Memorandum 11-013 Support of the Kenai Peninsula Borough CAD Proposal

CITY OF HOMER
POLICE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY 911
TELEPHONE (907) 235-3150
4060 HEATH STREET HOMER, AK 99603-7609 TELECOPIER (907) 235-3151

MEMORANDUM 11-013

DATE: January 19, 2011

TO: Walt Wrede, City Manager

FROM: Chief Mark Robl

SUBJECT: Support of the Kenai Peninsula Borough CAD Proposal

We are in support of the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s offer to supply a CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system to Homer Police Department for the following reasons:

A. The opportunity to acquire a CAD system for the proposed costs (discounting the unknowns that will be later quantified to be feasible or not). This cost is much less by several thousands of dollars, than what we would be faced with if we were attempting to purchase a system individually.

B. This CAD system will provide a platform for future and current technologies. A few examples are:
1. CAD will integrate seamlessly with the future acquisition of the Priority Dispatch ProQA software for Emergency Medical Dispatch, to be purchased and installed with a Homeland Security Grant which was recently approved by council.
2. We currently have a TRACS software program supplied by the State of Alaska that allows officers to produce accident reports and write tickets with all pertinent information from their vehicle through a mobile data terminal. We are scheduled to add mobile data terminals to all of our vehicles through a direct state grant this year. The CAD system will be able to communicate with these terminals, providing a more rapid exchange of information between officers and Dispatch.
3. CAD will provide the ability to receive and send multimedia information (text messages, pictures, videos, etc.) in regard to emergencies and or crimes in progress (Next Generation 911, a digital, Internet Protocol (IP)-based foundation for the delivery of multimedia 9-1-1 "calls.) to our field units.

C. Uses an operating system that now has become the industry/national standard since the September 11th attack and the lessons learned from that attack (XML).

D. Technology is changing at an ever increasing rate, as are the abilities and expectations of the general public. The XML based CAD system will provide a platform that will interface with current and future technologies. Next Generation 911 and its eventual arrival/use in Alaska is an excellent example as is the use of Mobile Data Terminals for more rapid information relay and response times.

E. Finally, we support this proposal and its offerings because we are being given the opportunity to experience firsthand, the “unknown” financial factors in this proposal without penalty. The borough has given us the option of participating up to step 8 of this project without cost other than staff time. We will be able to assist in the build out, get a clearer picture of time/overtime requirements, and get other now “unanswerable” questions answered. We will still have the ability to turn down this offering or shelf it for a later time, should we find it too costly or unfeasible.

F. I request council permission to participate in this project until step 8. I intend to drop out if the cost of staff time involved exceeds our current budget limitations. After we have reached step 8 I will brief the council on the anticipated and projected costs of going forward.