc San rr-r.ro. CA Submittcd_ S 13S.s90
sec._CO Did""""",",_
_o...S_Loom.UT Did ... '"""'" """"""
........., s.mc... "" GA
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rm... ""-San F_ c;A Sul>mit1cd """"""' SIDOOO I.""'" . CA. ~-$3"11).600
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5312,000
<49,000> (.)
< 34.320> ('0)
$127,760
S 108,000
<27,000> (0)
S 11.000
ATlACIlMENTB
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Stanf<>Cd ~ (16%)
Ent<l]lrise Funds (11%)
Stanford Jt<irnbunement (25%)
<a> $33,600 already rel!eaed in 1992-1997 CIP budset
Co) $23,100 already redected in 1992-1997 C1P budget
(0) $15,000 already rellectedin 1992-1991 C1P budget
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