Council approves purchase of emergency operations software after property-rights review

The Los Angeles City Council on Feb. 2 approved the purchase of an off-the-shelf emergency operations software product intended to improve the city's emergency operations center, including mapping and damage-assessment capabilities.

Bob Canfield of the City Administrative Office described the software as web-based and already budgeted; the city had set aside $992,000 in the budget for the purchase. Canfield said the city sought council authority because a property-rights question arose while negotiating with the vendor and the City Attorney advised that council authorization was appropriate.

The council voted unanimously, 13-0, to authorize the acquisition and to send the item forthwith. Councilmember Padilla, who called the item special, praised the work of the emergency operations staff and information-technology committee and said the software represents a forward step for the city's emergency readiness.

"This is the first city in the country to have developed this and to have this being implemented in our emergency operation system," Padilla said during remarks, describing the software as an example of the city's technology initiatives. Councilmember Ridley-Thomas commended department staff for sustained work over several years to bring the product to procurement.

Canfield said the software had been developed in close cooperation with the vendor during the prior 18 to 24 months, and that the purchase will give the city new capabilities for organizing incident information and performing mapping and damage assessments. The council directed staff to proceed consistent with the CAO recommendation.