City Council
December 3, 2024
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Chief Floyd Mitchell
City Administrator Chief of Police
SUBJECT: VISION Professional Services
Renewal
DATE: November 8, 2024
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into An Professional Services Agreement With Quartech Solutions, LLC For A Total Amount Not To Exceed $1,000,000 (One Million Dollars) For A Five-Year Term Beginning On December 1, 2024 , And Ending On November 30, 2029, To Provide Software Development Services For The Oakland Police Department’s Vision Software Application, Which Is Used, In Part, To Assist The Oakland Police Department Track Compliance With The Negotiated Settlement Agreement (N SA) And Providing Tools That Help Improve Transparency And Accountability, And; Waiving The Competitive, Multi-Step Proposal Solicitation Process, And The Local/Small/Local Business Enterprise Program Requirements.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed resolution authorizing the City Administrator, or their designee, to enter a professional services agreement with Quartech Solutions for up to $200,000 in the current fiscal year (2024/2025), with an authorization to spend up to $800,000 over the subsequent four fiscal years (through 2029) to allow for the support and development of the VISION application, which is a tool that allows the Oakland Police Department (OPD) to track compliance with the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA).
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The current system known as VISION began as a tool called PRIME. In 2017, Resolution No. 86867 C.M.S. au thorized the development and deployment of a court mandated performance, reporting, information, and metrics environment system, which was tentatively called “Prime
2.0”. This system eventually became the VISION application that is currently in use at OPD.
Resolution No. 86867 C.M.S. also waived the competitive proposal solicitation and allowed for professional services not to exceed four million nine hundred thousand dollars.
Jestin Johnson (Nov 19, 2024 11:35 PST)
Nov 19, 2024
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: VISION Professional Services Renewal
Date: November 8, 2024 Page 2
City Council
December 3, 2024
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The Oakland Police Department (OPD), in conjunction with the City of Oakland Information Technology Department (ITD) and a development company called Quartech Corrections LLC (Quartech), has developed an internal tool called VISION, which is a comprehensive application that hosts databases of information for all members of the OPD.
The VISION application allows for the tracking of uses of force, preliminary investigations, division level investigations (Internal Affairs cases), collisions, pursuits, supervisor evaluations/monitoring, the use of militarized equipment, and awards.
VISION permissions are assigned by rank and/or role. For example, anyone with a rank of officer can only see their own profile information. A sergeant is unable to view other sergeants but can see anyone with a lower rank than their own and with professional staff in their direct chain of command. Non-sworn professional staff can only be viewed by a supervisor in the direct chain of command.
The role-based permission is assigned on a need to know, right to know basis. For example, anyone in the Internal Affairs Bureau that is granted access to the Internal Affairs Module are the only ones that can create and search Internal Affairs reports or investigations. Other users can only access a report or investigation if it is assigned to them.
Vision has multiple ways of tracking access and modifications done to reports or investigations.
In Division Level Investigations (DLIs), for example, there is a chronological log that tracks all actions taken in an investigation. In addition, there is an Administrator role that has access to audit logs.
The elements that are tracked in the VISION application help OPD track progress on some of the tasks under the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA). Quartech has been the only external developer to work with OPD on the VISION application. The knowledge that they have would be difficult to duplicate with another vendor, given there is a tremendous amount of historical context and knowledge that only Quartech has. OPD estimates it would need six to nine months of having another vendor work alongside Quartech to even consider moving to another vendor. This work will necessitate paying two vendors during that time period. Due to these complexities, OPD is requesting that the City Council waive the Local/Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) requirements.
The VISION application helps further promote the Citywide priorities of holistic community safety and a responsive, trustworthy government. This is accomplished by OPDs ability to track, monitor, and analyze each of the use cases below.
Use Cases
Use of Force
When an officer has a Use of Force, the supervisor will collect all the necessary information to be entered into the VISION Use of Force report. VISION allows users to attach links or small files. Some of those links attached would include things like the body worn camera footage.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: VISION Professional Services Renewal
Date: November 8, 2024 Page 3
City Council
December 3, 2024
Incidents are electronically organized and can be reviewed by all parties up the chain of command and audited if needed.
PAS Module
The Personnel Assessment System (PAS) Unit monitors and recommends strategies that attempt to help improve a member’s overall performance at OPD. VISION alerts the PAS unit when an officer meets a certain threshold. The PAS unit monitors 20 different performance dimensions. If certain thresholds are triggered, a member will be flagged for review. After looking at all the data the PAS unit decides whether to place that member on monitoring to help that member and is not punitive in nature. The PAS unit then works with the member’s supervisor to come up with the best way to assist the member during his or her monitoring period. Once the monitoring period is over, VISION notifies the PAS unit of the incoming data and determines whether the member should be taken off monitoring. For more information on the performance dimensions, please refer to section III of DGO D-17 – Personnel Assessment
System.
Internal Affairs Division Cases
All Internal Affairs Division cases are tracked within VISION, which includes many complicated workflows to ensure proper tracking of the case. All elements of the case, from the initial complaint intake, to supporting evidence, to the investigation itself, is housed within VISION.
This module is essential to the department staying in compliance with several tasks of the NSA.
Militarized Equipment Tracking
AB 481 requires the tracking and restricting of equipment that is deemed military grade by the State of California for Law Enforcement Agencies. VISION tracks all deployments of this equipment and helps ensure that we meet all reporting requirements as it relates to Militarized equipment.
Supervisory Notes
The “Supervisory notes” module houses employees’ Annual reviews, supervisory observations, training records, and corrective re-training documents. These documents are easily assessable to the employee, supervisor, or investigator that may need to look up a member’s history.
Employee Summary
Access to VISION gives employees the ability to know what information is being documented about them in the system. In VISION, there is a module where you can pull up an employee’s history summary and this can be modified by date range. This gives a comprehensive report of the employee’s history with the department. Arrests, training, complaints, sick days, and charging results, and awards. This is useful to supervisors, especially during appraisal periods.
Development History
OPD has been working with Quartech over the past several years. Since VISION is a custom- built application, it would be very difficult to bring in another vendor to replace Quartech. OPD Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: VISION Professional Services Renewal
Date: November 8, 2024 Page 4
City Council
December 3, 2024
has weekly meetings with Quartech to track progress on open support requests and to add enhancements or functionality to the application. OPD also works with the City of Oakland Information Technology Department (ITD) as needed to help support the application or during deployments when the system is updated. OPD has been satisfied by the work product of Quartech. Given the difficulty in being able to bring in a new vendor, OPD is asking for a total spending authority of $1,000,0000 over the next five years, starting from October 2024 through October 2029. OPD has already allocated $200,000 for October 2024 through September 2025, which will be paid out of the Information Technology Unit’s Budget.
FISCAL IMPACT
Year One of this proposed Resolution will be funded via OPDs current FY 2024/2025 budget.
More specifically, OPD currently has $250,000 allocated to VISION development from 102140, O&M 54919. While OPD is asking for a spending authority of up to $1,000,000 through October of 2029, OPD will evaluate the actual needs during the bi-annual budget process and will put in a request for funding that matches the needs of the department. OPD will assess the number of hours needed in the previous year while also determining the enhancements or improvements that it deems necessary to determine the budget ask. OPD understands that funding is not guaranteed after Year One.
Funding for FY 2024/2025 will be available through the General-Purpose Fund (1010), Research and Planning Organization (102140), Quartech Project (1000008), and Account (54919), with future years being budgeted via the General-Purpose Fund.
Waiver Of Competitive Multi-Step Proposal Solicitation And Of The Local/Small Local Business Participation Requirements
Oakland Municipal Code (“OMC”) Title 2, Chapter 2, Article I, section 2.04.042 B requires that the City Administrator conduct a competitive multiple- step proposal solicitation process for the acquisition of technical professional services.
OMC section 2.04.042 D. provides that the City Council may waive the competitive multiple step proposal solicitation process upon a recommendation of the City Administrator and finding and determination by the City Council that it is in the best interests of the City to waive the competitive multi-step proposal solicitation requirement.
The City Council adopted the Local/Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) Program, Ordinance No. 13647 C.M.S., which requires a minimum fifty-percent (50%) participation for all professional service contracts valued at or over fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) when there are at least three certified businesses listed in the industry, trade, or profession that constitutes a major category of work; and if at least three L/SLBEs are not certified, then the requirement is either waived, or the 50% requirement may be set at a percentage from 50 % to 0%, but not less than 20% if at least one L/SLBE is certified and available; and
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: VISION Professional Services Renewal
Date: November 8, 2024 Page 5
City Council
December 3, 2024
However, the Council may, in its discretion, waive the requirements of the L/SLBE Program when it is in the best interest of the City to do so. Quartech, the contractor, has a long standing and satisfactory history of working on the Vision project. In consideration of the specific , historic, and technical nature of the required work on this project, the time constraints, the long and ongoing work established with this contractor, and the critical results which will benefit the City, OPD , and Oakland residents, and help the City comply with the requirements of the Consent Decree, staff has determined that requesting waivers of the competitive multi -step proposal solicitation and Local/Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) requirements are justified.
Therefore, staff recommends that it is in the best interest of the City to waive the competitive multiple-step proposal solicitation process and the LBE/SLBE requirements because of the reasons set forth in this report and in the resolution that accompanies it.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Because this is an internal system focused on supporting OPD internal operations, this item did not require additional public outreach, other than posting on the City’s website.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Oakland Police Department, the Office of the City Attorney, the Controller’s Bureau, the Department of Finance, and the City Administrator’s Office.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Ensuring that robust and cost-effective enterprise systems and platforms are available to City staff for daily use and residents as their business with the City touches related applications. Maintaining existing systems appropriately is the most efficient solution for the City.
Environmental: Enterprise IT solutions focus on digital transactions that reduce the need for traditional printing and copying. One example is that all internal investigations are now handled with digital files inside of VISION, whereas previously, they were done with physical paper files.
Race & Equity: Since VISION helps the department track compliance with the NSA, including help with Task 45, VISION may help the department in addressing potential disparities.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: VISION Professional Services Renewal
Date: November 8, 2024 Page 6
City Council
December 3, 2024
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into An Professional Services Agreement With Quartech Solutions, LLC For A Total Amount Not To Exceed $1,000,000 (One Million Dollars) For A Five- Year Term Beginning On December 1, 2024 And Ending On November 30, 2029 To Provide Software Development Services For The Oakland Police Department’s Vision Software Application, Which Is Used, In Part, To Assist The Oakland Police Department Track Compliance With The Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) And Providing Tools That Help Improve Transparency And Accountability, And; Waiving The Competitive, Multi-Step Proposal Solicitation Process, And The Local/Small/Local Business Enterprise Program Requirements.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Dr. Carlo Beckman, Project Manager II, at [email protected].
Reviewed by:
Dr. Tracey Jones, Police Services Manager
OPD, BORM, Research and Planning
Prepared by:
Dr. Carlo M. Beckman, Project Manager II
Oakland Police Department, BORM