Title
Interlocal Agreement with Alachua County for Property Addressing (B)
This item is a request to seek authorization from the City Commission for an Interlocal Agreement with Alachua County for property addressing services.
Explanation
Alachua County has an Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 within the Department of Public Safety that has property addressing responsibilities for all of unincorporated and incorporated Alachua County with the exception of the City of Gainesville and the City of Micanopy. Alachua County approached City staff to explore the possibility of having the Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 assume property addressing responsibilities for the City of Gainesville. Property addressing in the City is currently handled by the Building Department in coordination with other departments.
The Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 is responsible for the following functions:
1) maintaining and ensuring the accuracy of the Automatic Location Information Database for Alachua County; 2) acting as liaison between the 911 service provider, private sector, other governmental agencies and the County's E-911 system; 3) researching and developing plans to expand and upgrade the E-911 system; 4) researching the latest technologies impacting 911 and devising strategies to integrate them into the 911 system; 5) coordinating the plan of information within the county and among outside agencies; 6) coordinating with local, state and federal agencies in maintaining all mandated requirements; 7) maintaining computer-based mapping systems for emergency location purposes; and 8) coordinating the collection of data for street addressing of local communities.
The Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 is governed by Florida Statutes 365.171 - 175. The statutes provide the basis and funding source for Enhanced 911 systems in the state. This statute is further defined by the State of Florida 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone Number Plan. Funds are generated from E 9-1-1 fees on communication devices.
City and Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 staff met on a number of occasions to explore potential benefits of an Interlocal Agreement allowing the Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 to assume property addressing responsibilities for the City and to identify implementation issues. These meetings included City staff from Police, Fire, Public Works, Planning, Building and GRU.
There appear to be several advantages to the transfer of responsibility for property addressing to the Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 including better utilization of staff time and enhancement in data accuracy and consistency of addressing that should improve coordination with emergency services and response to incidents.
Potential disadvantages may include permitting delays during the transition period, short-term issues associated with addressing modifications/corrections made by the Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 and adjustment of city processes and procedures to incorporate a new work flow.
Staff believes it would be advantageous to the City to enter into an Interlocal Agreement with Alachua County to allow the Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 to assume property addressing responsibilities for the City of Gainesville.
Fiscal Note
The Alachua County Office of Enhanced 9-1-1 is funded through E 9-1-1 fees collected from the use of communication devices in Alachua County including the City of Gainesville. The City will not be charged for property addressing services or any other services provided through the Interlocal Agreement.
Recommendation
The City Commission authorize the City Manager to execute an Interlocal Agreement with Alachua County for property addressing services subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.
Alternative Recommendation
The City Commission not authorize the City Manager to execute an Interlocal Agreement with Alachua County for property addressing services.