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CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT |
Date: |
March 14, 2005 | |
Author: |
J. McGowan | |
Phone No.: |
665-6053 | |
RTS No.: |
04914 | |
CC File No.: |
3651 | |
Meeting Date: |
March 29, 2005 |
TO: |
Vancouver City Council |
FROM: |
General Manager of Fire & Rescue Services
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SUBJECT: |
Funding Approval for Participation in a New Multi-Jurisdictional Fire Records Management System (RMS) |
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the General Manager of Fire and Rescue Services, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Director of Legal Services, be authorized to enter into an agreement with E-Comm, Emergency Communications for Southwest British Columbia, for participation in a shared Fire Services Records Management System at an estimated cost of $715,000 annually; funding to be added to the 2006 Operating Budget without offset.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager/Fire Chief of Fire and Rescue Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council approval is required to enter into agreements with outside organizations for the provision of service.
PURPOSE
This report seeks Council approval for the General Manager of Fire and Rescue Services to enter into an agreement with E-Comm for the provision of a Fire Records Management System at an ongoing cost of approximately $715,000 annually.
BACKGROUND
On January 14, 2005, Council approved the following recommendation of the General Manager of Fire and Rescue Services:
THAT Council approve, in principle, the participation of Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services in a new, shared Fire Records Management System that will be housed at and managed by E-Comm, integrated with the Computer Aided Dispatch system and various City of Vancouver databases, and available for use by all participating E-Comm "Class A" shareholder fire departments,with final approval subject to a report back on final system design and costs.
DISCUSSION
Over the last several months, Fire and Rescue Services, with the assistance of Financial Planning, has participated in finalizing the arrangements under which E-Comm will implement a shared Fire Records Management System for regional fire services. A shared system offers synergies that will benefit all participating departments.
Subject to approval of the individual participants in the project, the new records management system will be implemented by E-Comm. Access to the system will be made available on a contract basis to any "A" Class E-Comm shareholder, with participating municipalities paying an annual levy that will recover the implementation and licencing cost of the system as well as user equipment and ongoing support costs.
1. Cost Estimates
The costs associated with the implementation of the shared Fire Records Management System are summarized in Table 1. These costs will be incurred by E-Comm.
TABLE 1. NEW FIRE RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: CAPITAL COSTS
SHARED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS, PAID VIA E-COMM RMS LEVY |
PAID BY THE | |
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1A. SHARED CAPITAL COSTS |
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RMS Software (purchased from FDM) |
$1,456,000 |
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Hardware & Related Software |
$149,000 |
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Implementation and Start-Up |
$671,000 |
|
Total Shared Capital Costs |
$2,276,000 |
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1B. CITY OF VANCOUVER'S CAPITAL COSTS |
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User Equipment (Mobile Computers, PDAs) |
$115,000 | |
Training, Data Conversion & Implementation |
$328,000 | |
Total Agency Capital Costs |
$443,000 |
The ongoing annual cost to the City of Vancouver associated with the system is estimated to be approximately $715,000, comprised of two main components described below.
TABLE 2. NEW FIRE RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
CITY OF VANCOUVER'S ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL PARTICIPATION COST - DETAIL
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% OF COV TOTAL ANNUAL COST | |
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SHARED OPERATING COSTS |
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Debt Charges - Shared Capital Costs (Table 1A) |
$309,000 |
$204,000 |
28% |
E-Comm Staffing & Overhead to Run/Maintain RMS |
$342,000 |
$226,000 |
32% |
Network & Hardware Operating & Maintenance |
$103,000 |
$68,000 |
9% |
Software Maintenance Contract with FDM |
$136,000 |
$90,000 |
13% |
Total Shared Annual Costs (E-Comm RMS Levy) |
$890,000 |
$588,000 |
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CITY OF VANCOUVER'S OPERATING COSTS |
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Debt Charges - COV User Equipment (Table 1B) 1 |
$42,000 |
6% | |
Debt Charges - Other COV Capital Costs (Table 1B) |
$45,000 |
6% | |
Operating Costs (Connection Charges) |
$40,000 |
6% | |
Total Agency Annual Costs |
$127,000 |
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Total COV Annual Cost of Participation |
$715,000 |
100% |
Notes To Table 1 & Table 2
1. The City's user equipment has a three year life cycle. Since this equipment must be replaced every three years, this amount will remain as an ongoing project cost throughout the life of the RMS.
2. All figures are estimates, in 2005 dollars.
These are the confirmed costs submitted by both FDM (the system supplier) and E-Comm.
CONCLUSION
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services must replace its existing records management system. This solution is expected to cost the City in the order of $715,000 per year once it is completely implemented (total capital and operating costs).
This report recommends that Council approve funding for the City's participation in the proposed shared fire RMS.
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