Supervisors approve RCS payment agreement

The County of San Diego is in the process of updating its Regional Communications System (RCS), and the most recent activity was granting the county authority to enter into payment agreements with other users of the system.

A 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote June 2 authorized the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to execute payment agreements, upon receipt, with Next Generation Regional Communications System parties.

"It's another big step for the Next Generation Regional Communications System," said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

"This item brings us another step closer to replacing our aging and outdated Regional Communications System," said Supervisor Bill Horn.

The RCS allows emergency and public safety agencies to communicate with one another and was established in 1995. The RCS provides public safety and public service radio communications to San Diego and Imperial Counties and includes those two county governments, 24 incorporated cities, fire protection districts, state and federal agencies, tribal governments, and medical operations.

The County of San Diego procured and constructed the RCS and operates the system while the participating agencies share the cost of the infrastructure. The RCS consists of 50 radio sites in the two counties which support 24 public safety dispatch centers and serve more than 20,000 user radios.

"We've come a long way with communications in this county," Jacob said.

The county and the participating agencies realized that the RCS would eventually approach the end of its useful life and require replacement. In 2010, the Sheriff's Department contracted with technical consultants to assist with planning the next-generation system. A working group consisting of RCS partner agency executives made recommendations regarding system design and cost apportionment, and county staff members worked with more than 100 public safety agencies and medical operations to develop the requirements for a new system.

The RCS upgrade will be implemented in three phases. Phase I is the system design and planning phase which will include detailed technical designs, project planning, and identification of new radio facilities. In June 2015, the Board of Supervisors authorized a contract for Phase I, although none of the recommendations will be binding unless the county exercises its option for Phase III.

Phase II will implement the new technology at existing RCS facilities and will include the procurement of new radio system hardware and software, the replacement of the existing hardware with the new equipment, and the migration of the dispatch center equipment and user radios to the new system.

Phase III will consist of the new site development, facilities construction, and integration into the system and would require California Environmental Quality Act review should the Phase I design and planning identify new radio facilities. The completion of the upgraded system is scheduled to occur during fiscal year 2018-19.

"The NextGen RCS will be a tremendous asset as we continue to improve public safety throughout the county," Horn said.

The estimated cost to design, procure, and install the next-generation system is $105,000,000, although the specific final costs are not yet known. "It's a big project," Jacob said.

In December 2013, the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement for participating agencies which established a cost apportionment model and served as the operating and business agreement between the parties. Agencies which signed the agreement may opt out if the agency's actual cost is significantly more than the estimate, and 50 agencies signed that agreement. The contribution of each partner will be based on the number of radios that agency has on the Regional Communications System. Some of those entities will pay their share of the total cost during the initial stages of the system procurement while others will enter into payment agreements to contribute funds on a monthly or yearly basis.