To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Master Service Agreement with Central Square for Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing board of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief or designee, to execute a contract with Central Square, in an amount not to exceed $2,875,000 for the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District’s (District) 911 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system for the period August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2027 with the option of automatic annual renewals.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Budgeted. 100% EMS Transport Fund
BACKGROUND:
The Contra Costa Regional Fire Communications Center (CCRFCC) provides emergency medical, fire, and rescue dispatch services for the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and six other neighboring agencies within Contra Costa County using a 911 CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system. Central Square, previously known as TriTech Software Systems, provides the District’s 911 CAD system. The District originally entered into a Software Support Agreement with the former TriTech Software Systems on February 3, 2004. Over the past twenty years, the district has grown, but the technology has remained the same with numerous layers of changes along the way. The system has become outdated, extremely complex, and limiting in terms of automatically handling many of our operational needs today.
This agreement allows the District to rebuild the CAD system and evaluate our current and future operational needs. The rebuild includes a server, software, and license refresh. Central Square continues to support the legacy system; however, the District has not been able to take advantage of the new software features, capabilities, and reliability that the newer Central Square CAD version offers today. Additionally, this agreement will ensure that the Fire District is next-generation (also known as Nex Gen) ready, which is an effort driven by CalOES for all PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) in the State of California.
The agreement includes Central Square Support/System Administrator for one year with an option for additional support through the term of the contract. This will give us a dedicated Central Square System Administrator for one year to assist us with the rebuild and refresh of our CAD system. The district does not have a dedicated CAD Administrator or other CAD staff. Instead, the district relies on existing dispatch and information system staff to multitask between other full-time responsibilities while doing their best to maintain the CAD. Most fire communication centers throughout California and the country that are of similar size as the District’s center have a CAD team of at least three full-time staff. The lack of dedicated CAD staff presents a daily challenge in ensuring that the District’s CAD is correct and reliable at all times.
The agreement also includes Solution Support and Maintenance on a yearly basis throughout the term of the contract. The 911 CAD system is a mission-critical software system for the District. The annual support and maintenance will provide a 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year support in the event the District experiences CAD slowdowns or system crashes that would affect the District’s entire operations. The dispatchers will not be able to create calls for service, track units, or send the closest and most appropriate resources to an emergency request. The support also ensures the latest patches and updates for the software to ensure reliability and to help prevent cyber security threats.
The agreement encompasses the implementation, analytics and technical services for a total of $350,000. The annual maintenance for 5 years for the new and existing CAD starting at $250,000 per year with a 5% increase each year with a five-year total of $1,382,000. The System Administrator starting at $357,630 with a 5% increase each year with additional travel and living expenses at estimated $18,000 per year with a three-year total of $1,145,829 for the District’s 911 Computer Aided Dispatch system.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this contract is not executed, the District will continue to struggle with an outdated CAD system, which will negatively impact effective, timely, and reliable emergency services to the community for medical, fire, rescues and other emergencies dispatched by the CCRFCC.