Broward County Commission Regular Meeting

A. MOTION TO APPROVE First Amendment to the Assignment, Delegation and Release Agreement between Broward County and Medical Priority Consultants, Inc., d/b/a Priority Dispatch Corp., which extends the existing agreement on a month-to-month basis with the existing prices, terms and conditions for up to three months, and authorize Mayor and Clerk to execute same.

ACTION:  (T-12:35 PM)  Approved.  (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)  (See the Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material, dated Tuesday, September 26, 2017, submitted at the request of the Office of Regional Communications and Technology.) 
  
VOTE: 7-0.  Commissioner LaMarca was not present during the vote.  Commissioner Ryan was not present. 

B. MOTION TO AUTHORIZE Director of Purchasing to negotiate and execute a new agreement with Medical Priority Consultants, Inc., d/b/a Priority Dispatch Corp., in a form approved by the Office of the County Attorney, for an initial five year term with up to five additional one-year renewal periods, to provide ongoing support and maintenance for existing software licenses as well as additional software licenses, services, and support for an emergency fire and police dispatch system.

ACTION:  (T-12:35 PM)  Approved.  (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)  (See the Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material, dated Tuesday, September 26, 2017, submitted at the request of the Office of Regional Communications and Technology.) 
 
VOTE: 7-0.  Commissioner LaMarca was not present during the vote.  Commissioner Ryan was not present. 

(Per the Tuesday Morning Memorandum, Motion C is added to the Requested Action which has been inserted and reflected below:

C:  MOTION TO APPROVE Sole source designation of Medical Priority Consultants, Inc. d/b/a Priority Dispatch Corp, as designated provider of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), Emergency Police Dispatch (EPD) and Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) dispatch protocols for the Broward County Regional Consolidation Dispatch System.)

ACTION:  (T-12:35 PM)  Approved, as amended, with the Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material, dated Tuesday, September 26, 2017, submitted at the request of the Office of Regional Communications and Technology.  (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)
  
VOTE: 7-0.  Commissioner LaMarca was not present during the vote.  Commissioner Ryan was not present. 

Motion A: In accordance with the Broward County Procurement Code, Section 21.31.g, the Board is required to approve amendments to agreements exceeding five years.
 
Motion B: In accordance with the Broward County Procurement Code, Section 21.12.c.6, the Director of Purchasing shall execute all contracts and amendments within the Director’s approval authority and agreements delegated by the Board for the Director’s execution.

Motion A: Authorizes the Mayor to execute the amendment to extend the Agreement for up to three additional months, on a month-to-month basis, with the existing terms and conditions, for an amount not-to-exceed $11,575.
 
Motion B: Authorizes the Director of Purchasing to negotiate and execute a new agreement to provide ongoing support and maintenance for existing software licenses as well as additional software licenses, services, and support to implement emergency fire dispatch and emergency police dispatch protocols.

None.

THE OFFICE OF REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY RECOMMENDS THE APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.

 
Priority Dispatch Corp. (PDC) is the exclusive world-wide proprietor of the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS), Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS), and Emergency Communication Nurse System (ECNS). These emergency dispatch protocol systems are licensed to emergency dispatch centers throughout the world.  Currently, they are used in 46 countries and 25 languages/dialects.
 

Broward County began its use of National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) d/b/a the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) back in November of 1993 with its initial purchase of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Cardset licensing. In February of 1999, Broward County made their transition to the Medical ProQA software solution for use in the performance of EMD protocol, and continues to use this software to date. In 2003, Broward County was recognized by the IAED as an EMD Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE). 
 
On October 4, 2006, the Sheriff of Broward County (“BSO”) and PDC entered into a series of agreements providing for software and services for Advanced Police Priority Dispatch System, Advanced Fire Priority Dispatch System, Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, Advanced Quality Assurance Management Software, and Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System. The BSO and PDC amended that agreement on December 13, 2006, including to address a limitation on cost increases and to modify certain legal clauses. 
 
Pursuant to the Assignment, Delegation and Release Agreement, dated November 27, 2013, BSO assigned the PDC agreement to the County in connection with the regionalization of dispatch services.

The proposed First Amendment (Exhibit 1) extends the term of the existing Agreement on a month-to-month basis until December 31, 2017, and increases the contract amount by $11,575.

In December 2016, the consultant assessment and recommendations report provided by Fitch & Associates recognized that the County’s use of EMD protocol is an industry best practice that should be continued. The report also includes a recommendation that the County should maintain EMD certification training for all call takers through the IAED. The recommendation report further states that Call taker personnel should also be trained and certified in the Emergency Fire Dispatcher (EFD) protocol, and that the County should implement the EFD protocol in the near future, noting that these certifications and operating protocol are considered industry best practice. The consultant report also recommends that County law enforcement agencies should consider and evaluate the efficacy of the Emergency Police Dispatch (EPD) protocol being utilized in the future as well, noting that this protocol is emerging as an industry best practice. Broward County law enforcement agencies have since communicated support for the Emergency Police Dispatch protocol. Broward County has accepted all of the consultant recommendations, including these recommendations relevant to EFD and EPD protocols, and is taking this action to be able to implement these emergency fire and police dispatching protocols. Certification in these areas, and the use of the protocols provide structured call processing for the respective disciplines, and are expected to further improve the regional consolidated dispatch program. 
 
Broward County has a long-standing and proven track record of excellence in EMD discipline. The new agreement will expand on the existing EMD program to implement EFD and EPD protocols, which will allow for a seamless continuation of excellence in the EMD discipline, while establishing industry best practices in Broward County for the EFD and EPD disciplines. EMD, EFD, and EPD all align with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch’s nationally recognized standards, and will enable the County to maintain nationally recognized standards.
 
The anticipated not-to-exceed amount on the First Amendment is $11,575 which covers three months of maintenance and support for the existing EMD system. The annual maintenance and support of the current EMD system is $46,299.

The anticipated not-to-exceed amounts for the new agreement are approximately $600,000 for the new software licenses, $100,000 for additional card sets, $200,000 for implementation and professional services, $500,000 for training, and $200,000 annually for support and maintenance, with a total not-to-exceed amount for the initial five-year term of $2,300,000, and a not-to-exceed amount of $1,000,000 for the subsequent five one-year renewal periods.

Brett Bayag, Acting Director, Office of Regional Communications and Technology, (954) 357-8565
Daniel Revis, E911 Administrator, Office of Regional Communications and Technology, (954) 357-8599