By: Richard H. Dyer
A five-year contract costing nearly $1.6 million has been approved for Apache Junction police computer-aided dispatch, records management and mobile field reporting software.
The Apache Junction City Council voted unanimously Nov. 15 to award a contract to Mark43 for the first year costing $ 490,645.00 with four additional automatic one-year renewals costing $269,062.00 for a total not to exceed $1,566,893. In the vote the council also rejected bids by Tyler Technologies and Capers North America.
Funding given to the city from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — also known as the COVID-19 stimulus package or American Rescue Plan — will be used to pay for the first year of the contract.
A request for proposals was sent out for the new computer-aided dispatch and records management system, Police Chief Michael Pooley said.
“This is kind of the brains behind the entire police department that holds all of our records, that helps us send officers to different locations when a call comes in. And it really is our entire system that we base our operations off of,” he said at the council meeting.
“There were two other companies that put in for this. One of them was Capers North America; the other was Tyler Technologies. After a very thorough review and selection process we determined that Mark43 was — and it will be — the best CAD/ RMS system that will help us to do exactly what we want to do out here in Apache Junction Police Department and the city,” Pooley said. “This is going to be funded the first year through the American Rescue Plan Act — ARPA money — for the $490,645 for this year. It is for a five-year contract with a total of $1,566,893.”
Capers North America’s bid was $377,000 and Tyler Tech’s bid was $1,488,135, Pooley and Purchasing Administrator Kimberly Heldt said in a written memo to the council.
“Staff reviewed the proposals for proven technical ability, qualifications/ experience, proposed solution/ method of approach and pricing. Mark43 was deemed the most responsive and responsible bidder,” they said in the memo. “The Apache Junction Police Department’s current computer-aided dispatch and records management system needs updating and replacement due to the limited level of functionality offered by the current system and aging hardware and software. AJPD needs a system that allows end users to better analyze public safety trends, link crime and events, identify suspects and improve the quality of field reporting and statistical reporting.”
Mark43 is a cloud-native public safety software company from New York, New York, according to https:// mark43.com.
The implementation of Mark43 CAD will include Mark43 OnScene, a mobile dispatch application; and Mark43 Analytics. The new CAD system operates as a natural extension of the dispatcher, call
taker and infield first responder during an emergency response. Using Mark43 OnScene, officers will be able to receive calls from anywhere on their mobile device. This keeps officers out of their car and in the field where they belong, according to a Mark43 release.
The Apache Junction Police Department’s current computer-aided dispatch and records management system needs updating and replacement due to the limited level of functionality offered by the current system and aging hardware and software, officials said.
