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Taos County approves $1.26 million contract for new Mark43 dispatch system
Summary
The commission approved a five-year, $1,257,294 (exclusive of NM gross receipts tax) contract for a cloud-based Mark43 computer-aided dispatch system to replace an older Motorola/Spillman CAD; staff said the move will improve interoperability, reporting and cyber security across public-safety partners.
The Taos County Commission unanimously approved a five-year contract to replace the county's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system on March 17, voting to accept a Mark43 quotation the county identified as $1,257,294 exclusive of New Mexico gross receipts tax and payable in annual installments.
Public-safety stakeholders and staff described the current Motorola/Spillman CAD, purchased in 2014, as outdated, difficult to use and limited in its ability to share information across neighboring jurisdictions. A presenter told the commission that modern CAD will centralize calls, improve records and reporting, and strengthen cybersecurity by moving to a cloud-hosted platform that supports integrated data sharing among county dispatch, detention and municipal partners.
The purchase had the support of the county's JPA 911 finance committee and the 911 board, both of which voted to recommend procurement. Staff acknowledged the conversion will require a substantial data conversion and migration effort because existing systems do not interoperate; building and testing the data conversion was described as a major work item accompanying the purchase.
Commissioners asked whether the migration would create gaps and how long conversion would take; staff said a conversion and coordinated rollout are expected and that the county has budgeted for the multi-year, hosted service. The commission approved the motion and directed staff to proceed with the contract under the cooperative procurement mechanism described in the meeting record.
The decision is aimed at improving emergency communications and interoperability with adjacent jurisdictions in an era when timely, shared CAD data can materially affect field response and investigations.
