REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: January 17, 2022 Report No. ADM-22-005
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
SUBJECT:
Title
Community Policing Engagement Strategy
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council award Neuquinn Consulting the contract for Community Policing Engagement Strategy at a cost of $60,375 including all taxes and direct staff to finalize the details and execute the Professional Services Agreement.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Financial Plan Bylaw 2021, No. 3016
Purchasing and Disposal Bylaw, 2014, No. 2845
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
This request for decision supports Council’s strategic priority to Efficiently and Effectively Provide Local Services and Infrastructure: work to achieve equitable costing and optimization of policing in Esquimalt.
BACKGROUND:
In 2014 the Township, the City of Victoria and the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board negotiated and entered into an agreement (Framework Agreement) to provide additional clarification between the parties on certain aspects of delivery of policing services to both Esquimalt and City of Victoria.
The Framework Agreement (FA) was for a 10-year term and was intended to clarify many aspects of service delivery and governance of police services including sharing of costs of the amalgamated police force, dedicated resources for each municipality, budget approval processes, dispute resolution, optional resources and performance metrics. Part of the Agreement is a renewal opportunity after the initial 10-year term is reached. The Agreement is set to be renewed for another 10-year term unless elected not to extend by one of the parties within the set timeframe of July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.
To inform their decision on renewal, Council decided that engagement with the community and other stakeholders would assist in determining the level of satisfaction with the current amalgamated service delivery model in the context of funding levels and comparatives to other municipalities. As such, a working group consisting of the CAO, Director of Financial and IT Services, Director of Community Safety Services and Manager of Communications was formed. As per the Township’s purchasing bylaw, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was developed and then issued November 19, 2021 with a closing date of December 20, 2021.
A total of four proposals were received by the deadline of 2:00 pm PST, December 20, 2021. These proposals were thoroughly reviewed and evaluated by the working group and there was a unanimous agreement that Neuquinn Consulting was the preferred proponent to conduct the Community Policing Engagement.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
A total of four submissions were received by the deadline. The evaluation criteria contained in the RFP and utilized in evaluation the proposals was based on points as follows:
Project Methodology 10
Team Experience and Capacity 30
Cost 40
Proposed Project Schedule/Timeline 10
Past Performance/References 10
The working group review and evaluation of each proposal resulted in the following scores:
Neuquinn Consulting 88
Pepler Group 79
Argyle 66
DPM Consulting N/A*
*due to the significant cost for this proposal it was not evaluated further
Based on these evaluation criteria as identified in the RFP and the scoring as detailed, staff recommends that the contract be awarded to Neuquinn Consulting and that staff negotiate and finalize the Professional Services Agreement.
2. Organizational Implications
Management of this initiative will be incorporated into existing staff workplans for 2022.
3. Financial Implications
Council had previously approved a budget of $50,000 for this initiative. The lowest cost proposal received was for $60,375 including all taxes and if Council agrees with the staff recommendation this becomes a pre-approved item in the 2022 budget.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
The consideration of renewal of the Framework Agreement is very much a financial sustainability consideration given the high costs associated with delivering adequate policing to the Esquimalt community.
5. Communication & Engagement
Communication and engagement are the focus of this initiative and will commence as soon as a professional services agreement has been signed. A final report on the results of this engagement will come forward to Council before summer recess.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council award Neuquinn Consulting the contract for Community Policing Engagement Strategy at a cost of $60,375 including al taxes and direct staff to finalize the details and execute the Professional Services Agreement.
2. That Council direct staff to enter into negotiations with an alternate proponent.
3. That Council cancel the request for proposal process and not proceed with this initiative.