Title
Approval to Submit a E911 Grant Application to the New Mexico Department of Information Technology to Upgrade the 911 System Equipment In The Amount of $196,758.90.
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve the request to submit a grant application to the New Mexico Department of Information Technology in the amount of $196,758.90. I further move that Council direct the County Manager to execute the grant agreement upon award by New Mexico Department of Information Technology.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the request to submit a grant application to the New Mexico Department of Information Technology as requested.
Body
The Enhanced 911 (E-911) Act, NMSA 1978, Section 63-9D-8 places oversight responsibility of the E-911 Program with the E-911 Bureau of the Local Government Division of the Department of Finance. The E-911 Bureau facilitates funding to local public bodies charged with operating E-911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) using grant agreements, of which the County of Los Alamos has been a recipient for several decades. On behalf of the grantees, the E-911 Bureau procures price agreements and pays vendors for goods and services provided, such as network access and database services, hardware, software, equipment maintenance, and training on E-911 and geographic information system (GIS) mapping. The 911 equipment used by our PSAP, both hardware and software, was last upgraded in 2011 through a similar grant with the State of New Mexico. Best practices have the equipment replaced every five (5) years, and the State delayed the replacements due to state funding concerns. Consequently, the equipment we currently use has reached its end of life due to its age by several years, is no longer supported, and some replacement parts are no longer available for the existing equipment.
Although this request is for $196,758.90 which is under the amount that requires Council approval to apply for a grant, this is being brought for Council’s consideration because of a grant already awarded to Los Alamos County under the same grant agreement. The amount of the first grant award is $164,296 for continual maintenance on our existing equipment, language interpretation services, GIS mapping, and training on E-911. With the potential for the combined grant award amount to exceed $200,000.00, Council approval is being sought at this time.
Alternatives
The alternative to submitting the grant application is to not have the funds necessary to upgrade the 911 system equipment at this time.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
This grant does not require a match.
Attachments
A - E-911 Grant Application to New Mexico Department of Information Technology
B - E-911 Grant Matrix