Title
2005 Technology Grant Program, Federal Earmark (B)
This item requests the City Commission approval for the proposed use of the $123,330 2005 Technology Grant Program, Federal Earmark funds.
Explanation
The City of Gainesville was awarded a Federal Earmark of $246,661 from the COPS Law Enforcement Technology Grant award. The City of Gainesville has received $123,330 of the funding from this grant. By Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, executed on May 26, 2005, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office will receive $123,331 to fund the Sheriff's Geographic Information System. The Federal Earmark Grant approved for the continuing efforts of the Gainesville Police Department to increase the efficiency of its police officers and police service technicians in the performance of their duties to the citizens of Gainesville through the use of technology equipment. The Gainesville Police Department proposes to utilize the funds received under this grant to purchase mobile printers, mobile printer equipment, and high speed wireless access network interface cards.
Mobile printers and the supporting printer equipment will give police officers and police service technicians the ability to print certain affidavits, forms, and reports in the field from their police vehicles that currently require them to drive to the Gainesville Police Department headquarters to print or hand-write on a pre-printed form. This will allow for additional information to be captured electronically in the recently implemented Records Management Database where the information can be more easily used for data analysis purposes.
Wi-Fi, or 802.11a/b/g, high speed wireless access network interface cards will be used by police officers and police service technicians in their City-issued laptops. The high speed cards will give them access to the City of Gainesville's network directly through the current wireless access points located at the Gainesville Police Department which have been installed in cooperative efforts with the City of Gainesville's Computer Services staff and the Gainesville Police Department's Information Technology staff. They will further have the ability to access the City of Gainesville's network via approved public and private wireless access points throughout the city using our current security protocols. Having these high speed wireless access cards will provide police officers and police service technicians the ability to perform more of their duties from within their police vehicles, in the field, thus allowing them more time to be visible and available to the citizens of Gainesville.
Fiscal Note
The $123,330 in grant funds provided by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is distributed up front instead of on a reimbursement basis. The award can fund projects through the end of the current fiscal year. This grant deadline is eligible for extensions with approval from the COPS Office. There are no required local matching funds for this grant award. Funds for this grant are available in account number 115-810-X515-5210-3009.
Recommendation
The City Commission: 1) Approve the issuance of a purchase order to Prosys Information Systems, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $106,200 for the purchase of 225 HP 460cb mobile printers and related mobile printer equipment and 285 Cisco 802.11a/b/g high speed wireless access network interface cards to be installed in the police vehicles. (Prosys Information Systems, Inc. is an approved state contract vendor for the purchase of computer related equipment, pursuant to State Contract Number 250-000-03-1. In addition, this vendor has offered a volume discount for this order, a savings of 7,305 off the state contract price.); and 2) approve the remaining funds of $17,130 to be used to purchase mounting equipment and related installation costs to secure the printers in the vehicles as approved by the Fleet Operations Manager and the Chief of Police/designee.
Alternative Recommendation A
The City Commission decline the available 2005 Technology Grant Funds in the amount of $123,330 and return the funds to the Federal Government.
Alternative Recommendation B
None.