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05-09-2002 Communications Interlocal Agency Governing Board Now Regular Meeting May 9 2002 9:00 AM City Council Chambers, Port Orange MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Edgewater Mayor Donald Schmidt called the Regular Meeting to order at 9:01 AM at the City Council Chambers. ROLL CALL Board Members present were Mayor Schmidt and Port Orange Mayor, Dorothy L. Hukill. Also present were Board Counsel Margaret Roberts, Esq., Port Orange City Manager Ken Parker, Edgewater City Manager Ken Hooper, New Smyrna Beach City Manager Frank Roberts, Director William A. Cade Jr., Interim Coordinator Shannon Lewis, Fire Chiefs Mike Ertz (Port Orange) and Tracey Barlow (Edgewater). In addition, a number of individuals from the community and the city dispatch centers attended. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The minutes of the April 1 l 2002 meeting were approved by a vote of 2 -0. Schmidt and Hukill GOVERNING BOARD BUSINESS Mayor Schmidt moved to Governing Board Business by Board Members. Mayor Hukill had none '' and Mayor Schmidt had none. ROUTINE /RECURRING BUSINESS Reports and Communications a. Director Cade reported on progress and status of project; b. Board Counsel Roberts had no report; c. City Managers had no report; d. Fire Chiefs had no report; Mayor Schmidt called a 9- minute recess before the Public Hearing on the Budget. The Regular Meeting reconvened at 9:15 AM as posted for the Public Hearing on the Budget. BUDGET HEARING ON PROPOSED BUDGET (FY 2003) Director Cade presented to the Board for comment and action, the proposed budget for FY 2003 as presented on April 11 Mayor Hukill made a motion to adopt the budget, Mayor Schmidt seconded the motion and discussion followed. Comments on the budget were made by Tracy Hills, a Port Orange Dispatcher, as well as City Manager Hooper, Board Counsel Roberts, Director Cade and Mayor Hukill. The Motion to adopt the budget passed upon a vote of 2 -0. Hukill and Schmidt. Director Cade made a presentation to Shannon McBride Lewis in appreciation of her efforts as Interim Coordinator of the CIA. The Meeting was adjourned at 9:35 AM. Approved by the Board June z -0, 2002 as ame By `/ .� r . -e: ' ±-f ' " Chairman Donald Schmidt Communications Interlocal Agency Governing Board Regular Meeting April 11, 2002 9:00 a.m. City Council Chambers, Port Orange MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Edgewater Mayor Donald Schmidt called the Regular Meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the City Council Chambers in Port Orange. ROLL CALL Board Members present were Edgewater Mayor Donald Schmidt, New Smyrna Beach Mayor James Vandergrifft and Port Orange Mayor Dorothy L. Hukill. Also present were Edgewater City Manager Ken Hooper, New Smyrna Beach City Manager Frank Roberts, Port Orange City Manager Ken Parker, Interim Coordinator Shannon Lewis, Board Attorney Margaret Roberts and Port Orange IS Manager Tom Fitzgerald. APPROVAL OF MINUTES March 14, 2002 Regular Meeting APPROVED Vandergrifft; Hukill 3.0 PROJECT REPORT Ms. Lewis advised the Board that Bill Cade was planning to begin work as the Communications Director on April 22, 2002. A few items with regard to change in contract language were being worked out and he was expected to formalize the contract in a few days. She said that he had met with on duty dispatchers while his visited the first week in April and planned to hold a meeting or series of meetings with them his first week here. He also met with Roy S. from VCOG on the Fire/EMS Study. Ms. Lewis also told the Board that the CIA had entered into a contract for professional services with Bob Weiss, former Volusia County Communications Director to specifically provide assistance with the 800 Mhz system and components. Mayor Schmidt asked if there were initial problems with the County system when it was first instituted and whether New Smyrna Beach had had any problems. Mr. Roberts said there were but they had been worked out and that Bob Weiss assisted the City of New Smyrna Beach during that time. Mayor Hukill asked which cities utilized the system and was told by Mr. Roberts and Mr. Parker that all cities were currently on board. 1 Mayor Schmidt indicated that Edgewater had met with Oak Hill regarding costs associated with the CIA and that they felt they were not adequately made aware of the costs. Edgewater currently likaw provides dispatch services, but there may be costs associated with connectivity and computers in the future. He said that Edgewater would be picking up the cost of the first year, but after that, they would have to look at funding additional costs. Ms. Lewis said that she would send meeting minutes to the Oak Hill City Clerk as well as Police Chief Gus Beckstrom in order to keep them more informed. She also said that legal ads announcing the meetings had been made for every meeting, but that they would make sure they had additional notices sent directly to the Police Chief. Ms. Lewis introduced Tom Fitzgerald and said she invited him to bring the Board up to date on the technical aspects of the projects since he has been the primary person working on the software and hardware components. She said that he had done an excellent job and that the CIA would not be where it is now without his assistance. Mr. Fitzgerald informed the Board that all of the servers had arrived and that there were three redundancy back ups built in to ensure the system was state of the art and bulletproof. He said Hitachi and Compaq were scheduled to come in for service this month and that he expected the system, as well as all of the OSSI modules to be up and tested by the end of May. He indicated that we were ahead of schedule on these aspects. Mr. Fitzgerald also said the CIA was ahead of schedule on the frame relay and that the circuits were expected to be in by the end of April. He anticipated that the entire system would be up in mid -May. He said that the next step is to determine who will be utilizing the desktop computers in order to begin wiring the PCs top the main connection. He needs evacuation plans from each police and fire department. The last thing Mr. Fitzgerald spoke of was the laptop computers. He said that CDPD gives functionality and that the modem provided for county checks as well as NCIC and FCIC. He said everything is tied together in one system and that this is the most cost effective way to go at the present time. A new system, G3, will soon be available. He said there was information he will need from Mr. Cade to make the best decisions for the field personnel, so those items have been put on hold. Mr. Fitzgerald said the mapping data Charles Herbold, NSB, provided to OSSI looks very good and that they commended him for accurate data. Mayor Schmidt asked whether the current CDPD system would be adaptable to the G3 system when it came out. Mr. Fitzgerald said that it would, but that portions of the hardware would not. He used the wireless modems inside the vehicles as an example. He said the company is still developing the system and the costs and that it may be available by next year. Mayor Hukill asked how long the contract with AT &T was and he answered two years. He also indicated that if they were to force the change, they would most likely have to provide incentives. PROPOSED FY 2002 - 2003 BUDGET — DRAFT Ms. Lewis said that the budget was a working document that may be further altered as additional operational decisions are made once Mr. Cade arrives. She said he had some input into the process, but would likely be able to spend more time with the budget prior to the May 9 budget hearing. Ms. Lewis provided the Board with line item costs and justification in the agenda packet and discussed the rationale behind each at the meeting. She stated that the budget was very close to what each city is currently paying and that in most instances, any increase was specifically tied to an increase or ,,OW enhancement of services. Mr. Roberts also reminded the Board that no one went into the project as a cost saving measure; rather it was for more effective and efficient service delivery. The Board questioned the number of employees the budget reflected and Ms. Lewis said it was based on a full 2 complement of 30 positions, even though not all are currently filled. She stated there was no addition or deletion of positions and the salaries reflected the sum of each city plus a cost of living increase. Edgewater dispatcher Darlene Salsman addressed the Board and asked for clarification of the salaries and was informed that they used existing scales and salary increases. Mr. Roberts told the Board this was one area where we expected to see a change in the next budget document due to recommendations by Mr. Cade on how to bring all dispatchers to the same range. The Board asked whether EMD certification was included in the training budget and was told it was not. Port Orange Fire Chief Michael Ertz stated that his EMS Chief was certified to teach the course in house. Mr. Roberts said that New Smyrna Beach had not actually agreed on the EMD certification or transport related issues at this point and that they would discuss it further. Ms. Salsman asked if Power Phone training was included and was told it was not. Ms. Lewis said she would check on that and that Mr. Cade most likely knew of other specific training programs that could be implemented. GOVERNING BOARD BUSINESS Mayor Hukill— Asked how the budget reports would be provided in the future and in what format. She said that each city would have to look at the dollars and work it into their own budgets. She wanted to be sure it was adopted in May knowing that it would likely be amended at some point in the year. Mr. Parker told the Board the CIA would announce May 9 as the date for the public hearing on the budget. The managers would then have the numbers to phg into their own budgets. He said that the budget will show as an operating fund for Port Orange and be located in several places in the r.., budget document. He said that the CIA is required to advertise in a display ad in a newspaper of general circulation. He said similar ads for the Community Development Department cost approximately $1,000. Ms. Lewis will check with Ms. Roberts and John Shelley to make sure all of the required criteria are followed. She will also discuss the matter with Mr. Cade so hds aware of the procedure and format. The Board decided by consensus to advertise and hold the budget hearing at 9:15 a.m., May 9, 2002 in the Port Orange Council Chambers. Mayor Schmidt— passed. Mayor Vandergrifft— passed. ROUTINE/RECURRING BUSINESS Interim Coordinator — passed. Board/City Attorney — passed. Ken Parker — Provided a copy of the financial report to the Board and said that from now on the reports will be made available prior to the regularly scheduled meetings. He said that they atr using the State . chart of accounts and that most of the money spent or encumbered so far has been for computer software and hardware. He also said that based on the hiring date of Mr. Cade, the Board will begin 3 seeing salary expenses in the May report. Due to an overpayment, Edgewater will be receiving a reimbursement check. MEETING DATES The budget hearing will be held May 9, 2002 at 9:15 a.m. in the Port Orange City Council Chambers. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:3 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Shannon Lewis Now 4 April 5, 2002 Dear Executive Committee Several years ago, the cities of Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange joined together to discuss how they could provide enhanced emergency dispatch services to residents through a consolidated communications effort. Elected officials, managers, city attorneys, chiefs and administrative staffs committed themselves and their respective cities to designing and implementing a joint dispatch center that would take advantage of the integration of skilled employees, emerging technology and advanced training by forming a cohesive body that could more effectively and efficiently serve the public. The consolidation of dispatch did not begin as a cost saving or employee reduction program, as many agencies have unsuccessfully done in the past; instead, the vision of this effort was to give the residents the best service possible through the sharing of resources, expenses, personnel and technology. Internal users, such as the dispatchers themselves, would be surrounded by skilled peers and a better working environment, helping to relieve the amount of turnover that this stressful profession is known for. There are five primary goals of consolidated dispatch services that were agreed upon by the elected bodies of each city in May 2001. The first goal is to better utilize existing personnel and " , capital resources. The second goal is to increase efficiency and effectiveness in response to public safety emergencies. The third goal is to share costs of available communications technology. The fourth goal is to enhance public safety through standardized equipment and records handling systems, and the final goal is to use consolidated dispatch as a first step toward a first response agreement. In January 2002, after 12 months of extensive planning and interactions, the cities of Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange entered into an interlocal agreement to create the Communications Interlocal Agency. The Governing Board of the Agency, made up of each Mayor, formalized the agreement, approved a budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2001 to purchase system software and hardware, and selected a director for the CI Agncy. The attached budget for fiscal year 2002 -2003 reflects the desires of each city to provide the best possible service to the communities they serve, as well as to provide for a professional work environment for the employees. The total proposed budget for the CI Agency's first year of operation is $1,545,977. This figure represents the combined costs of each city plus specific consolidated dispatch functions and services. The personnel costs of $1,102,660 represent 71- percent of the budget and are based on full staffing of 30 dispatchers. The total cost includes the sum of all three cities plus a cost of living increase to raise all employees to the same pay scale and benefits. Overtime is based on prior history. The Director's salary and benefits are per the employment contract the Board approved on March 14, 2002 and are consistent with the policies and procedures of Port Orange, acting as the administrative agency. The building and maintenance costs, $43,844, were calculated by Port Orange staff using price per square foot and are included in the approved Interlocal Agreement. Operating capital is composed of the $149,724 OSSI maintenance fee as provided in the approved contract dated. February 1,2002, which is due and payable 12 months after the first major software application is installed. Also included is the estimate for the 800 Mhz system configuration, interconnection and outage protection as provided by the Volusia County Communications Director., A leased copy machine is also includedn operating capital, The operating expenses can be broken down into several main categories. The first portion deals with connection from all of the remote sites and the laptop computers to the main facility in Port Orange. The frame relay charge, which is the backbone of connectivity, is $30,394 per year. The CDPD lines, which allow access to data from mobile data units in the field is $350 per month plus $50 per vehicle per month. Bell South regulates these charges. By entering into a three -year contract with them, we saved money and had all of the installation charges waived. The dispatch facility will have nine 911 lines for which there is no charge, and 12 administrative or non - emergency lines at $4,800 through Bell South. An additional $12,330 has been included to cover the non - emergency calls forwarded to Port Orange from New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater. The phone charge is based on the total number of calls from 2001 (68,500) multiplied by .09 cents for two minutes each. Nose The second portion of operating expenses deals with utilities and professional services. The Interlocal Agreement specifies the amount of charge per square foot for utilities and amounts to a total of $11,063. Insurance and audit rates were provided by the Port Orange finance and human resources departments. Professional services, in the amount of $42,500, were calculated at $85 per hour for 500 hours for information technology, radio, finance, administrative and human resource contracts and services both internally and extrnally. The third area of the operating expenses includes the typical day -to -day supplies and costs needed in an office. In addition, $6,000 has also been budgeted for three professional conferences, two of which were identified and agreed upon in the Director's employment contract as well as professional memberships in trade organizations. $4,000 was included for office supplies and equipment to include replacement dispatch chairs and $2,000 for printing and binding since this is a new organization wl i no logo, stationery, business cards, forms, etc. The last area of operating expenses covers employee training. $20,000 has been budgeted for both in house and external training. The Board has indicated that all dispatchers be certified as a Basic Telecommunicator. This course will require textbooks and instruction for each participant. The dollar amount includes additional software and system administrator training from OSSI as well as outside training in systems and software that OSSI does not support or provide. $2,500 has been included for training materials to be used in an individual and classroom setting. It is important to point out that we are still working on the organizational structure of the Communications Agency and that some budgetary items have been included to accommodate `"' what we best feel represents the needs the Director and staff will face. Operational decisions that the Director will make once he comes on board at the end of April will have some effect on the exact allocation of funds; although it is not expected to be substantial. The Communications Interlocal Agency is breaking ground with its strong commitment to unified enhanced service in Southeast Volusia County. The attached budget will help solidify the dedication and pledge each city has made to see it come to fruition. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Executive Committee or me. Respectfully, (7 3 Shannon M. Lewis Interim Communications Director