ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 02, 1997
File: A867-50.1
CC File:
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Project Coordinator and Project Manager EOCC/Area Wide Radio
Project, on behalf the Chief Constable, and General Managers
of Fire and Rescue Services, Engineering Services, and Parks
and Recreation Services
SUBJECT: Emergency Operations and Communications Centre/Area Wide Radio
- Status Report
INFORMATION
THAT Council receive the following report for INFORMATION.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no Council policy specifically applicable to the EOCC/Wide Area
Radio project. The project supports Council's objectives for emergency
preparedness and public safety. Specific resolutions in support of the
EOCC/Wide Area Radio project are described in the BACKGROUND section of
this report.
SUMMARY
The Emergency Operations and Communications Centre (E-Comm Building) and
Area Wide Radio projects which City Council initiated will offer very
significant improvements in public safety throughout south western
British Columbia on a daily basis and in a major emergency. The E-Comm
building and radio system will be constructed to post disaster standards
and will permit, for the first time, radio inter-operability across
emergency services.
The project components include:
A new radio system covering the area bounded by Boston Bar,
Pemberton, Sechelt and the US Border will provide service to all
police agencies within the area, BC Ambulance, and to municipal
services within the GVRD. This system will replace existing
systems which are aging and lack capacity and capabilities. The
system will allow emergency agencies to communicate with each
other, will provide access to emergency services databases from the
field, and will facilitate secure communications.
A consolidated dispatch centre within the E-Comm Building will
provide the capability for common 911 call taking for the area, and
has the capacity to dispatch for all emergency services. Computer
aided dispatch services will be provided. The integrated call
taking and dispatch offer significant economies and major
operational benefits. The dispatch centre will be the answering
point for the coverage region under the proposed new provincial 911
system.
A Regional Emergency Coordination Centre in the E-Comm Building
will provide a focus for communications in the event of a major
emergency. Representatives from emergency response and related
agencies will operate in the Centre to provide communications among
municipalities, the GVRD, the Province (through the Provincial
Emergency Program), utility companies, the RCMP, BC Ambulance,
hospitals, BC Transit, Coast Guard, Municipal Affairs, and the
Ports of Vancouver and Fraser Rivers. All municipalities in the
region except those on the north shore have confirmed their
participation. At this time, twenty out of twenty-five seats in
the Centre have been committed.
The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre gives the City, for the
first time in its history, a post disaster facility for emergency
response. The Vancouver Centre will accommodate representatives
from all civic departments to direct and coordinate a major
emergency response. Redundant communications systems, video
capability, an Emergency Management Information System, emergency
response databases and computer messaging will greatly enhance
disaster response in the City.
The Provincial Emergency Program will relocate its regional office
to the E-Comm Building. Through its participation in the Regional
Emergency Coordination Centre, the Province will be able to
coordinate emergency response to significant regional emergencies,
or provide initial coordination in a regional disaster while a
Provincial Field Response Center is established.
The Port of Vancouver and Fraser Port will maintain a disaster
recovery centre within the E-Comm Building.
An offsite backup centre will be provided to maintain 911 call
answering and critical communications in the unlikely event service
in the communications centre is disrupted.
A new 'alternative service delivery' agency will manage the
building and the systems. A British Columbia Corporation, tailored
by provincial legislation, it will provide representation to all
participating agencies. A Board appointed by users will provide
policy direction; emergency service users will provide operational
direction to a professional civilian dispatch operation and
technical support personnel.
The projects are proceeding well. The major partners in the initiative
- - the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Police Board, the RCMP, the
Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Health - - continue to
provide strong support. Legislation to enable the corporation has been
tabled. The Minister of Health has announced that the British Columbia
Ambulance Service will participate. Most GVRD municipalities have
endorsed the proposed radio system, the concept of the E-Comm Building,
and the new governance agency to own and administer them. The GVRD Board
has approved the release of radio channels currently allocated to
municipalities through the Region. Industry Canada, which manages the
allocation of radio frequencies, has expressed strong support for the
new radio system.
The new initiative has generated renewed interest in enhancement to
policing and justice information systems. Where current police
information systems in use in Vancouver are incompatible with others in
the region, the Vancouver Police Department, RCMP, and Ministry of
Attorney General are cooperating closely in the development of proposals
for an integrated system.
A Request for Proposals for the radio system was issued late last year,
and bids are now being evaluated. The E-Comm Building has been
designed, a building permit application has been processed, and tenders
for the construction of the building at Hastings and Rupert Streets have
been received. A companion report in this package recommends award of
the building tender.
The legal framework for the new corporation to own and manage the system
has been developed. Provincial legislation to enable participation and
structure the corporation appropriately has been tabled. The new
corporation, to be named E-Comm, Emergency Communications for Southwest
British Columbia, will be incorporated when the legislation has been
proclaimed.
Financing for the building will be provided through a combination of
borrowing by the new Corporation and existing funding authority from the
City of Vancouver. Costs of the radio system, along with radio-related
building components, will be distributed to member organizations
annually.
The bid for the building is within budget. Radio network costs are
higher than anticipated, but user equipment costs are generally lower.
Based on updated financing costs and equipment amortization periods,
annual cost estimates for the project are essentially unchanged from
those provided previously to Council.
PURPOSE
This report is presented to update Council on the development of the
E-Comm Building, the Area Wide Radio System, and the new governance
organization.
BACKGROUND
Emergency communications systems and capabilities in Vancouver are
inadequate to the task. Fire, police, and engineering personnel cannot
communicate effectively in the field, or with counterparts from other
municipalities or with personnel from BC Ambulance. Systems are at
capacity. The radio system itself is twenty years old; while
improvements and upgrades have been purchased, the system is not
post-disaster, lacks capacity to support operations fully and the
capability to support encrypted (secure) communications, and cannot
provide adequate access to information from the field.
Critical systems are currently housed in buildings which are subject to
earthquake damage. The 911 centre and Vancouver dispatch operations are
located in vulnerable facilities. Key systems lack redundancy - - a
single failure could result in loss of communications capability.
The Stanley Cup riots brought these limitations into stark perspective.
While staff had planned for a potential disturbance - - the Emergency
Operations Centre had been activated and personnel from the RCMP were on
standby - - when the event occurred communications were a limiting
factor in the response. Fire units provided through mutual aid from
other municipalities were equipped with incompatible communications
systems. Vancouver Fire and Police units teamed with Ambulance units to
respond, but had to maintain physical contact since radio communication
was impossible across agencies. RCMP units were unable to communicate
on scene with Vancouver Police. It is a credit to our emergency response
personnel that the incident was managed so successfully under these
circumstances.
City staff had been examining the question of a replacement radio system
for the City for some time - - an initial study of replacement options
was carried out for the Engineering Department in 1993. However,
limitations in the availability of radio spectrum and the difficulty of
generating a coordinated effort to resolve cross agency issues precluded
further progress at that time.
The announcement of the Federal-Provincial Infrastructure Program in
1994 prompted City staff to propose a submission for the development of
a City of Vancouver Emergency Centre, which would provide dispatch and
disaster response capability for the City. Council approved this
submission. At the time of the submission, the City noted the potential
for this facility to serve as the core of a larger region-wide facility.
In May 1995 the Province approved a $6.6 million contribution to the
costs of the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre. In announcing the
contribution, then Premier Mike Harcourt expressed his desire that the
centre indeed serve as a catalyst for development of a region wide
capability.
The Infrastructure grant generated intense planning activity.
Preliminary estimates for the City Centre were confirmed, and Council
provided the necessary funding authority for the project. The previous
studies on the radio system were reviewed, and discussions were again
initiated with the RCMP. Like the City, RCMP communications facilities
were badly in need of upgrading. The RCMP had initiated studies for a
replacement radio system and consolidation of dispatch operations
throughout "E" Division - - the area covered by the current proposal.
However, limitations in available spectrum and inter-agency issues had,
as with the City s studies, precluded progress.
Sufficient channels were available for the development of a Vancouver
system. However, that system would again be incompatible with those of
other agencies and adjoining municipalities. A joint effort involving
the City, the RCMP, and the Ministry of Attorney General was
established. This team quickly concluded that the only possible
solution to the radio system issue lay in an area wide system using
spectrum efficient technology. Assembling sufficient spectrum,
however, would require the cooperation of GVRD municipalities, which had
wisely reserved a block of spectrum through the GVRD, and Industry
Canada, which manages the allocation of radio spectrum.
In 1995, Council authorized the retention of Teleconsult Limited (now
Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group) to develop the plan to upgrade City
communications systems and Architectura to plan the development of the
Vancouver Emergency Centre. Council also took a significant leadership
decision at that time. It authorized terms of reference which included
examination of a regional centre and radio system despite recognizing
that some City expenditures may not be recovered if a more broadly based
system did not proceed. Through this leadership, Council made the
present initiative possible.
Since the appointment of the consultants, the project has moved quickly.
A project team lead by Clyde Hosein from Facilities Development,
Corporate Services was established. Patti Marfleet, the City's Director
of Risk and Emergency Management was named Project Coordinator.
Inspector Steve Foster from Vancouver Police Department and Division
Chief Barry MacKenzie from Fire and Rescue Services were seconded to the
team. (Subsequently, Inspector Larry Smith replaced Inspector Foster,
who is on sick leave.)
Teleconsult personnel, working with staff from the RCMP and other users,
developed a conceptual design for the radio system, proving its
feasibility and providing preliminary cost estimates. The project team
and RCMP personnel developed the concept of consolidated dispatch
further. The architects worked with the team to develop the concept for
the building. A number of potential building sites were assessed, and a
site at Hastings and Rupert was selected.
Intensive inter-agency liaison was conducted over this period. City,
RCMP, and Ministry of Attorney General staff worked through the Regional
Administrative Advisory Committee and Regional Finance Officers to
develop the concepts for distribution of costs to users and a governance
structure for the new facilities and cross agency operations. The team
made presentations on proposed project to every Council in the GVRD
except Burnaby, to the GVRD Police Chiefs and Fire Chiefs, and to the
GVRD Board. Contacts were made with the Provincial Emergency Program
and the BC Ambulance Service.
All municipalities in the GVRD except the North Shore have approved
participation in the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, either
individually or jointly with other municipalities. All municipalities
except Surrey, (which is opposed), and Burnaby (which has yet to take a
position), have endorsed the radio system and the release of municipal
channels managed through the GVRD for the new system. The GVRD Board
has endorsed release of the radio channels.
As part of its capital plan preparation, City Council considered the
question of funding for the Vancouver radio system. Council authorized
the City s participation in either a regional system or a City only
system to an amount of $22.5 million, with funding to be arranged by the
corporation or other arrangements not involving direct City borrowing.
If the regional system proceeds, greater capability will be provided as
a result of cost efficiencies; if it does not, the current funding will
provide for the system network and initial user equipment for
Vancouver's fire and police services only. Engineering Services
conversion to the new system would proceed as a second phase requiring
additional capital plan funding.
Municipalities have not yet been requested to make a commitment to
participation in the consolidated dispatch service. However, the cost
savings can be significant, and many municipalities have expressed
strong interest. Some have already made a decision. Maple Ridge has
endorsed participation in consolidated dispatch for its RCMP forces.
New Westminister Police Board has endorsed participation in consolidated
dispatch. Richmond City Council has recently endorsed participation by
both its Fire Department and RCMP detachment in consolidated dispatch.
Presentations to all GVRD Councils have been scheduled before
mid-September to seek a firm commitment to participate.
After an initial decision not to participate, the BC Ambulance Service
has conducted a further intensive review of participation within the
last two months. Simultaneously with the tabling of provincial
legislation to enable the management corporation, the Minister of Health
announced the participation of BC Ambulance in the radio system and
dispatch operation.
Late in 1996, the RCMP committed additional full time resources to the
project team, and the team was relocated to Teleconsult s offices to
bring it together on a full time basis. An Executive Committee,
consisting of Ken Dobell, City Manager, Vancouver; Deputy Chief
Constable Paul Battershill, Vancouver Police; Superintendent Peter
Martin, RCMP; Glen Maddess, General Manager, Fire and Rescue Services;
Kevin Begg, Director of Police Services, Ministry of Attorney General;
Johnny Carline, Regional Manager, GVRD, and Val Pattee, Executive
Director of BC Ambulance Service was established to oversee the project.
This Committee meets monthly to review progress reports from the project
team and to make project decisions to ensure the needs of future
participants continue to be met.
Considering the scale of this initiative, the significant costs
involved, and the number of agencies whose participation is required,
remarkable progress has been made. The following sections will describe
the current development of each element of the proposal and expected
developments in future.
DISCUSSION The E-Comm Building
The design for the E-Comm Building is essentially complete. The overall
building contains some 60,000 square feet of space. Continued refinement
of components of the building is ongoing, but a building permit
application has been submitted and tenders have been received.
The E-Comm building is designed and equipped to post disaster standards:
high earthquake resistance
backup emergency power generation systems
positive pressure ventilation and air scrubbing system
on site water storage
on site refrigeration and ice storage to maintain cooling
positive pressure ventilation / air scrubbing system
card controlled security system
direct connection to two telephone exchanges and to Rogers cable
network
high capacity internal cabling and communications systems
video displays
internal computer network and E-mail
The estimated cost (hard and soft) of the building is approximately $24
million.
The two story building provides a high quality environment for dispatch
personnel on the upper floor, with extensive natural light and
eighteen-foot high, sloped ceilings. The lower floor contains the
Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre, the Regional Emergency
Coordination Centre, the Provincial Emergency Program office, and the
Port Recovery centre. In addition to dispatch and operating personnel,
it will accommodate managerial and support staff for the Corporation.
It contains a media briefing room. The Centre has already received a
national award for design excellence.
The following sections provide a description of the components of the
Centre. Floor plans are included as Appendix "A":
Regional Emergency Coordination Centre
As with the rest of the E-Comm Building, the Regional Emergency
Coordination has now been designed. It occupies approximately 2,200
square feet. The Centre will provide twenty-five seats for participants,
some of whom will represent more than one agency. Each seat will be
provided with the following services:
a communications link to their own agency
satellite communications for general use
computer terminals for entry and management of data and access to
the Emergency Management Information System
E-mail communications
video display capability
large screen displays of emergency status information
access to breakout rooms for working discussions
access to Computer Aided dispatch status information for agencies
participating in consolidated dispatch
Emergency Planners for the agencies committed to the Centre have formed
a committee to review the design and develop operating protocols. The
relationship between the Provincial Emergency Program and its response
systems has been discussed in some detail, and the Province has agreed
to facilitate the operation of the Regional Emergency Coordination
Centre when it is activated. The Regional Emergency Coordination Centre
space is immediately adjacent to the Provincial Emergency Program
regional office, which will allow for effective integration of
operations in the two facilities in the event of a major emergency. The
agencies participating in the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre
have depended until now on establishing independent links with each
other and with the Provincial Emergency Program in the event of a large
emergency. The centralized communications which the Regional Emergency
Coordination Centre provides, represents a significant enhancement to
emergency planning, coordination and response.
Committed participants to the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre
include:
all GVRD municipalities except the North Shore
GVRD
Port of Vancouver/Fraser Port
BC Tel
BC Hydro
BC Gas
BC Ambulance
Coast Guard
BC Transit
Hospitals (through Vancouver Hospital)
Railways (one seat)
Provincial Emergency Program
RCMP
Ministry of Municipal Affairs
The cost of this facility is $75,000 per seat, for a total of $1.875
million. The capital cost may be paid up front, or through an annual
levy. Operating costs will be assessed annually.
Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre
The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre will be the focus for
Vancouver s emergency response in a major emergency. Containing
approximately 20,000 square feet, the Emergency Operations Centre will
provide space for approximately eighty staff and volunteers. All civic
response departments will be represented; trained volunteers will
provide volunteer radio communications and emergency social services.
The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre is organized into the Policy
Section; Operations Section; Logistics and Acquisitions; Emergency
Social Services Section; Plans and Intelligence Section; Emergency
Public Information; and Finance and Administration section. The Policy
Section (Chief Constable, General Manager of Fire and Rescue Services,
General Manager of Engineering Services, General Manager of Parks and
Recreation Services, and City Manager) provides overall strategic
direction to the response effort, and assesses and addresses longer term
issues, twenty-four and forty-eight hours out.
The Operations Section, consisting of approximately twenty staff
representing Fire, Police, Engineering, Parks, Health, Buildings, and
Environmental Hazards, provides direction and support to field staff,
coordinates operations across departments, and allocates resources. The
time horizon for this group is more immediate.
The Emergency Social Services Section consisting of approximately
twenty-five staff and volunteers, manages the opening and staffing of
reception centres and related volunteer services, and provision of food
and supplies to individuals who have been relocated as a result of the
emergency, as well as emergency workers.
The Logistics and Acquisitions Section includes volunteer radio
communications and City staff dedicated to obtaining required resources
for City operations, and information management. The Emergency Public
Information Section is responsible for providing warnings, directions,
and information to the public about the emergency situation. The
Planning and Intelligence Section is responsible for gathering,
analyzing, and disseminating technical information about the emergency
internally and for making recommendations to the Policy Section about
courses of action and options for response. Finance and Administration
tracks damages and costs and issues payment for required work.
Once again, there is a heavy emphasis on handling the huge volume of
information generated in an emergency. Personnel in the Vancouver
Emergency Operations Centre will have access to information on the
status of fire and police resources from the computer aided dispatch
system. There will be terminals to the City s Geographic Information
System and other City systems. Staff will be dedicated to obtaining
necessary information from these systems for centre and operational
personnel. The Emergency Management Information System will provide
information on the location and nature of particular hazards, as well as
available resources. E-mail will provide rapid communications
throughout the centre. Media and remote video will be available, and
large screen status displays will be available.
Remote broadcast will be possible in the event of the failure of local
private radio stations.
The Consolidated Dispatch Centre
The communications centre, containing the 911 call answering, call
interrogation, and dispatch operations for emergency services, is the
key day to day operational facility for emergency response. At 18,000
square feet, the facility is capable of handling the dispatch operations
for the RCMP and police agencies and BC Ambulance over the entire area,
and Fire operations in the GVRD.
Computer aided dispatch systems will support the call answering and
interrogation and dispatch operations. On receipt of a 911 call, the
calling number and its location are displayed, the call taker identifies
the services required, and the appropriate information is routed to the
dispatcher handling the response units. The dispatcher is provided
information on the status and location of the units under his or her
control, and selects a unit to be dispatched. Specialized or local
information about the incident site (e.g., Presence of hazardous
chemicals, previous incidents etc.) will be available to the dispatcher.
Seconded uniformed personnel from police, fire, and ambulance will be
present in the communications centre to provide support and advice to
dispatchers. In the event of a tactical situation requiring special
management, one or more dispatchers may be moved into a breakout area to
handle the high traffic volume related to that incident without
distraction, and without interrupting the ongoing operation of the
centre.
The consolidation of dispatch operations in the centre provides a much
better opportunity to coordinate multi-agency response. If a major
incident requires the dispatch of police, fire, and ambulance personnel,
the dispatch centre will be able to manage and monitor the response as a
single event. If a major incident occurs just inside the border of a
municipality, the dispatchers will be able to determine if a unit in the
adjacent municipality is significantly closer, and depending on urgency,
priority and operating policies, may dispatch that unit.
In its initial configuration, the centre will contain a training area
for call taking and dispatch staff. As utilization of the centre
increases and additional dispatch space is required, the training area
may be moved offsite.
The Province has announced a proposal for a province wide 911 system.
The project team has had discussions with Provincial staff, and have
been advised that if the Provincial 911 initiative proceeds, the
dispatch centre will be the logical answering point for its coverage
area.
The cost attributable to the dispatch centre will be distributed across
radio system users.
Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office
The Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office will be located in the
Centre. This area - - about 2,100 square feet - - will house Program
operations for the region. The space, adjacent to the Regional
Emergency Coordination Centre, will include work areas for staff from
other Ministries brought in for response to a particular hazard. The
role of the Provincial Emergency Program is central - - in addition to
its administrative role, this office will act as the initial Provincial
response centre, and will coordinate the Provincial response with the
operations of other agencies through the Regional Emergency Coordination
Centre.
Other E-Comm Building Facilities
In addition to the facilities described above, the E-Comm Building will
contain an area to monitor alarms from major public and high risk
facilities, and a small emergency management and recovery area for the
Port of Vancouver and Fraser Ports.
Backup Facility
The E-Comm Building is a post disaster, highly redundant facility, and
will be substantially more secure than any existing emergency
communications centre in the region. However, there is some potential
for interruption of its operations, most probably from short-term, local
conditions in or around the building. Given the role of the Centre as a
focus for 911 call answering and emergency services dispatch, an
alternate location for these operations is required.
Alternate facilities could range from a duplicate centre of similar size
with similar capabilities dispatching for a part of the region, to a
basic facility providing minimal electronic support and using more human
resources to take calls and dispatch services.
Creation of a fully functional alternate facility would represent a
significant capital cost. If such a facility provided dispatch services
to a part of the region, it would also result in significant duplication
of operating cost. The project team has concluded that a basic backup
facility near the existing centre to provide for quick transfer of
operations would be the most appropriate and economic approach.
Such a facility would best be located in another public building within
ten to fifteen minutes driving time. It may be possible to locate the
facility in a fire hall in east Vancouver which is due to be replaced
within a few years, or an alternative location within Burnaby would be
viable if a suitable facility could be found.
This question is under review by the project team and will be reported
within the near future.
Area Wide Radio
The Area Wide Radio system will cover approximately 13,000 square miles,
from Boston Bar to Pemberton to Sechelt to the US Border. It will
provide service to over half the population of British Columbia. It
will include features not present in existing radio systems, as well as
provide a high degree of security through post disaster construction and
redundancy.
The central controller for the system will be located in the E-Comm
Building. The radio system will be managed from this location. However,
the system will be divided into zones, each of which will function
independently if the central controller is inoperable for any reason,
providing 'fail soft' operation - - the system will degrade in
operational capability, rather than collapsing.
The system will provide a number of operational capabilities necessary
for emergency services which existing systems do not provide:
Complete radio interoperability across emergency services,
throughout the system coverage area.
All communications can be encrypted with high security methods that
are virtually impossible to break, eliminating the current criminal
practice of monitoring police operations.
The system will have the capability to locate personnel using
radios geographically, making it possible to dispatch the nearest
unit to a call for service, and to locate units which have
indicated assistance is required.
'Talk groups' can be established to allow intercommunication
between groups of units within or across services. In this way,
units from different services responding to a common emergency will
be able to communicate and coordinate in transit as well as at the
emergency scene.
A priority hierarchy for communications will be established, by
call type, so that urgent traffic will not be delayed when the
communications system is overloaded as a result of a major
emergency.
Radios can be controlled remotely, so that (for example) a radio
can be switched off if it has been stolen.
Enhanced data capabilities will be more widely distributed. While
some data transmission to and from the field takes place now, the
new system will provide greater capacity and the ability to enter
reports from the field and receive more information.
The full radio system cost across the wide area to serve all potential
users is estimated at $186 million (this amount includes the dispatch
component of the E-Comm Building, the Computer Aided Dispatch System and
a high level of user equipment). This is an initial estimate based on
an overview of bid prices -- the total cost depends substantially on the
choice of user equipment, which is a decision for each agency. It also
includes a provision for future growth to 2002, and has the capability
for further expansion at relatively modest cost.
This cost will be distributed to users based on a formula which
considers the coverage area, population, number of radios served, and
radio traffic volume.
A request for proposals for the radio system was issued in the fall of
1996. In the first stage of the proposals, bidders submitted their
proposed system configuration for review. The second stage of the
proposals, in which bidders submit prices, was completed by the
beginning of June. Evaluation of the bids will now proceed to a planned
contract award by September. To date, the bid process has confirmed the
configurations developed by Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group in the
conceptual design, and has proceeded well.
The RCMP has participated intensively in the review of the radio system
proposals, and is pleased with the results to date. They are fully
committed to the system. The project was presented to the Commissioner
of the RCMP and to the Deputy Solicitor General - both have indicated strong support for the proposal.
Governance Structure
Users of the system will include municipalities, the RCMP, provincial
agencies, and federal agencies. There is no natural governance vehicle
which will provide representation in policy and operational issues for
such a diverse group. Accordingly, a new 'alternative service delivery'
governance model has been developed, which allows the organization to be
tailored to the specific services it will deliver. The model provides
for appropriate representation for funding agencies on the Board of
Directors, and for users on committees which are formally structured as
part of the organization.
The governance agency is a corporation created under the BC Company Act,
tailored through provincial legislation for the specific role it will
carry out. The proposed legislation will modify the application of the
Company Act to eliminate inappropriate provisions for a non profit,
government corporation; authorize membership by the participating
agencies; obligate the payment of financial levies; enable financing by
the Municipal Finance Authority; limit the role of the Board to overall
management; provide for the management of the labour issues in
transition by the Labour Relations Board under successor provisions; and
limit liability. The Member Agreement (shareholder agreement) will
provide the operational rules for the organization, including
limitations on budget growth without member approval, and structure user
committees which will provide direction to the corporation on
operational matters.
The corporation will be able to borrow in the market at or close to the
rates paid by its members. The scale of the project and the nature of
the equipment being purchased provides the opportunity for creative
financing techniques, which will provide the corporation with very low
cost financing. The corporation's borrowing will be 'off balance sheet'
to the members. Dominion Securities-RBC have provided advice to the
project team, as has MFA staff.
Moving to a corporate model, albeit one owned by governments, has the
potential to create additional tax liabilities. Both the federal and
provincial governments have been supportive and co-operative in finding
solutions to maintain tax neutrality. The Federal GST Interpretations
Directorate has advised that they are prepared to accept the corporation
as a 'para-municipal agency', which will maintain the current status of
all agencies with respect to GST. The Province will exempt the
corporation from the telecommunications provision of the taxation
legislation, avoiding PST on corporation billings to users, and will
provide a one-time rebate of PST on purchases by the corporation for PST
exempt users.
All costs to users will be billed on an quarterly basis. Where many
agencies now find equipment replacement a major issue, the proposed
model will convert these capital obligations to an annual stream,
ensuring that the corporation and its members have the capability to
keep equipment current and capable. This will avoid in future the
situation that exists now, where key services are working with
obsolescent technology.
Computer Aided Dispatch and Information Systems
Computer aided dispatch is a key component of the new proposals. It is
essential for effective utilization of emergency resources and
management of the flow of information. It is also a key component of
police, fire, and ambulance information systems, which serve both to
inform personnel in the field and provide essential information for
effective operational resource management.
The project has encountered a number of significant issues in the
development of proposals for the computer aided dispatch. Some agencies
have existing systems; some have none. In particular, the RCMP has been
implementing a high capability system for its police operations, and now
has in-field laptop computers operating to display and update
information from police records. The City of Vancouver was among the
first to install a data system, which it still maintains; it lacks some
of the capabilities of the RCMP system, but has advantages in some
areas.
A number of fire departments operate CAD systems, of varying
capabilities. BC Ambulance does not yet have CAD capability, but its
acquisition is a high priority for them. Ambulance and Fire
requirements differ to some degree from police requirements.
The objective of the project team is to prepare the corporation to work
toward a single integrated CAD system for all users. For the initial
implementation, the RCMP has advised that it must maintain the CIIDS
system which it uses nationally, and which it has recently installed in
the lower mainland, for its operations. Vancouver Police and Fire staff
and Ambulance staff are working together to identify the most
appropriate computer aided dispatch solution for other users of dispatch
operation. A Request for Proposals for this purpose has been issued.
It will provide the opportunity for non-RCMP users to select a
commercial CAD system or a modification of the current RCMP (CIIDS)
system. The systems which will be implemented will meet the needs of all
user agencies.
In this development process, the Ministry of Attorney General has
strongly urged the development of compatible police information systems.
At the moment, most agencies operate on the RCMP system, while Vancouver
does not. While information from the major national police information
system (CPIC) is available to all agencies, certain information which
should be available to all police agencies is not. The RFP has
requested provision of an interface to the RCMP system, which will
eliminate this problem so far as Vancouver information is concerned.
Further, the RCMP is proposing an initiative to update its present
system - - the Attorney General's Ministry, the Vancouver Police
Department, and the RCMP are working jointly to ensure that any new
system will be adopted widely and will meet the needs of all agencies.
This is a significant step forward.
SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The E-Comm Building and Area Wide Radio will provide significant public
safety benefits, on a day to day basis and in a major emergency.
Improved communications for emergency services agencies are central to
their operations, and provide the opportunity both to enhance service
and increase efficiency. In a major emergency, the capability of the
communications system and the components of the E-Comm Building will
significantly enhance coordination between responding agencies and the
effectiveness of the response.
PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
The creation of the new governance agency will result in the transfer of
dispatch and communications related functions from the Vancouver Police
Board and the City to the new agency. While the new corporation will in
the long term operate with fewer personnel than presently employed in
the various agencies, the transition will involve significant training
and staff needs. It is anticipated that the new corporation will be
able to employ all existing permanent full time dispatch employees who
wish to move to it and who meet training and security requirements.
Existing city radio maintenance staff may or may not be required for the
regional radio system depending on the model chosen for provision of the
service. Three to six long term employees could become redundant.
Efforts will be made to find opportunities for these employees with the
service provider chosen. Existing levels of casual staffing and normal
turnover through attrition will assist in the effective management of
the transition.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The E-Comm Building and the Area Wide Radio will involve additional
costs to the City and other user agencies. In the case of the City,
these costs have been funded through the Infrastructure grant and the
provision of capital funds for the remainder of the City's portion of
the Center itself, and through Council s approval of additional annual
costs for the radio system.
The additional costs for the Centre are clearly justified by the need to
improve the City's emergency response capability and harden our system
against earthquakes. The radio system costs are replacement costs,
which must be incurred -- the proposed Area Wide Radio will provide
lower costs for the required capabilities through the partnership with
other agencies. There will also be significant offsets through the
release of Police personnel from existing communications duties.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Implementation will take place beginning with approval of contracts for
the E-Comm Building and Area Wide Radio system. Construction will take
place through 1997 and 1998, with the E-Comm Building operational in
September, 1998, the Vancouver radio system operational at the end of
1998, the GVRD in the second half of 1999, and the remaining phases of
the radio system in 2000.
The corporation will be created by the September of this year. The
present team will continue implementation management, on behalf of the
corporation, for the initial phases. It is anticipated that the
corporation itself, with continuing consultant support and seconded
staff, will take over implementation as system expansion continues.
CONCLUSIONS
The E-Comm Building and the Area Wide Radio system will provide a
significant upgrade in emergency communications and response in its
service area on a daily basis, and in a major emergency. And, they
represent a change in the way we do business, from an agency focused
base to a service focused base. The corporation is designed to deliver
its services on a cross agency, cross government basis, based on the
needs of the people served.
The cross agency, cross jurisdiction nature of the project and its high
cost make its development a challenge. Many obstacles -- legal,
structural, and attitudinal -- have had to be overcome. City Council and
its partners in the RCMP and the Ministry of Attorney General have
played a major leadership role through their commitment to the project,
which is now in a position where it can be implemented.
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