HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2n - Withdraw from LA-RICSC'N OK,tlq"y,hj
I [ 0
A-ugu., a[ 5, A1903
STAFF REPORT
Police Department
DATE: August 5, 2014
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Robert Guthrie, Chief of Police
By: Jennifer Brutus, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: EXERCISE OPTION TO WITHDRAW FROM THE LOS ANGELES
REGIONAL INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM ( "LA- RICS ")
JOINT POWERS AUTHORITY AND REPEAL RESOLUTION NO. 6650
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
In 2008, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6650, making the City a member of the
Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System ( "LA- RICS ") Joint Powers
Authority ( "JPA "). The LA -RICS JPA was formed to explore the possibility of providing
radio communications throughout Los Angeles County. Since that time, City staff has
worked with the JPA on developing a work plan and cost assessment for the system.
While significant grant funding has been obtained, it has become apparent that the startup
and ongoing costs for the City are prohibitive and many significant questions remain in the
work plan. Therefore, it is recommended that the City Council exercise its option to
withdraw from the LA -RICS JPA and repeal Resolution No. 6650.
BACKGROUND
LA -RICS is currently envisioned to be a modern, integrated wireless voice and data
communications system that will support the communications needs of more than 34,000
first responders and other critical personnel within the Los Angeles Region. LA -RICS was
created via a Joint Powers Agreement to allow public safety agencies throughout Los
Angeles County to communicate with one another on a unified land mobile radio ( "LMR ")
system. The JPA included establishment of a Board of Directors to oversee operations
and allow member agencies to provide input regarding governance structure and a future
funding plan.
On November 4, 2008, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6650 approving the LA-
RICS Joint Powers Agreement, thus authorizing the City's membership in the LA -RICS
JPA in 2009. At the time of executing the Agreement, the JPA had no anticipated fiscal
impact on the City and the Agreement provided the City with the option to withdraw from
the JPA at any time prior to the adoption of a funding plan. At the time of signing the
Withdrawal from the LA -RICS JPA
August 5, 2014
Page 2 of 5
Agreement, it was recommended that staff report back on the status of the LA -RICS
funding plan when released and provide a recommendation on whether the City would
continue its membership in the JPA. The Police Department has provided the City Council
with informal, routine updates throughout the years; and most recently, a study session
was conducted in April to report and discuss new information about the issues surrounding
the Proposed Funding Plan.
The Police Department currently has an annual Equipment Acquisition Program to
purchase new radios and equipment upgrades in the amount of $101,700 per year
through FY 2018 -19. This Plan has a life expectancy of five to seven years, meaning that
our current system should last approximately five to seven years if we were to stop funding
the plan altogether.
DISCUSSION
Since the formation of LA -RICS, the JPA applied for and was awarded a $153 million grant
for a Broadband Long Term Evolution ( "LTE ") data system for police and fire personnel
that would operate throughout Los Angeles County. Due to time requirements imposed by
the LTE grant, LA -RICS' focus has changed considerably from LMR (voice) to LTE (data).
At the formation of the LA -RICS JPA, there was no accurate estimate for the construction
or operational costs of the systems. Uncertainty still exists over costs due to vagueness in
technical system designs, the geographic area the systems will cover, the number of
antennas and other system delivery devices that will be required, and where such
equipment would be physically located.
On March 7, 2014, a draft Funding Plan was circulated to the membership soliciting
feedback. Arcadia and 20 other member cities submitted a joint comment letter to LA-
RICS expressing their common concerns with the Plan. Subsequently, the Plan was
modified to reflect an annual operational fee, and a 50% population / 50% geography
assessment formula, addressing different concerns than the joint comment letter
expressed. Absent endorsement from the JPA's Finance Sub - Committee, the Plan was
submitted to the JPA's Governance Board and ultimately adopted on May 28, 2014.
The approved Funding Plan establishes the estimated cost for the City of Arcadia to
participate in the LA -RICS system for police radio services at $1,476,627 through FY
2031 -32. Annual payments by the City for Arcadia would be $52,698 in FY 2017 -18 when
payments will be required for LMR and LTE. In FY 2029 -30, the cost will more than double
to $105,482. Table 1 provides a summary of Arcadia's membership fees for use of the
LA -RICS through FY 2031 -32. It is important to note that these figures represent today's
dollars and do not consider inflationary changes; therefore, the true costs over time are
expected to be significantly higher.
Withdrawal from the LA -RICS JPA
August 5, 2014
Page 3 of 5
Table 1
LA -RICS JPA Memberships Fees for the City of Arcadia
FY 2014 -15 - FY 2031 -32
Fiscal
Year
JPA
Operations
Land
Mobile
Radio
(LMR)
Long Term
Evolution
(LTE)
Total
2014 -15
$4,677
N/A
N/A
$4,677
2015 -16
$4,771
N/A
$12,196
$16,967
2016 -17
$4,866
N/A
$42,990
$47,856
2017 -18
$4,963
$3,710
$44,025
$52,698
2018 -19
$5,063
$22,246
$44,935
$72,244
2019 -20
$5,164
$21,831
$47,520
$74,515
2020 -21
$5,267
$43,542
$48,149
$96,958
2021 -22
$5,372
$43,620
$48,940
$97,932
2022 -23
$5,480
$43,455
$49,746
$98,681
2023 -24
$5,589
$43,291
$50,568
$99,448
2024 -25
$5,701
$43,375
$51,407
$100,483
2025 -26
$5,815
$43,215
$52,262
$101,292
2026 -27
$5,932
$43,302
$53,135
$102,369
2027 -28
$6,050
$43,390
$54,025
$103,465
2028 -29
$6,171
$43,235
$54,933
$104,339
2029 -30
$6,295
$43,328
$55,859
$105,482
2030 -31
$6,421
$43,422
$48,174
$98,017
2031 -32
$6,549
$43,518
$49,137
$99,204
Total
$100,146
$568,480
$808,001
$1,476,627
In addition these costs, the LTE grant requires a "Hard Match" cost each year through FY
29 -30. The Hard Match contribution may be met through contribution of assets, such as
land for placement of antennas or use of radio channels owned by an agency. The value
of Arcadia's assets has not yet been established by LA -RICS; however, the City's required
Hard Match contribution has been set at $129,450 through FY 2031 -32 ($8,630 per year).
The current work plan envisions an antenna at the Arcadia Civic Center.
It is important to note that the cost figures presented by LA -RICS assume that $180 million
in grant funding becomes available to subsidize the system, which is in addition to the
initial award of $153 million. More importantly, the current Funding Plan is premised on 82
cities and other agencies in Los Angeles County remaining as participants in the LA -RICS
system. As members withdraw from the JPA, the costs borne by the remaining members
Withdrawal from the LA -RICS JPA
August 5, 2014
Page 4 of 5
will rise. Furthermore, if certain strategic assets and locations are lost by members
withdrawing or not allowing equipment to be placed on their sites, the system may need to
be redesigned and costs adjusted accordingly.
The adopted Funding Plan does not include upgrades required by each agency for radio
and dispatch consoles required as a result of the transition to the LA -RICS system.
Arcadia has handheld radio units, vehicle mounted radio equipment, and dispatch
consoles that may need to be upgraded. If these upgrades are needed, it is estimated that
costs for the dispatch equipment would be in excess of $250,000 and costs for portable
and mobile radio equipment would be $8,000 to $10,000 per unit. The Department has
approximately 150 handheld radios and 50 mobile radios in current inventory. It is unclear
if the entirety of these radio change -outs would need to be incurred by FY 17 -18 when the
LMR system is projected to be operational.
Lastly, LA -RICS asserts that members with terrain features or large structures that inhibit
radio transmission may experience service interruptions, and that they (the member) may
be responsible for the costs of building and maintaining facilities (radio towers, etc.) to fill
those coverage gaps.
Analysis of LA -RICS System and City of Arcadia Needs
LA -RICS was originally proposed as an LMR system only, meaning that it its primary focus
was to be mobile voice communications. Over time, not only has LTE (data
communications) been added to the proposal, it has taken over as the primary focus of the
project. From an operational perspective for the City of Arcadia, LMR communications is
the primary tool for day -to -day and emergency operations, with LTE serving as a
secondary method of information transfer.
The City of Arcadia is a subscriber to data services with Verizon Wireless, a nationwide
network, for its mobile computers and cell phone services. As LTE technology has
advanced, the City has not had to make capital investments into the LTE system, as
Verizon Wireless has made such upgrades as part of its business plan. Presently, there is
no plan put forward by LA -RICS to evolve their LTE network over the estimated lifetime of
the system. From a disaster management standpoint, Arcadia has yet to experience any
issues with the Verizon system being unusable in an emergency situation such as the
windstorms in 2011. Therefore, it is anticipated that LTE communications through Verizon
or another private supplier will meet the City's needs over time. If, however, this does not
come to pass, one of the requirements of the LA -RICS LTE grant is that services be
offered to non - member agencies of the JPA on a subscription basis. In other words, the
City can contract with LA -RICS for this service at a later date if necessary.
Withdrawal from the LA -RICS JPA
August 5, 2014
Page 5 of 5
An attractive feature of the proposed LA -RICS system is that it increases the coverage
area of local agencies to a countywide radio system. However, a regional radio
communications system already exists. The Interagency Communications Interoperability
System (ICIS) was established in 2003 to build, manage, and maintain an interoperable
communications network among member cities. The ICIS system is comprised of the
Cities of Azusa, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Covina, Culver City, Glendale, Glendora,
Irwindale, La Verne, Montebello, Pasadena, Pomona, and West Covina utilizing the assets
of each of these cities. Other subscriber member Cities include: Bob Hope Airport Police,
Alhambra, Monrovia, Monterey Park, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra
Madre, and South Pasadena. The Arcadia Fire Department participates in ICIS through
the Verdugo Dispatch system. It has served the City's needs well and the operators have
indicated that the system could be expanded throughout the County. In light of this,
Arcadia — along with several west San Gabriel Valley Cities — has recently begun a
feasibility study for joining the ICIS system for police and other radio communications.
Due to the uncertainties of the LA -RICS program, the costs associated with such service,
the limitations presently identified within the system, and the alternate options available to
meet the City's current and long -term needs, it is strongly recommended that the City
withdraw from participating in the LA -RICS program at this time. Based on conversations
with executives at cities throughout the County, it is expected that many cities will be
opting out of LA -RICS in the coming months. The Cities of Beverly Hills and Glendale
have already taken steps to withdraw.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no cost to withdraw from the LA -RICS program. If the City chooses to remain in
the JPA, the estimated cost for the City of Arcadia to participate would be greater than
$1,476,627 through FY 2031 -32, not considering variable increases for inflation. Annual
payments for the City of Arcadia would be $52,698 in FY 2017 -18 and $105,482 in FY
2029 -30 in current dollars.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council exercise its option to withdrawal from the Los
Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System ( "LA- RICS ") Joint Powers
Authority; and repeal Resolution No. 6650, in its entirety.
Approved-
�r
- IN ==
Dominic LazzarAd
City Manager