Consideration and approval of Agreement: Managed Services Agreement with CenturyLink for 9-1-1 Services.

The Flagstaff 9-1-1 Center operated by the Police Department is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the greater Flagstaff area. The State 9-1-1 Office is in the process of upgrading state wide PSAP’s to the next generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) platform. This agreement will allow CenturyLink to do the upgrade.

Implementing NG9-1-1 Network Managed Services will enable our PSAP to migrate to NG9-1-1 ready call-handling systems and a full feature Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet). This will open the door to future possibilities of text to 9-1-1, pictures, and video capabilities.

The only risk to the City is that the state could sweep the 9-1-1 funds and the City of Flagstaff could then be responsible to pay any outstanding balances to CenturyLink under this agreement, thus the reason this agreement must be approved by City Council. If there is a deficit and monies are swept from the State 9-1-1 fund, available monies will be equally distributed among all the PSAP's leaving the city responsible for the remaining balance. This is true of our existing system. To our knowledge, the city has never had to pay even after monies have been swept.

To date, Arizona State 9-1-1 has completed the Managed Services upgrade to 26 out of the 50 PSAP's within the state of Arizona. The remaining 24 PSAP's will be upgraded in 2018.

The funding for the upgrade to the Managed Services model will cost $1,210,727.00 over five years. The State of Arizona 9-1-1 has budgeted for this and will be paying CenturyLink monthly.

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Policy PF.3.1. Maintain high-quality effectiveness and efficiency in law enforcement, fire, and emergency services to the extent that is consistent with governmental operations, plans, public policies, population served, and monies available.

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Approve and move forward with the upgrade to Managed Services in conjunction with the remainder of the state.

The alternative is not to move to the Managed Services model, forgoing the project and remaining on our existing legacy system with call answering equipment which will require replacement in approximately four years.  In the event the Emergency Telecommunication Services funds are not available for equipment replacement at that time, the cost of equipment replacement could be the sole financial responsibility of the City of Flagstaff.

The State 9-1-1 Office funds all existing 9-1-1 services and equipment for all PSAP's and is also trying to upgrade all PSAP's to an NG911 network. In 2014, the State 9-1-1 Office undertook an NG911 trial deployment that was very successful, but due to the high on-going costs and limited funding, the deployments were suspended.  Reviewing cost estimates to transition to an NG911 digital network, and continuing to support equipment upgrades and maintenance, the State 9-1-1 Office was tasked with coming up with a solution to the problem.  The solution they identified would transition the 9-1-1 program from a capital improvement program to a Managed Services model.  The Managed Services model would provide an updated NG911 network, provide new equipment and include the continued maintenance support for a five-year period at a per dispatch seat cost.  During the research, the only provider that would be willing to undertake this project at the limited pricing option was CenturyLink.  

All service agreement documents were reviewed (between CenturyLink and State 9-1-1) by a third-party consultant (Mission Critical Partners) and improvements were recommended to the proposed network and service agreement.  In August 2016, the CenturyLink NG911 network was undertaken and completed in December 2016.  The first Managed Services PSAP in Arizona was deployed in April 2017. 

The State 911 Office has had sufficient funds to support the program even with the fund sweeps.  Moving to Managed Services saves the state from having to make capital expenditures, allowing for a fixed rate for the inclusive package (software, equipment, software, and the network).  The rate collected today at $.20/month per wire-line and wireless access line will sufficiently fund the Managed Services for Flagstaff PD in future years.  If the city opts to not move to managed services, there may not be sufficient funds for the capital expenditures in the future.

Implementing NG9-1-1 Network Managed Services will enable our Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to migrate to NG 9-1-1 ready call-handling systems and a full feature Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet). This will open the door to future possibilities of text to 9-1-1, pictures, and video capabilities.

If our PSAP opts to stay on the existing network, the city could easily be responsible for replacing our own equipment in the future and would not have the advanced capabilities of the NG911 network.  The existing network has been in place for approximately 20 years. It is an analog network already obsolete and will not be viable for long-range planning.

If it is approved to move forward with the conversion to Managed Services, there would be no option to go back to the analog network.

The contractual agreement is directly between CenturyLink and the City of Flagstaff and is a sole source acquisition.  CenturyLink has been the vendor of both 911 network services and equipment for at least 25 years for the City of Flagstaff.  The State 9-1-1 Office was not able to find another vendor willing to supply these services as a package.

The State 9-1-1 Office has received a copy of the proposed services agreement for 9-1-1 Managed Services and has provided a funding authorization letter to the City of Flagstaff. Pursuant to Administrative Code R2-409 "Funding eligibility", the costs of providing 9-1-1 service shall be reimbursed by the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) 9-1-1 Office from the fund.

This agreement is for a five (5) year term beginning with the start of service date as determined by the agreement. The costs for the services include upgrading the existing 10 dispatch consoles. The Recurring Network total of $480,000.00 is broken down as follows: $800 multiplied by 10 dispatch consoles multiplied by 60 months (5 years). This is the cost to access the network which CenturyLink will be managing. The Recurring Maintenance Total of $720,000.00, is broken down as follows: $1200 a month multiplied by 10 dispatch consoles multiplied by 60 months (5 years). This pays for the equipment (which will be housed at an off-site location), future upgrades, any maintenance, and all licensing for the five-year period. The Non-Recurring one-time cost of $10,727.00, is to add the Flagstaff PSAP to the new CenturyLink network. All PSAP's have to pay this one-time fee. All costs for the upgrade to this Managed Services Model will be paid for by the State of Arizona with 9-1-1 funds. There is no direct financial impact to the City of Flagstaff providing the 9-1-1 funds are not swept from the State 9-1-1 Office.

Between fiscal years 2003 and 2017, a total of $231,770,427 was collected through the Emergency Telecommunication Services Revolving Fund (by state 911) for 911 purposes.  The total amount of revenue swept by the state since Fiscal Year 2003 was $53,592,200, which occurred during a seven-year period.  This amount accounts for approximately 23.12% of state 911 revenues over the last 14 years.

Under the proposed contract on Page 3 under Paragraph 9 if the State 911 funds are swept and not available to meet the obligations under the contract the City can terminate the contract with a 30 day written notice. If the City should choose to continue with managed services, the City would have the opportunity to assume the responsibility of fulfilling the current contract or renegotiate a new contract with CenturyLink.

Entering into this agreement to take advantage of this Managed Services Model will provide the 9-1-1 Emergency Communication Specialists additional features enabling them to better serve the community. It will provide a faster service, with more accurate location, which should result in quicker response times. Moving forward with Managed Services will move us to a NG9-1-1 platform giving us the capability to move forward with Text To-9-1-1, including videos and pictures when the funding is available by the State of Arizona 9-1-1 Office.

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