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Contract - Taser Certification Bundles
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dorothy Thomas, Public Safety Finance Administrator, Union County Sheriff’s Office, 704-283-3578
ACTION REQUESTED:
Authorize the County Manager to 1) negotiate and execute an agreement substantially consistent with this agenda item, 2) exercise any renewal or extension term options set forth in the Agreement, and 3) terminate the Agreement if deemed in the best interest of the County, each in the County Manager's discretion.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
None.
BACKGROUND:
The Union County Sheriff’s Office utilizes the Axon Taser as an effective less lethal tool in both the jail and throughout Union County, when a situation requires a heightened level of response. Taser 10 is the latest Taser platform to be released by the company. This new platform offers features that are not available on the platform currently utilized by the Agency, such as increased probe distance, which provides an increased safety buffer between themselves and the offender. The new platform also offers a virtual reality (VR) training tool using scenario-based simulations that mimic real world events. This gives deputies and detention officers the opportunity to better prepare for situations they might encounter. It also greatly reduces the need for training cartridges, which come at an additional cost. The need for cartridges may be alleviated altogether. The VR platform also gives the UCSO Training Bureau the ability to train more deputies in a reduced amount of time, since the VR platform has multiple scenarios available for training. This has the possibility of reducing overtime costs related to mandatory training hours. Axon provides a five-year support and maintenance plan following the year of implementation that includes a limited number of training cartridges, as well as duty carry cartridges, replacement of any Taser or component that breaks or fails and provides automatic upgrades in the case of technological changes.
N.C.G.S 143-129(e)(3) and N.C.G.S 143-129(e)(9) allow local governments to make purchases through a competitively bid North Carolina Statewide Term Contract or a Group Purchasing Program.
The purchase of the Taser 10 Certification Bundles will be made using Group Purchasing Program, National Purchasing Partners, Contract Number PS20270 as quoted by Axon.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The anticipated first-year cost for the Taser 10 Certification Bundles is $225,520.94. Annual costs for years two through six will be $330,429.98, for a total six-year cost of $1,877,670.84. Funding is available in the adopted FY26 budget with future expenditures subject to annual BOCC budget appropriation.