TITLE
Title
BUDGET AMENDMENT: PURCHASE OF STARCHASE GPS LAUNCHERS
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Sheriff Danny Rogers (1st Lt. Eric Gordon)
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BACKGROUND
Background
Offenders eluding law enforcement in vehicles is a continuing challenge. Pursuing suspect vehicles at high speeds can be extremely dangerous to officers, offender(s), and the public. There have been cases in Guilford County where vehicle pursuits have ended in tragedy. StarChase, LLC offers a potentially safer solution to this issue in certain scenarios. The company’s technology allows for a GPS projectile to either be fired from the front of a patrol car or a handheld device onto an offender vehicle. The vehicle can then presumably be tracked via GPS, no longer requiring the vehicle pursuit to continue.
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office is requesting approval to purchase four (4) Guardian VX vehicle mounted GPS launcher systems and one (1) Guardian HX handheld GPS launcher system. The total cost is $55,153 and includes vehicle installation labor, a three (3) year subscription and a three (3) year warranty for each of the launchers and projectiles.
The vendor being utilized for this purchase is StarChase, LLC. The technology is a patented product. StarChase, LLC is the exclusive and sole manufacturer of the StarChase Vehicle Mounted and Handheld tagging and tracking technology. The request is for the launchers to purchased with Federal Forfeiture funds from StarChase, LLC for a total cost of $55,153.
The vendor has been approved through SBED, and the Bid Waiver Justification through County Purchasing has been approved. A copy of the Bid Waiver approval is attached. Following this item, the remaining balance of federal forfeiture funds would equal $574,923.
Following a period of time to gauge the success of the program, the Sheriff's Office will bring back a plan to scale the program to more vehicles within the Sheriff's Office. This would include an initial funding plan and future county impacts associated with replacement schedules.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
General Fund
$55,153 increase in appropriation to Law Enforcement
$55,153 increase in Appropriated Fund Balance (Federal Forfeiture)
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Approve contract, in substantial form, with StarChase, LLC for the purchase of four (4) StarChase Vehicle Mounted GPS Launchers and one (1) StarChase Handheld GPS Launcher, as authorized by the sole source exemption of G.S. 143-129(e)(6) for a total cost of $55,153. Amend the General Fund budget ordinance to increase Law Enforcement in the amount of $55,153, with $55,153 in appropriated fund balance.
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