CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the award of Change Order #1 to Contract 20-375, Axon Taser Equipment, to Axon Enterprise for an amount not to exceed $177,256.96 over three years and a total award of $453,256.96
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DEPARTMENT: Police Department
SUBMITTED BY: Jason Arres, Chief
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The City Council awarded Contract 20-375 to Axon Enterprise on December 15, 2020 with an expiration date of December 31, 2025.
The purpose of the contract is to provide the Police Department (PD) with Axon Taser 7 devices as a less-than-lethal option for addressing violent and/or combative subjects. The PD has been using the Axon tasers since 2005 and has standardized on the Axon platform based on hundreds of training hours. Currently, only officers in the Patrol Division are issued the Taser 7 under a shared program.
Sworn personnel in the Investigations Division are issued an Axon Taser X26P. The Taser X26P will be out of warranty in October 2022 and outside the recommended manufacturer lifespan for a conducted electric weapon.
DISCUSSION:
This change order is to add 50 Taser 7 devices to the department for officers in Investigations. Because the Taser X26P and Taser 7 operate on different platforms and have different certification requirements, replacing expired Taser X26P with Taser 7 devices will standardize the entire department and improve operational efficiency, equipment needs, and training processes.
Axon also recommends agencies do not use taser devices past five years because the high voltage capacitors and other electronic components will deteriorate increasing the risk of failure in the field. The best course of action to mitigate against this risk is to regularly update equipment.
Additionally, Axon provides a $10 million liability insurance policy with coverage extended to its customers for any product design or manufacturing defect. While this extends to units older than five years, if a taser device fails due to a worn-out electronic component that is older than five years the insurance would not cover the claim and Axon would not be liable for any resulting injuries.
The current contract expires on December 31, 2025. Pricing for the additional equipment is per Sourcewell Cooperative Contract 010720-AXN - Axon Enterprise. The pricing proposal is co-termed with the City’s existing agreement with Axon and has been pro-rated to align with annual billing dates. After the expiration of the current contract, the department will have to reevaluate the options on the market.
Axon offered a $10,000 pricing incentive if an agreement could be executed before June 23, 2022. With current supply chain estimates, the tasers would be received in January of 2023 and included in the 2023 budget.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Tasers and accessories are expensed to the Operating Supplies account listed below. There will be no financial impact on the current budget as these will be ordered in 2023. The requested award will be budgeted accordingly in 2023 and beyond.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
21101100-541407 |
General Fund |
TBD |