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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Verdugo Fire Communications Center - 911 Dispatch Software Expansion
1. Motion authorizing the City Manager to amend an existing professional services agreement between the City of Glendale and CentralSquare Technologies, LLC., (contract #8000743) in the amount not to exceed of $394,890 with a contingency of $56,754, for expansion of Verdugo Fire Communications Center Computer-Aided Dispatch system.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Consent Calendar
Approved for December 17, 2024 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Verdugo Fire Communications Center (VFCC) utilizes computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system to receive and dispatch emergency calls for 14 agencies. The implementation of CentralSquare CAD to VFCC, expanding from its current use at the Glendale Police Department, will help accomplish the Information Technology’s goal of application standardization and provide a single 911 Dispatch CAD System for both Police and Verdugo Fire, resulting in better management under a single more configurable system. With the completion of this expansion, we will be able to achieve the advanced feature of CAD to CAD, which will also increase communication, collaboration and further improve response times between Glendale’s Police and Fire communications centers.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council approve a Motion authorizing the City Manager to amend an existing professional services agreement between the City of Glendale and CentralSquare Technologies, LLC., (contract #8000743) in the amount not to exceed of $394,890 with a contingency of $56,754, for expansion of Verdugo Fire Communications Center Computer-Aided Dispatch system.
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ANALYSIS
The Verdugo Fire Communications Center (VFCC) current Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system was purchased in 2017. In alignment with the Information Technology (IT) Department’s effort to standardize applications across the city and with CAD technology developing beyond the configurability of the present system, it was determined that the expansion of the CAD system with Glendale Police Department’s (GPD’s) CAD, CentralSquare, and expansion of their system to VFCC will accomplish this goal.
Receiving and dispatching 911 calls for fourteen agencies, VFCC relies on a robust CAD system that processes dispatcher entry, call location, vehicle location and statuses, and recommends the fastest, most appropriate units to respond within seconds. The CentralSquare system is easily configurable to allow Verdugo personnel to update the coverage area to account for changes in residential development, increased population/call load, automatic and mutual aid agreements. Additionally, the system is flexible enough to accommodate configuration needs for the 14 different agencies that Verdugo services as well as, the on-boarding of new contract agencies into the system.
With the current CAD system, calls that need to be transferred from GPD or neighboring cities is done manually, which is time consuming. By completing this expansion of CentralSquare CAD to VFCC, we will be able to implement the CAD-to-CAD communication feature, which will automatically transfer the call to partner dispatch centers eliminating the manual process and speeding up 911 response times. The surrounding dispatch centers which would be able to do the CAD-to-CAD automation with VFCC are Long Beach Fire Department, San Bernardino Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Orange County Fire Authority, which all utilize CentralSquare.
By utilizing GPD’s existing contract with CentralSquare, VFCC can avoid the need for a separate CAD system, which reduces long-term maintenance expenses. Leveraging GPD’s existing computer hardware, already configured for dispatch, will allow for faster system buildout, and eliminate redundant infrastructure expenses. A single system managed by the IT team will simplify administration. VFCC can rely on the already established IT infrastructure and technical support. Additionally, the new CAD system will update existing interfaces to other Fire Department reporting systems automatically, rather than traditional file transfers, ensuring real-time data exchange. The new CAD system will allow for future integration with artificial intelligence tools designed to assist emergency call processing and decision-making by providing assessment and improved insights directly into the CAD workflow. The new CAD will leverage AI and will improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of medical emergency call handling, ultimately enhancing patient care during critical moments. In summary, standardizing GPD’s existing CAD system, VFCC can not only reduce operational costs but also improve the efficiency of its emergency response operations through automation, data sharing and better coordination.
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In addition to the expansion of the City’s public safety CAD system, VFCC plans to adopt First Due’s Mobile Responder Application, which will integrate with the CentralSquare CAD system and for the first time, provide instant access to incident information and location pre-plans developed by the 14 Verdugo agencies. We will also bring on GeoComm Inc., a Public Safety GIS consulting firm, that will assist in updating and preparing the City’s address and street database. This in turn will provide Verdugo Fire, and its 14 agencies, the most update and accurate street data for emergency dispatching will resulting in quicker response times. Lastly, we will be amending the Cit Com, Inc., agreement, a Public Safety CAD Project Management firm with over twenty years of experience, who successfully implemented the Glendale Police CAD system, to assist in the implementation of the expansion of the Verdugo CAD system.
The total cost of the CAD expansion project is $799,033 and is comprised of the following elements:
Item CentralSquare
CentralSquare Implementation Costs $378,355
Staffing, Training, and other Project Costs $16,535
Implementation Contingency $56,754
CentralSquare Total $451,644
GeoComm
GeoComm GIS Configuration $118,149
First Due
First Due Mobile Application $113,080
Cit Com
Cit Com Project Management $116,160
Total Project Implementation Cost $799,033
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT
The CAD expansion project will cost $799,033, which was included as a part of the FY 2024-25 budget. No additional appropriation of funds is needed. The City Council approved funding is outlined below.
Existing Appropriation
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Amount Account String Funding Source
$799,033 51000-5800-GFD-4005-P0000 Fire Communication Fund For the CentralSquare GPD CAD and the VFCC CAD systems, all future maintenance, upgrades, support, licensing and any additional modules, features, and products for the life of the system will be annually budgeted within the ITD Applications Fund and approved by City Council as part of the annual citywide budget process.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
N/A.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
The names and business addresses of the members of the board of directors, the chairperson, CEO, COO, CFO, Subcontractors and any person or entity with more than 10% interest in the company proposed for contract in this Agenda Item Report are attached in Exhibit #1, in accordance with the City Campaign Finance Ordinance No. 5744.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Alternative 1: The City Council may not approve the motion to authorize the amendment to execute the professional service agreement with CentralSquare Technologies, LLC., which will result increased costs in maintaining two separate CAD systems.
Alternative 2: Consider any other alternative not proposed by staff.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Greg Fish, Fire Chief
Jason Bradford, Chief Information Officer
Prepared by:
Brian Murphy, Deputy Fire Chief
Hagop Hovsepian, Assistant Chief Information Officer
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS