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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 4, 2003 <br />Action Age da <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: Purchase of Replacement Workstations in 9-1-1 <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Hardware/Software/Services Cost List <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Nick Waters, 968-2050 <br />Pam Jones, 245-2650 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough <br />Chapel Hill <br />Durham <br />Mebane <br />732-8181 <br />968-4501 <br />688-7331 <br />336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To confirm staff plans to replace nine workstations and to upgrade the Computer <br />Aided Dispatch (CAD) system used in the 9-1-1 Center and the Sheriff's Office. <br />BACKGROUND: In recent months, staff from Purchasing, Emergency Management, Sheriff, <br />Land Records, Information Systems and Budget have been reviewing the options for <br />specifications, configuration, and implementation of needed upgrades to existing 9-1-1 <br />workstations at Emergency Management and the Sheriff's Office. Staff proposes to purchase <br />through State Contract hardware, software, and related training and technical services at an <br />estimated cost of about $84,000. This compares very favorably against the purchase of a new <br />CAD system, which could cost in excess of $400,000. Funds for this acquisition are already <br />available in reserves accumulated in the Emergency Telephone System Fund, which is <br />supported by the County's fifty-cent monthly charge per subscriber telephone line. <br />The Computer Aided Dispatch System was first purchased in March of 1992 at a cost of <br />$380,727, which included all hardware and software for eight (8) workstations. The system had <br />five (5) workstations in the 9-1-1 center, one (1) in the Data Technician Office, one (1) at the <br />Sheriff's Office, and a spare. The network between the Sheriff's Office and the <br />Communications Center allows displaying the calls on the monitor screens and entering calls for <br />service from both locations. This is still a very important component of the system. The machine <br />in the Technician's Office allows the daily maintenance and input of data to occur. The <br />Technician also downloads report data to the Sheriff's Office and works with the vendor through <br />this machine. <br />The operating systems need to be replaced with the latest version that will allow compatibility <br />and CAD upgrades to occur, and the hardware needs to be of the type to support the systems <br />correctly. The existing CAD system hardware is rapidly becoming antiquated. The 9-1-1 <br />Center had to move the Division of Criminal Information (DCI) function to a standalone PC in <br />February 2001 because the CAD hardware was not compatible with the most recent software