Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-05-02 PACKET 09.A.REQUEST OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING ITEM" DATE 05/02112 r PREPARED BY Public Safety Craig A. Woolery ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT STAFF AUTHOR COUNCIL ACTION REQUEST Response to Council comments regarding IT Support in Public Safety STAFF RECOMMENDATION SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS MEMO: Memo dated April 24, 2012 from Director of Public Safety Craig Woolery ADMINISTRATORS COMMENTS l ' F r ity Administrator Date COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: ❑ APPROVED ❑ DENIED ❑ OTHER From: Director of Public Safety Craig A. Woolery Date: April 24, 2012 Subject: RESPONSE TO COUNCIL COMMENTS - IT SUPPORT IN PUBLIC SAFETY At the April 18, 2012 regular Cottage Grove City Council Meeting during Council comments and Requests, Council member Olsen requested an update regarding the organizational improvement project (Good to Great) in relation to the Public Safety Department's IT concerns. Council member Olsen also requested a response regarding system support and maintenance for public safety related computer based systems. The Public Safety Department utilizes several computer based systems that play a critical role in daily operations. Not including software systems that our department share with other criminal justice partners, our department solely operates many systems such as the L3 squad camera system, Property and Evidence Manager System, Police Officer Scheduling Software (POSS) that all have annual maintenance agreements that require periodic software upgrades. Recently, there were occasions when problems occurred with updates or updates were delayed causing portions of a system to malfunction or additional functionalities of a system to be unavailable. To correct this issue, we have met with the city's IT staff and determined how communication can be improved to properly receive and install software updates. Public Safety will continue to budget and monitor the maintenance agreements and keep IT staff on the update lists as system administrators with the vendors. Communication between Public Safety and IT staff will ensure updates are received and installed as necessary. As part of the Good to Great initiative, one of the many objectives identified by the Public Safety Department included improving IT services to the divisions. The IT Project Team members include IT staff Jenny Jennings and Lisa Kalka, Fire Captain Dave Spiess, Police Officer /Paramedic Jordan Ziebarth and Firefighter /EMT Andrew Holmquist. The Project Team is addressing several concerns. 1. Wireless Service throughout the new Public Safety /City Hall building. There will be three levels of service. a. Public with a landing page that requires agreement to disclosure prior to usage. b. Private Wi -Fi city network. Allowing employees wireless access to city network resources, not including CJDN applications for Public Safety. c. Potential third tier of Employee Wi -Fi (internet only) with restrictions but more bandwidth than the public Wi -Fi. Internet and city network connectivity to Fire Station 4. Neither DSL nor Comcast high speed is currently available to station 4. The solution will be to utilize a microwave link between Station 4 and the Public Works facility. Public Works was recently approved to have a fiber system installed to improve city network services. Public Safety will request a 2013 budget addition to install the microwave system for approximately $4000.00. 3. Replace current air cards for ambulance laptops with mobile hotspots. Installing a mobile hotspot increases the flexibility of the network. Ambulances currently operate several systems that are internet based, such as EMS patient care reporting system called Sansio and an EMS scheduler called EMS manager, a cloud based inter department communication system called Sharepoint and soon to be utilized Washington County RMS /CAD called Tiburon. The mobile hotspot will allow up to 5 simultaneous devices to be operated at the same time. Costs are estimated to increase from approximately $35.00 to $60.00 per month per hot spot. Despite the basic cost increase, there will be more flexibility and efficiency from a mobile standpoint. Through Good to Great there are several project teams that will be working to improve our service delivery throughout all Public Safety divisions in police, fire and ems. Public Safety and IT staff will continue to work together to address operational needs as we continue to utilize technology in providing efficient and improved services to our citizens.