The Office of Performance and Accountability (OPA) is responsible for organizational accountability initiatives which focuses on continuous improvements and identifying process enhancements and efficiencies. One such initiative is conducting organizational assessments of departments and offices approved by City management for review. These assessments align with the City's core value of always striving to get better as an organization, holding ourselves to the highest standard and ultimately providing the best municipal service to our residents.

Organizational assessments are conducted on an annual basis with a different department selected each year. The next department selected for the assessment is the Sugar Land Public Safety Dispatch Office. The assessments are conducted by OPA staff or may be contracted, depending on the resource or technical requirements necessary.

Due to the public safety and dispatch center technical subject matter expertise involved with Public Safety Dispatch, staff is recommending to contract with an external firm. A Request for Qualifications was made in October 2018 and staff received a total of nine submittals. The project proposal review team consisting of staff from OPA, Public Safety Dispatch and the Police Department, interviewed the top two firms and selected Federal Engineering, Inc. (Federal Engineering).

Federal Engineering was selected based on their expertise in public safety communication services with cities that are similar in size to Sugar Land. Additionally, in 2010 Federal Engineering conducted a dispatch consolidation feasibility study for the City of Sugar Land and the City of Missouri City. At the time the firm conducted business under the name L.R. Kimball & Associates.

Federal Engineering’s scope of work includes:

• Analysis on organizational structure / staffing;
• Recruiting and hiring practices;
• Initial education and certification process;
• Quality assurance / continuing education;
• Policies and procedures;
• Call taking and radio dispatching methodologies;
• Identification and comparison to standards and best practices; and
• Identify technology roadblocks.

The proposal assumes a 16-week schedule for completion with a draft and final report submitted to the City. The firm has a distributed workforce with consultants located in over 15 states, including Texas, supporting efficient response to their clients. The project funds for the Public Safety Dispatch Assessment were allocated within the Fiscal Year 2019 budget.

The Office of Performance and Accountability recommends City Council approve a contract with Federal Engineering, Inc., in the amount of $70,000.00 (includes estimated travel expenses), to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Sugar Land Public Safety Dispatch Center.