Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Public Safety: Bay Area Systems Struggle

The East Bay Regional Communications System and the Bay Area Wireless Enhanced Broadband (BayWeb) network, the two projects that started with the promise of $100 million from federal funds, are both currently in suspended animation. A full decade after the opportunity for critical system upgrades arose from post-9/11 interoperability initiatives, the systems that were meant to keep 31 East Bay municipalities safe are still not in place.

Following the Money
Various accusations have been made as to where the blame lies for the state of these two massive systems. According to the article on baycitizen.org, improprieties in the contracting process have been sited. The projects are both said to have been “rushed,” in an eager effort to utilize the large amount of federal funding available. Motorola was awarded most of the work on both systems, and equipment is still sitting idle in warehouses. Tens of millions of dollars of unexpected costs will have to be covered, much to the outrage of local officials. There has not been a single county or municipality yet to sign a formal contract for use of the Bay Area broadband network.

The original budget of the system overhaul included $50 million from the federal government, $17 million from participating local governments. Now that maintenance and operations have been calculated, however, an additional $37 million will have to be covered by local governments. In 2005, Alameda County entered into a contract with Motorola Solutions to construct the first elements of the system. Following this first step, a regional government agency, the East Bay Regional Communications System Authority, was created, with a board seating of 23 representatives from participating municipalities and districts. In 2009, an audit by the federal government revealed that no formal cost analysis had ever been completed for the project, and the state had never been advised of the noncompetitive nature of the Motorola contract. Many officials express remorse over how quickly the contracts were signed and the project was began. Some extensive planning and budgeting processes were lost in the hurried shuffle.

Poor technology choices have caused wasteful outcomes, such as about $630,000 worth of equipment being installed, uninstalled, transferred to warehouses, and now it may have to be recycled or given away, authorities say.

The budgeting and organizational nightmare of the two systems comes down to a lack of accountability, according to Robert Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies. The Bay Citizen quotes: “The problem is that when it comes to highly technical deals, it is hard to follow the money. There is less concern and accountability when it comes to federal government money.”

Challenges Ahead
In the midst of heavy criticism and concern about both projects, the head of the Broadband project has made a surprising announcement. Laura Philips, head of the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative and former manager in Motorola Solutions’ government relations division, recently set plans for resignation. The original task of selecting a vendor for the project fell to the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative, led by Philips, who happens to be a former manager in Motorola’s government relations division. Last spring six members were appointed to an evaluation panel.

One panelist, Morris Tabak, claimed he lacked crucial technical expertise and admitted to relying upon an account manager at Motorola to guide his decision. The same account manager now works at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. Philips’ retirement will be effective April 16, and she has yet to give a clear reason for her decision.

The most recent report on the budget situation reveals that as much as $24 million will be necessary from participating governments to cover user fees and operating expenses. Motorola claims no wrongdoing, and Philips holds that the vendor selection process was fair, neutral, and allowed adequate opportunity for interested vendors to bid.

What the Future Holds
A recent Urgent Communications article sheds a more optimistic light on the situation, with comments from Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern about his work towards solutions. Ahern is now the executive sponsor of the BayWEB project, meant to build a 700 MHZ LTE network. One obstacle Ahern is tackling is an error on the FCC granted waiver to use spectrum in the Bay Area. The spectrum lease was not voted on by any of the cities in the area and had been signed by Ahern on behalf of the “San Francisco Bay Area Urban Area,” which is a nonexistent entity.

Ahern had been under the impression that “everyone was on the same page,” but after discovering the discrepancies, he is now working to correct the grant error and create joint powers authority (JPA) to sign the contract and govern the project. Ahern said his goal is to have the JPA in place before the end of the month, though other officials expect it to be challenging enough to do so by the end of May, due to time requirements necessary for voting.

Hindsight's 20/20
Comments from professionals in the industry seem to treat the East Bay fiasco as a sort of cautionary tale. A lack of planning, direction, and, arguably, transparency and disclosure, have created a difficult scenario for the Bay Area: a disorganized and halted attempt to build a system that will be way beyond the original planned budget. The intermingling of wireless, politics, control, and money has brewed a storm that will take yet another two and a half years to remedy. Sources say construction of the system is in its preliminary phases and is scheduled to be complete in January 2013.

Project management, engineering, vendor selection, funding guidance, and flawless FCC licensing are all specializations of EMR Consulting. To discover how EMR can helps agencies successfully and efficiently complete large-scale communications projects, visit our website or contact our consultants today.

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