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PURCHASE OF COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH/RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UPGRADE FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
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RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a motion approving the findings to support the purchase of an upgrade to the current Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System, by TriTech, Inc. in the amount of $734,303, authorize the Information Technology Department to purchase equipment to support the upgrade, in the amount of $254,405, and authorize a project contingency in the amount of $186,292, for a total project cost not to exceed $1,175,000.
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Summary
The Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System (CAD/RMS) is a highly integrated software product which provides a tool for accepting 9-1-1 calls for service from the public: dispatching officers and resources in response, documenting the activities of the police department, keeping indexed records of all calls for service received, and documenting incident reports taken and field contacts made. A CAD/RMS system is a necessity for modern policing. The current version of the TriTech software suite is at its end-of-life and must be upgraded and/or replaced. After an extensive review of available products, staff recommends purchasing an upgrade to the current system offered by TriTech, Inc., referred to as Tiburon Total Command 7.0, at an estimated cost of $734,303. The purchase price of Tiburon Total Command 7.0 does not include a contingency amount; however, for a project of this size and critical importance to 24/7 operations, a contingency amount of 25% is requested. Staff anticipates using the contingency amount for critical items identified during implementation that would delay and/or prevent successful implementation if not completed. This may include specific training needs, and/or changes to the software patches or add-ins required to make the third party applications integrate properly. Staff is recommending Council authorize a not-to-exceed price for the project in the amount of $1,175,000.
DISCUSSION
Background
In 2001, the Stockton Police Department changed vendors from PRC to Tiburon Inc., and began using Tiburon's CAD/RMS System. Since then, the Stockton Police Department has upgraded twice, once in 2006 and again in 2011. In early 2015, TriTech bought out Tiburon and changed the parent company name, but not the products offered under Tiburon. The industry standard of upgrading the CAD/RMS system product is approximately five years.
Currently, the Stockton Police Department is operating Tiburon’s Live 7.7 version of the CAD/RMS system which is based on a UNIX platform. In February 2015, it came to the Police Department’s attention that the current CAD/RMS system would reach end-of-life in January 2017, and would no longer be supported by Tiburon. The Police Department then formed a Core Team to identify options for replacement and create a business case for purchase of either an upgraded Tiburon product or the purchase of a completely new system. The team mapped out the Department’s needs and began investigating new products over the course of several months. Two members of the team attended the Law Enforcement Information Management Conference, hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where several of the industry leading vendors provided insight to their products and brief demonstrations of their capability. With Tri-Tech’s purchase, and ultimate merging of the Tiburon and Tri-Tech products, it was important for the Core Team to evaluate both products for potential future implementation, as well as other software products that would meet the identified business case needs.
Identified Business Needs:
• Computer Aided Dispatch for 500,000 calls annually
• Records Management System
• Historical premise history
• Integration with third party systems (alarms, property, CusInS)
• Compatible with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office system
A full implementation of a new system is estimated to cost between $1,500,000 and $2,500,000, and take 15-18 months to install based on the research conducted by members of the Core Team. An upgrade of the existing platform is estimated to cost between $750,000 and $1,250,000, and take 12-15 months to implement.
A demonstration of Tiburon’s Total Command 7.10 and Tri-Tech’s Inform CAD was held on June 1-2, 2015. The demonstrations provided valuable information on the upgrade, as well as what the Stockton Police Department should include in a request for proposal should they decide to look for a new CAD/RMS vendor.
After the demonstrations, the Core Team came together and deliberated on the positives and negatives of an upgrade or issuing a request for proposal. It was decided that upgrading to the Tiburon Total Command 7.10 would be the most beneficial and cost effective option. This decision was made due to concerns regarding the migration of historical data, costs associated with data migration to a completely new system, and the steep learning curve associated with new applications for trainers, end users, and those maintaining the CAD/RMS system. Going forward, the requirement to retain historical data will remain an important issue to be addressed with any proposed software provider. The expected lifespan of this type of technology is generally five to seven years, however is greatly dependent on available products and vendors. The Police Department, in conjunction with the Information Technology Department, will have an opportunity to review and recommend upgrades at least annually when the maintenance renewal is due. Regular meetings between the two Departments already occur to discuss future upgrades, any system deficiencies and to ultimately recommend any future major system change or upgrade as needed.
Present Situation
In September, the Police Department received TriTech/Tiburon’s Terms and Conditions, pricing quote, and hardware/software specifications for an upgrade to the Total Command 7.10 CAD/RMS solution (Attachment A). The Terms and Conditions provide a scope-of-work to upgrade the system, support provisions during the upgrade, staff training, licensing, and yearly maintenance fees.
Through discussions between TriTech staff and the City’s Information Technology (IT) staff, it was determined the hardware and network supporting the current CAD/RMS system would not meet specifications to operate Total Command 7.10 and, therefore, requires augmentation prior to full implementation. These purchases include upgrading CAD workstation PCs for eight dispatch stations, upgrading servers to support the data, and increasing the number of licenses to support data management. Although there are no individual items exceeding the City Council’s Administrative threshold of $75,000, staff is asking for authorization to purchase all necessary peripheral hardware and software equipment to support the upgrade to the CAD/RMS system in the total amount of $254,405.
Findings
Stockton Municipal Code section 3.68.070 provides an exception to the competitive bidding process in cases where the City Council has made findings that support and justify the exception. The findings are as follows:
• Tiburon’s Total Command 7.10 is able to meet the business requirements identified through a collaborative users group.
• The CAD/RMS system must retain critical historical premise information which is easily obtained through the Tiburon Total Command 7.10; however, with a different vendor it would require some level of maintenance on the old data, which is cost prohibitive.
• An upgrade to Tiburon’s Total Command 7.10 is the most cost effective solution, and is within the allotted budget for the project.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The cost to upgrade to Tiburon’s Total Command 7.10 CAD/RMS system is $734,303, which includes the first year of maintenance. In addition, staff is estimating a contingency of $186,292, and additional hardware and software requirements to support implementation in the amount of $254,405. The City Council has allocated a total of $1,250,000 towards this project through the Citywide Technology Strategic Plan, as well as the Fiscal Year 2015-16 adopted Budget. Total project cost is estimated not to exceed $1,175,000, and sufficient funds have been budgeted in Information Technology Computer Internal Service Fund Account No. 502-5101-670 within project number PD-01. The annual maintenance fees after the first year will be budgeted in the Computer Internal Service Fund and will be incorporated into future Annual Budget requests.
Attachment A - TriTech System Implementation Terms and Conditions