REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BILLY P. ALCORN, Fire Chief
Fire Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Actions pertaining to the service agreement with the County of Fresno to receive emergency dispatch services
1. Affirm the City Manager’s determination that County of Fresno is Uniquely Qualified to provide the emergency dispatch services; and
2. Approve a Service Agreement between the City of Fresno and the County of Fresno to receive Emergency Dispatch services for both fire suppression and emergency medical calls for the period of July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, in the amount of $1,713,360.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council affirm the City Manager’s determination that County of Fresno is Uniquely Qualified to provide the emergency dispatch services; and approve a service agreement with the term starting on July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027 and in the amount of $1,142,240.00 in Fiscal Year 2027; and $571,120 for half the year in Fiscal Year 2028 for a total of $1,713.360.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno (City) has been under a dispatch agreement with the County of Fresno (County) since February 1, 2006. The current agreement terminates June 30, 2026. Under this new 18-month agreement, the Fire Department will continue receiving Emergency Dispatch services effective July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027.
BACKGROUND
The Fire Department receives in excess of 50,000 calls for dispatch each year. Under the dispatch agreement, such calls are transferred to the County’s dispatch network - Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD). The CAD system then dispatches the calls to the appropriate responder/agency depending on the type of emergency. CAD system provides emergency responders and the public with efficient and improved response time. With the high volume of dispatched calls for Fire Department services each year, this County service is a necessary and essential element of Fire Department operations and public safety.
Under the agreement, all CAD systems and equipment are owned and maintained by the County. The CAD system ensures that all necessary reporting and statistical information is maintained, stored, and filed as appropriate.
The public is best served to have a unified/consolidated dispatch system. A unified system greatly enhances communication and coordination, which ultimately improves response time during emergency situations. The County has the necessary communications equipment and networks in place to effectively serve the City of Fresno and neighboring agencies.
For the past decade and beyond, the Fire Department has been under contract with the County to have emergency calls routed to the County’s dispatch system. Trained dispatchers ensure calls are prioritized, properly channeled, and communicated to the appropriate agencies and responding units. Service experience has proven to be effective and efficient since the agreement has been in place.
The County of Fresno is offering a 18-month agreement at this time as they are going into an RFP process before the County can extend past December 31, 2027. The Fire Department will come back to Council once an extension or new agreement is offered by the County.
For the above reasons, the County of Fresno has been determined to be uniquely qualified due to it solely owning, operating, and maintaining the dispatch equipment, hardware, software, CAD systems, and technology necessary to triage and dispatch emergency calls.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented as the County of Fresno is the only entity able to perform this service.
FISCAL IMPACT
The contract will go into effect July 1, 2026. The contract was built into the Fire Departments Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Funding for the remaining half year will be included in the budget for the given fiscal year.
Attachments:
Fresno County Dispatch Agreement
Uniquely Qualified Findings Memo