Title
Revised Intergovernmental Agreement to Plan, Design, Construct, Operate, Maintain, and Finance the Regional Wireless Cooperative (Ordinance S-44842)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to amend the Amended and Restated Intergovernmental Agreement to Plan, Design, Construct, Operate, Maintain and Finance the Regional Wireless Cooperative Network (Contract No. 124822-001) in order to replace the existing RWC Governance Document with a new Governance Document. The parties wish to amend the rules and policies governing regulation and management of the RWC's internal affairs.
Report
Summary
The RWC is a large public safety radio network serving the frontline needs of police, fire, first responders, and other governmental support personnel. The network operates in the 700 MHz frequency band and consists of over 80 strategically placed communication sites, providing seamless, wide area radio coverage across 11,000 square miles of the Phoenix metropolitan region. The City of Phoenix is the administrative managing member of the RWC.
The RWC’s Governance Document (Governance) was adopted and signed by all nineteen members' governing bodies. The Governance provides written direction and guidance -- setting forth term definitions, management processes; and financial, accounting and network management of the RWC. The Governance is the administrative and managerial “rule book” used by the Board of Directors, Executive Director, and operational and technical support personnel for managing the RWC.
In 2012, the RWC Board of Directors established a Governance Working Group ("GWG") tasked with undertaking a full, detailed review of the Governance Document in order to ensure that it was effectively meeting the needs for managing the RWC.
Since then, the GWG conducted over 80 meetings which included discussions and input with the RWC Board of Directors, fire and police chiefs, public safety committees, accounting staff, City of Phoenix Finance and Budget & Research departments, labor organizations, public safety and radio communications, technical and information technology subject matter experts. Also, as draft Governance documents were developed, legal staffs from every RWC Member were consulted and solicited for review and input.
The result of the process is a much improved Governance Document. Since the review focused primarily on structure and clarity, few substantive changes were necessary. The new Governance will become effective Jan. 1, 2019.
Contract Term
The term of Contract 124822 shall remain in effect. The initial term of Contract 124822 will end on Oct. 31, 2018; thereafter, the Contract will automatically renew for ten years through Oct. 31, 2028.
Financial Impact
This item will have no financial impact to the City of Phoenix.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Office of Government Relations.