Staff recommends approval of purchasing contract with Motorola Solutions for $10,495,000. 

The City of Billings has long enjoyed the use of its own unique public safety radio system. However, in March of 2023, that system will experience an "end-of-life" classification after which time the system will no longer be supported with hardware, software, and infrastructure components by the manufacturer and the City's Emergency Communications Center (911 or dispatch) will no longer have a 24/7 service and support agreement to rely upon in the event of system failure or a reduction in function. The City does not have a backup radio system to facilitate communications to city services and public safety agencies and staff's confidence in the life of the system beyond March of 2023 is very low. Additionally, the unique nature of the current City radio system has limited options to facilitate interoperable communications between the vast array of city, county, state, and federal public safety agencies that routinely operate, daily, inside the City. City Staff has reviewed available options and determined that a movement to the State of Montana's "Astro 25" system would serve the purpose of saving the City roughly $7 Million or more in excess of that already represented by this current contract and would also establish an entirely interoperable communications environment. This new system, in partnership with the State of Montana, would serve the City of Billings for an estimated 20 years. 

The current City radio system is utilized by 911, BPD, BFD, DPW, and Department of Aviation and Transit, Code Enforcement, and several partner agencies from various other users intermittently. It is in fact the primary source of facilitating numerous city service functions and is the primary means by which the City's public safety services are notified of the communities need for their services, and provides the coordination medium for their response to such emergencies.  

City Council may:

• Approve; or,
• Not Approve

If not approved, the City would need to form an urgent response to submit for requests for proposal for a system that would replicate much of the component's already in place (some for free) and attempt to meet the timeline of having a new system operable by March 2023. Similar efforts in other localities but smaller to Billings and in Montana have had a price tag in excess of $15 Million. 

A budget amendment would be made to facilitate the spending of $8.3 Million of ARPA funding and $2.195 Million of 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) funding, totaling $10.495 Million. 

This contract represents the most viable solution to what is otherwise an urgent matter while still accomplishing the intent of installing a fully interoperable communications environment that will carry the City's citizen and public safety resources forward to the future.