Title
ADD-ON - Authorization for Issuance of Excise Tax Funded Obligations to Acquire and Improve Phoenix Fire Department Facilities and Equipment (Ordinance S-46850)
Description
Request City Council adopt the ordinance for issuance of bonds previously authorized by the City Council on April 15, 2020 for funding the Fire Computer Aided Dispatch (Fire CAD) Upgrade Project and acquiring and improving Phoenix Fire Department facilities and equipment including a Records Management System (RMS). The principal amount of the bonds authorized by the City Council is $20 million.
Request an ordinance authorizing the City Manager to cause the issuance of obligations of or by a municipal property corporation, including execution and delivery of one or more ground leases, leases, purchase agreements or financing agreements and the taking of any, and the taking of all actions necessary or appropriate to finance or reimburse a principal amount not exceeding $20 million of costs for acquiring and improving Phoenix Fire Department facilities and equipment plus related financing costs; authorizing a pledge if deemed appropriate, of excise taxes or other lawfully available funds; authorizing the execution and delivery of other appropriate agreements in connection therewith, including but not limited to any official statements and bond purchase agreements and certificates necessary or appropriate for the financing and associated financing costs; authorizing the City Manager to take any and all other necessary or desirable actions in connection with such bonds; and authorizing the City Controller to expend all necessary funds therefor.
Report
Summary
On April 15, 2020 the City Council authorized the city to issue bonds as funding for the Fire CAD for the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD). However, due to a technical error related to the official record, staff is requesting City Council adopt the ordinance for the issuance of $20 million in Excise Tax Bond obligations. PFD currently relies on a NG CAD system that provides regional dispatch management for 26 jurisdictions and two private ambulance companies. When PFD acquired the NG CAD in 1994, they secured access to the source code, enabling the PFD to customize the application's functionality to meet the unique requirements of the PFD and its partner agencies (Fire CAD).
The Fire CAD system typically has a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, primarily due to technical and functional obsolescence. PFD has significantly elongated the current Fire CAD system's lifecycle by introducing continuous technical and functional enhancements. Nevertheless, the underlying application programming language (COBOL1) and operating system (OpenVMS2) are obsolete, precluding substantive technical and functional improvements.
To keep pace with the growing demand for services, PFD must upgrade the Fire CAD system in order to maintain service levels and meet response time standards established by the National Fire Protection Association. Additionally, acquisition of a modern Fire RMS to replace the existing Fire RMS implemented in 1994 will allow for the reconciliation of all PFD incident, equipment and management data.
This ordinance provides funding for the acquisition and improvement of both the Fire CAD and RMS systems.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The PFD Fire CAD and RMS projects were previously approved by City Council on April 15, 2020. Information for the Fire CAD and RMS projects is included on the April 15, 2020 Formal agenda.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by City Manager Ed Zuercher and the Finance Department.