Title
Enter into a Contract with Northrop Grumman for Fire Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Upgrade Project and Provide Overall Project Funding (Ordinance S-46540)
Description
Request authorization for the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into a contract with Northrop Grumman (NG) for the Fire Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Upgrade Project beginning on or about June 1, 2020. Also request funding to cover the remainder of the Project which will include future acquisition of a Records Management System (RMS) and other project activities that would be timely brought to City Council for future consideration. Also 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 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 fund; 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. Further request the City Controller to disburse all funds related to these items.
Report
Summary
The Phoenix Fire Department (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 department to customize the application’s functionality to meet the unique requirements of the department and its partner agencies.
Fire CAD systems have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, primarily due to technical and functional obsolescence. PFD has significantly elongated the current 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 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 Fire Department incident, equipment and management data.
Providing overall project funding for the Fire Computer Aided Dispatch Upgrade Project (Northrop Grumman) and future acquisition of an RMS System will ensure the following:
- Enhanced Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery with improved CAD System maintenance and upgrade processes.
- Upgraded existing COBOL CAD System, which was implemented in 1994.
- Upgraded mobile and mapping software utilized on Fire Mobile Computer Terminals, which have been in place since 2001.
- Acquisition of a modern Fire RMS, which replaces the existing Fire RMS implemented in 1994, and allows for the reconciliation of all Fire Department incident, equipment and management data.
- Improved Fire Department ability to report to national Fire data repositories, such as the National Fire Incident Reporting System and the National Fire Operations Reporting System.
Procurement Information
In accordance with Administrative Regulation 3.10, normal competition was waived as a result of a Determination Memo citing the unusual nature of the goods and services that require a specific vendor. Business Investment Request #3490 has been approved by the Information Technology Services Department.
Contract Term
The term of the agreement with Northrop Grumman, if approved, will be for five years, beginning on or about June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2025.
Financial Impact
The total cost for this five-year project will not exceed $32,687,212. This includes approximately $19.1 million to be paid by the City of Phoenix and approximately $13.6 million to be funded by the City's 22 partner jurisdictions. This ordinance provides authorization to issue up to $20 million principal amount plus related financing costs to fund the PFD equipment. The city will pledge excise taxes or other lawfully available funds to the repayment of the obligation. Funds are available in the Fire Department's budget.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. and the Fire and Finance departments.