Police Chief Presents Proposal for New Dispatch and Record Keeping System

Scarsdale Police Chief Steven DelBene returned to the Village Board to request funding for a new dispatch and record keeping system at a work session preceding the September 9 meeting of the Village Board.

He explained that the technology for the current dispatch system was developed 40 years ago and was adopted in Scarsdale 20 years ago. DelBene says the update is needed to enhance efficiency and to meet compliance requirements. The current system costs the Village around $40,000 per year and this new system will cost $126,000 in the first year and $72,000 in the second year with a 5% increase in operating costs for the balance of the ten years.

The new system integrates computer aided dispatch and record management. According to the memo, “CAD is the system dispatchers and officers use to receive emergency calls and quickly send the nearest available units to the scene. It tracks call details in real time, uses GPS to monitor officer locations, and logs key events as they unfold. RMS, on the other hand, is the central database where all information from those calls is stored – including incident reports, arrest records, evidence logs and accident details.”

The Village currently uses a system from a vendor called Central Square, and DelBene recommends the purchase of the new system from Central Square as well. He explained that since officers are already familiar with their software, the transition would be easy, there would be reduced training needs and fewer workflow disruptions than starting with a new vendor.

In order to evaluate their options, DelBene invited officers to demonstrations from various vendors including Motorola, Mark43, Tyler and Cody. He reports that his officers found the Central Square Pro product to be “the most user-friendly and operationally sound choice.”

In a memo to the Village he contends that the contract meets the “sole source eligibility” exemption and competitive bids under General Municipal Law 103 are not required. According to his memo, “To qualify for the sole-source exemption to competitive bidding, the Village must be able to show that the products to be purchased uniquely serve the public interest and are only available from a single source. As such, the Village must show as follows: (i) the product will provide unique benefits to the Village; (ii) that no other product provides substantially equivalent or similar benefits; and (iii) that, considering the benefits received, the cost of the product is reasonable in comparison to other products in the marketplace.”

Though he did not solicit formal bids from the other vendors, he got “competitive bids” from Motorola, Tyler Technologies and Cody Technologies and found that Central Square was most competitive for a ten-year period.

The memo says, “Recognizing the long-term nature of this investment, I conducted a detailed ten-year total cost of ownership analysis for each of these top three vendors. This analysis included all anticipated expenses—licensing, maintenance, support, and any recurring fees—to give a complete picture of the financial impact over the system’s lifespan. The results are as follows:

Motorola: $1,335,931.45

Tyler Technologies: $2,238,915.00

Code Technologies: $987,037.29

Central Square Technologies: $908,527.20

No back-up information for these estimates was provided in the packet to trustees.

DelBene added that Central Square is implementing a similar system in Elmsford and will offer a discount for cost sharing.

Trustees posed questions to DelBene. Would the partnership with Elmsford involve data sharing? The response was no.

About the estimates from the other vendors, Trustee Wise asked, “Are we comparing apples to apples – are they all exactly the same?”

Concerning the funding, DelBene explained, “There is $175,000 budgeted for in year 1. We are currently paying $40,000 a year.”

Trustee Gans said, “There is sole source and there is best value. What are the guidelines?”

The Village Attorney responded, saying, “If you can justify the criteria you can be exempt from public bidding. In terms of best value –you may have a preference for one but these offer different attributes that cannot be satisfied by different vendors.”

Trustee Mazer asked, “Why are you deciding to update it after 40 years?” DelBene, responded, “Because I am the new Chief…. It helps manage evidence and pinpoint an incident.” Mazer followed up, “Tell me how it will make a difference in how the officer processes the chase.?”

DelBene said, “We are now driving a horse and buggy on an interstate. This will pop up a map and directions to the location.”

Trustee Goldschmidt said, “I don’t understand the cost sharing concept with Elmsford – the cloud can be shared anywhere.” He was assured that data would not be shared.
DelBene explained, “I feel more comfortable with Central Square because staff felt familiar with it. Our officers will have an easier time transitioning.”

Asked if there was an independent rating for these systems, DelBene said, “No.”

Wise asked, “Why don’t we ask for sealed bids?”
The attorney responded, “Because the other ones are not providing the same equipment – and Central Square is already the lowest. It would be tough to draft the language for the bids.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, there was no timeline for formal approval of the proposal.

We followed up with the following questions to Scarsdale Village Manager Alex Marshall:

Question: From the discussion, I could not tell if Chief DelBene negotiated the price with Central Square. Since we didn’t get other formal bids, what is the process for agreeing on a price?

Answer: As Chief DelBene outlined on page 5 of his memo, multiple CAD/RMS companies were contacted and reviewed. Several of these companies provided the Village with quotes for their services. Central Square also provided the Village with a sample Master Service Agreement(MSA) that includes the pricing packages for the specific software and related services included. The Master Service Agreement, which has been reviewed by counsel, is included as part of the work session packet as well.

Question: Would the vendor selection be something that the Village’s Technology Advisory Council could study and make a recommendation on? DelBene himself said he is not a technology expert and since we have that expertise, would it make sense to tap into it?

We of course value the expertise of the Village's Technology Advisory Council, but we typically utilize their knowledge during projects affecting our broader IT infrastructure. For public safety matters, we rely on the expertise from public safety experts and officials. While Chief DelBene is not himself an IT professional, he and his department staff have a strong understanding of their technology needs. We also have a dedicated IT Officer with a background in computer science who has participated in the evaluation of these tools. As Chief mentioned during his presentation, he has spoken with police departments in New York and other regions who are utilizing Central Square's product, and he is confident that this product would suit his department's needs, especially as it pertains to maintaining our standards for national accreditation.