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Fire chief asks for IT contract services to finish records and mobile systems; council asked for plan
Summary
Fire Chief Doug O'Malley told the council the department is midtransition on records management, mobile data terminals and other integrated systems and needs contractual IT support; finance committee placed $100,000 in one‑time funds to hire contract services through the IT department.
The council heard from Fire Chief Doug O'Malley and information‑technology staff about an amendment adding $100,000 to the office of integrated technology solutions to secure outside contract services to support the fire department.
"We have multiple IT programs that we've initiated. And right now, I've got firefighters and I've got battalion chiefs that are taking time out of their duties to try to be IT specialists. It's just not working for us," Chief Doug O'Malley said, describing an effort to complete a records management system (RMS) conversion and integrate pay, GIS and mobile data terminals used by 24‑hour operations. O'Malley said those operational systems tie into the broader IT environment and need dedicated technical support to finish implementation.
IT and finance staff told the council the amendment is structured as funding for contractual services rather than a new full‑time position, with an eye to later determining whether a permanent position is needed following a planned IT strategic review. "If it's added to the operation budget ... that's going to continue to carry forward as a baseline," a finance committee member said; sponsors said they preferred a contract approach initially so staff can complete an IT strategic plan before creating permanent positions.
Why it matters: The fire department emphasized the item is needed to finish a partially completed records and reporting modernization that affects response operations, incident reporting and connections to the city's GIS and payroll systems. Chief O'Malley said the department's operational staff lack capacity to act as IT implementers while performing emergency response duties.
Council direction and next steps: The finance committee and the city manager indicated they will refine the amendment language to specify the services to be procured. Council members asked whether the contract should be converted to a full‑time IT position in the future and requested more detail on scope and deliverables before final approval.
Ending: Staff will provide a clearer statement of work for the proposed contract services and coordinate the request with IT so the council can evaluate whether the expenditure should be one‑time contractual services or reclassified into an ongoing position later in the budget process.
