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RESOLUTION NO. 2015-044 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA WAIVING THE COMPETITIVE FORMAL BID REQUIREMENT, APPROVING AN EQUIPMENT LEASE CONTRACT WITH MARLIN BUSINESS SERVICES CORPORATION FOR MOBILE DATA COMPUTERS AND ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS ACCORDINGLY (4/5 VOTE REQUIRED)
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommended Action
Council adopt the resolution.
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SUMMARY
The Police and ITS Departments have conducted extensive research of replacing the fleet of mobile data computers in police vehicles and are seeking to waive the competitive formal bid requirement and requesting authorization to contract with PCS Mobile for the purchase of mobile data computers and associated software.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This proposed activity has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and it has been determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a physical change in the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
Not Applicable.
DISCUSSION
The Police Department is upgrading the entire fleet of mobile data computers (MDCs) for the department. A vast majority of the MDCs in service today were installed well over 7 years ago. As technology has progressed and the need for higher levels of processing power has increased, the Department is in immediate need of replacing the MDCs. There are also new increased security protocols which have been mandated by the U.S. Department of Justice which are also dictating a fleet replacement.
Currently, the City has been using Panasonic Toughbook computers as the MDCs which are installed in the police vehicles. The Panasonic Toughbook has proven to be a highly reliable and rugged tool for officers in the field. Officers can access their email, various criminal databases, gather information from the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, write reports utilizing the report management system (NetRMS) and a whole host of other software solutions. The MDC is literally the officer's desk out in the field. Normal turnover for these types of computers is four years, but the downturn in the economy significantly delayed the department's ability to do these critical replacements.
In May 2014, in collaboration with the ITS Department, the Police Department hired a consultant to assist with the purchase of new MDCs. Beyond just the replacement of the MDCs, the Police Department is faced with a myriad of issues including installing new security measures which were mandated by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as gaining approval from the State of California which has to approve any changes to the fundamental network configuration that the MDC's access. The Police and ITS departments are doing a considerable amount of testing of the new configurations prior to deploying the new fleet to ensure that once in service, the new MDCs will provide significant enhancements to computing speed as well as network speed (which are two issues that are hampering efficient use of the current MDCs).
The Police and ITS Departments are seeking sole source approval to purchase the new Panasonic Toughbook computers. Although there are alternative hardware manufacturers, the City will be saving money by utilizing the same computer mounts (which are located in each of the cars) for the new computers. It is estimated that the savings gained from reusing the mounting equipment will be at least $50,000. Additionally, there will be significant time savings in deploying the new MDCs by staying with Panasonic Toughbooks. If the department decided to install different mounts to accommodate a different manufacturer, it could add months to the deployment schedule. Furthermore, Panasonic Toughbooks are the industry leaders in ruggedized mobile computer equipment.
The Police & ITS Departments have been working with one of Panasonic's partners, PCS Mobile, to facilitate the purchase of the MDCs. For favorable pricing, the City had planned to utilize the California Multiple Award Schedules (CMAS) contract No. 3-13-70-2409D (Synnex). However, additional discounts have been obtained directly from Panasonic amounting to a $1,389 savings per device from normal retail pricing. The table below outlines cost savings per unit.
TOUGHBOOK PRICING (Per Unit) |
|
Retail Price |
CMAS Contract Price |
Panasonic Direct Special Pricing |
COST |
$5,069 |
$4,127 |
$3,680 |
SAVINGS |
$0 |
$942 |
$1,389 |
|
|
|
|
The City will achieve $137,511 savings from retail price with the purchase of 99 Panasonic Toughbooks. This is the best pricing on Panasonic Toughbooks that the City could obtain through any source. The purchase of Panasonic Toughbooks is only available through retail partners. The City does not pay any premium or additional fees to the retail partner for the purchase of the MDCs.
As part of this project, the City will also need to purchase two key software applications in order to comply with the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Justice Information Systems protocols. The first is software that provides mobile wireless connectivity and security. This software is named NetMotion, and it is the industry standard for managing the mobile wireless environment. The second software application is an advanced authentication application which provides an additional layer of security for the MDCs. Officers will be issued a token that displays a unique number, which must be input into the computer prior to being able to log into the police network. This is required for all devices that: 1) Are not located in a secure location (e.g. The Police Department building); and 2) Access sensitive law enforcement databases. This requirement was issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. Both of these software applications have been selected as they have been thoroughly vetted by the State of California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS). The Department has submitted a new CLETS application to the State for approval of the new law enforcement network/hardware/software. By utilizing equipment and software that has already been approved in other cities' CLETS applications, the City hopes to rapidly obtain approval from CLETS.
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICT
Staff has reviewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site specific and consequently the 500-foot rule found in California Code of Regulations section 18704.2(a)(1) is not applicable to this decision. Staff is not independently aware, nor has staff been informed by any City Councilmember, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision maker conflict of interest in this matter.
LINK TO STRATEGIC GOALS
The City's Strategic Plan has five major goals: Operational Excellence, Economic Vitality, Healthy Community, Strong and Secure Neighborhoods and a Connected Community. The MDC project supports the goals of Strong and Secure Neighborhoods and Operational Excellence as the new MDCs and associated technology improvements will provide the officers with up-to-date equipment and software to provide efficient, high quality public safety service to the community.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this resolution will result in authorizing the Police Department to purchase 99 mobile data computers and associated software from PCS Mobile (Panasonic's retail partner) and appropriating $135,937 to the Equipment Lease Fund.
The table below outlines the purchase of 99 MDCs.
Item Description |
Quantity |
Unit Cost |
Subtotal |
Sales Tax |
TOTAL |
CF-31 Panasonic Toughbook |
99 |
$3,680 |
$364,320 |
$29,146 |
$393,466 |
4-year Premier Service |
99 |
$130 |
$12,870 |
|
$12,870 |
CA Recycling Fee |
99 |
$3 |
$297 |
|
$297 |
TOTAL COSTS |
|
|
$377,487 |
$29,146 |
$406,633 |
To minimize the annual fiscal impact, the Police Department will enter into a 48-month lease agreement with Marlin Business Services Corporation (Panasonic's finance group). The lease amount is $377,487, which covers the purchase of 99 MDCs (excluding sales tax). At the 5.99% interest rate, the monthly lease payment is $8,863.56 per month, which is scheduled to begin in March 2015. The City has an option to purchase the MDCs for $1 at the end of the lease term in February 2019.
One-time costs of $29,146 sales tax (not covered in the lease), $31,698 NetMotion mobility licenses, $24,012 two-factor authentication software, $12,602 installation of new antennas and $3,024 Touch-Base driver will also be incurred in the current fiscal year to implement the replacement.
As a result of prior year salary savings in the Police Department, the amount of $175,000 was transferred to the Equipment Lease Fund for the replacement of MDCs. At this time staff is requesting to transfer the non-lease expenses back to the Police Department. Approval of the resolution will also result in the appropriation of $100,482 to the Police Department budget. This appropriation will be fully offset by the transfer from the Equipment Lease Fund resulting in no net fiscal impact to the General Fund.
ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT
The table below outlines the ongoing fiscal impact of the lease until it is fully paid in February 2019.
Item Description |
FY 2015 |
FY 2016 |
FY 2017 |
FY 2018 |
FY 2019 |
TOTAL |
Lease costs ($8,863.56/month) |
$35,454 |
$106,363 |
$106,363 |
$106,363 |
$70,908 |
$425,451 |
One-time start-up costs: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales tax (not covered in lease) |
$29,146 |
|
|
|
|
$29,146 |
Authentication & NetMotion software |
$55,710 |
|
|
|
|
$55,710 |
Antenna replacement |
$12,602 |
|
|
|
|
$12,602 |
Touch-Base driver |
$3,024 |
|
|
|
|
$3,024 |
TOTAL COSTS |
$135,937 |
$106,363 |
$106,363 |
$106,363 |
$70,908 |
$525,933 |
The Police Department will coordinate with the Finance Department to include these annual costs during the budget development process in subsequent fiscal years. Staff will work towards identifying ways to mitigate the impact to the General Fund.
ATTACHMENTS
Marlin Equipment Lease Contract
Staff Contact: Jonathan Alegre