Sole Source for C53094: Approve an Ordinance Authorizing a Third Amendment to Contract (4600007746) Between The City of Houston and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Formerly Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc.) to Extend the Contract Term From January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2018 for Consolidated Dispatching Services for the Houston Emergency Center.
Specific Explanation:
The Interim Chief Information Officer of Houston Information Technology Services (HITS) and the City Purchasing Agent recommend that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing a third amendment to the contract between the City of Houston and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Formerly Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc.) to extend the contract term for a maximum of 24 months (January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2018) for Basic Software Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance and Operational Support Services for the Consolidated Dispatching System (CDS) for the Houston Emergency Center. The City Purchasing Agent and/or HITS Director may terminate this contract at any time upon 30-days written notice to the contractor.
Historical Data:
The initial contract was awarded by Council on August 28, 2001 by Ordinance No. 2001-0818 for a five (5) year term, with an appropriation of $12,363,291.00 and a contingency reserve of $1,612,603.00 set aside for increases in scope of services, statutory mandates, and hardware reconfigurations due to technology changes. Expenditures as of November 30, 2015 totaled $3,053,327.79. Council Motion No. 2003-0897, passed on July 16, 2003, in the amount of $903,530.16, approved Change Order No. 1 for the additional scope related to implementation of the consolidated dispatching system. Council Motion No. 2003-1167, passed October 1, 2003, in the amount of $664,000.00, approved funds for the provision of basic software, preventive maintenance and operational services support maintenance, which had not been provided for in the maintenance component of the original five-year contract. On January 25, 2006, per Council Motion No. 2006-087, Council approved additional funding of $4,938,136.80 for maintenance support for the CDS and Records Management System through January 2, 2009. Ordinance No. 2008-1225, passed December 30, 2008, to increase the maximum contract amount and extend the contract term from January 2, 2009 to January 1, 2012. Ordinance No. 2011-0931, passed October 26, 2011, to increase the maximum contract amount and extend the contract term from January 2, 2012 to December 31, 2015, All terms and conditions remain as originally approved by City Council.
The scope of work requires the contractor to provide all equipment, labor, materials, supervision, and transportation necessary to provide second-level support and bug-fixes for the Altaris Computer Aided Dispatch, Geographic Information, and Message Server Switch systems installed at the Houston Emergency Center. Also, Northrop Grumman will provide remote program management, system engineering and provide support for future enhancements. Northrop Grumman will provide one Houston-based full-time database administrator to perform onsite services and remove escalation support for second-level problem resolution.
This contract is a sole source, as Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation retains the patent and copyright for their computer assisted design software, which has maintained 100% availability in the last calendar year (2014).
Hire Houston First:
Hire Houston First does not apply to this procurement, because it is for telecommunication and information services, which may not be subject to any local preference, per state law.
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Calvin D. Wells, City Purchasing Agent Department Approval Authority Signature
Finance/Strategic Procurement Division