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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