BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY PLACEMENT: DEPARTMENTAL PRESET: TITLE: PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEM STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES

Transcription

1 8E1 ADDITIONAL ITEM BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY PLACEMENT: DEPARTMENTAL PRESET: TITLE: PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEM STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AGENDA ITEM DATES: MEETING DATE: 12/20/2016 COMPLETED DATE: 12/8/2016 COUNTY ATTORNEY: 11/28/2016 ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR: 12/5/2016 REQUESTED BY: DEPARTMENT: PREPARED BY: Name: Kevin Kryzda Information Technology Services Kevin Kryzda, CGCIO/CPTM Name: Procedures: None EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Chief Information Officer Estimated staff presentation: 10 minutes. Staff seeks Board approval of a Standard Operating Procedures document to be used by Martin and Saint Lucie Counties in the daily operations of the Treasure Coast Regional Radio System that was approved in December of 2015 and is currently being installed. APPROVAL: ADM LEG ACA CA BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL: c3 1 of 33

2 1. Agreement Prepared by: Jointly by Martin and St. Lucie Counties 2. Parties to the Contract: Martin and St. Lucie Counties 3. Purpose: To provide guidelines and standards for the daily operation of the Treasure Coast Public Safety Radio System 4. New/Renewal/Modified: New 5. Duration: 10 Years - coterminous with Treasure Coast Regional Radio System 6. Benefits to Martin County: This document provides standards and guidelines by which the respective parties will operate and manage the radio system. 7. Cost to Martin County: None ISSUES: None LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW: This document has been reviewed by the County Attorney. RECOMMENDED ACTION: RECOMMENDATION 1. Move that the Board approve the Standard Operating Procedures document, and 2. Move that the Board authorize the Chairman to execute the Standard Operating Procedures document ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS Move that the Board not approve the Standard Operating Procedures document and provide staff with alternate direction. FISCAL IMPACT: RECOMMENDATION None ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS None c3 2 of 33

3 DOCUMENT(S) REQUIRING ACTION: Budget Transfer / Amendment Chair Letter X Contract / Agreement Grant / Application Notice Ordinance Resolution Other: ROUTING: X ADM _ BLD _ CDD _ COM _ ENG _ FRD _ GMD _ GSD _ ITS _ LIB _ MCA _ MPO _ PRD _ USD X CA X ACA X LEG c3 3 of 33

4 Treasure Coast Regional Communication System Standard Operating Procedure Manual 1 4 of 33

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Purpose and Design of This SOP Administrative Manual 2. Administrative Section A. Policy System Acronyms B. Policy Definitions C. Interlocal Agreement 3. Mission Support Section A. Mission Statement B. Authority C. Duties & Responsibilities D. Administrative Assistance E. Membership and Appointments 4. Operations Section A. Committee Formation B. Governance Workgroup C. Technical Workgroup D. Operations Workgroup E. Usage Policy 1. Authorized Users 2. User Application 3. Approval Process 4. Appeal of a Decision or Resolution of Conflict Process 5. Violation of Rules or Operating Procedures 6. User Responsibilities 7. NIMS Compliance 8. Technical Guidance for Equipment/Infrastructure Purchases 9. Technical Guidance for Talk Groups A. Interoperability Talk Groups B. Command and Control C. Preserving Valuable System Resources D. Private Calls E. Radio Unit Identifiers F. Talk Group Name/ Alias 5. Appendix Section A. Users of the TCRCS as of System Implementation B. Interlocal Agreement C. TCRCS Mutual Aid Plan 2 5 of 33

6 1. Purpose and Design of This SOP Administrative Manual It is the intention of Martin County and St. Lucie County to create a communication infrastructure that will allow all first responders and emergency responders to communicate with each other as efficiently and effectively as possible. To accomplish this, both counties have created an interoperable 800 MHz trunked radio system utilizing P25 technology. The radio system will be known as the Treasure Coast Regional Communication System (TCRCS). It is a secure communication system for all emergency responders that operates independently in each county but shares a single control point (Master Site) which will route communications between users. This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual has been developed in order to provide a guide for the development, operations and sustainability of the TCRCS. It also provides a resource for users of the TCRCS. The SOP manual is separated into three sections: Administrative, Mission Support and Operations. The scope of each section follows: A. The Administration Section provides organizational documentation of the TCRCS B. The Mission Support Section provides information about the development of the system, and the technical requirements of field and infrastructure equipment on the system. C. The Operations Section outlines the use of the TCRCS and the requirements of its user members. It also will provide a relationship of the individual users and groups to the larger system. There are three types of documents that will be inserted into the manual: Policies, Procedures and Guidelines. The definition of each document type follows: A. Policies are directives that must be followed exactly without deviation. The contents of the policy have legal, ethical, operational, contractual and safety basis for following the rule or directive exactly. No deviation exists in a policy for a member or user unless authorized by the TCRCS. B. Procedures are the embodiment of the policy and they set standardized conditions and processes for how the policy is to be administered. No deviation exists in a procedure for any member or user unless authorized by the TCRCS. C. Guidelines exist when there are numerous methods, techniques and types of equipment for performing operational tasks and responsibilities. In this situation, THE TCRCS has identified a procedure(s) as best practices or preferred methods to accomplish an operation or responsibility. The member or user deviating from the recommended practices and procedures of the 3 6 of 33

7 TCRCS bears the responsibility for and consequence of the decision to deviate. This SOP manual should be considered a living document to address the ongoing needs of the developing system and, ultimately, its users as the transition occurs. 2. Administration Section The TCRCS has established standard naming conventions and standardized language terminologies to be used within published documentation for the Treasure Coast Regional Communication System. Public safety communications systems terminology varies with the technology implemented. The TCRCS uses Project 25 trunking architecture. As such, much of the language contained in policy and procedure manuals references that technology. Other references are from accepted operational standards published by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) training manuals and operations guides. The purpose of this policy is to define relevant language to be used and to help clarify terms used throughout the standards, protocols and procedures manual. The definitions in this policy apply only in the context of the TCRCS as follows: A. SYSTEM ACRONYMS APCO CTCSS DTMF EMS FCC IC MHz PSAP PTT RF RSS TCRCS TMG UHF VHF Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System Dual Tone Multiple Frequency Emergency Medical Services Federal Communications Commission Interoperability Council Megahertz Public Safety Answering Point Push To Talk (microphone button) Radio Frequency Radio Service Software Treasure Coast Regional Communication System TCRCS Management Group Ultra-High Frequency Very High Frequency B. POLICY DEFINITIONS Affiliation (System Affiliation) - An automatic radio system to radio electronic confirmation that the specific radio is authorized to use the radio system 4 7 of 33

8 Alias An alias is a name that is given to a talk group number or subscriber ID number to provide a user friendly display and reference. Backbone System The primary connectivity mechanism of a hierarchical distributed system. All systems which have connectivity to an intermediate system on the backbone are assured of connectivity to each other. The TCRCS core system serves as a backbone to connect other communications systems to improve interoperability. Control Station A fixed station that communicates with the Two County System, usually connected to a dispatch console either as the primary dispatch radio or used to enable mutual aid patches. Critical Operations Governmental, quasi-governmental and non-governmental voice communication organizations designated by the TCRCS as authorized users who rely upon a functioning two-way radio communications system. Unavailability, degradation, delay, partial or complete failure, or failure, in system operations would significantly impact the successful operations of the users. Logging Audio recording of radio communications including date/time stamp or other data. Master Site A site that is responsible for processing calls, managing audio paths, controlling zone infrastructure, and providing services to subscribers and console operators. Mobile Radio A station in the mobile service, generally installed in a vehicle, intended to be used while in motion or during halts at unspecified points. Mobile Service A service of radio communication between mobile and base stations, or between mobile stations. Patch Permanent (hard) Patch: A physical connection between two or more audio resources, which is fixed and cannot be controlled or edited by the dispatcher. Manual (soft) Patch: A connection between two or more audio resources, which is setup and controlled by the dispatcher. The dispatcher owning the patch can add and delete resources as needed. Portable Radio A station that is completely freestanding and may be handcarried, or worn by the radio user, or mounted in a temporary fashion in a vehicle through the use of a charger or other device permanently mounted within the vehicle. Private Call (a.k.a. Individual Call) A Private Call permits two radios to directly communicate with each other without using a talk group. 5 8 of 33

9 Public Safety Government or non-government functions that operate to serve and protect the general welfare of the general public primarily from physical danger. In the context of the radio system, public safety means eligible public, quasi-public or private law enforcement, fire and emergency medical service agencies. The TCRCS may include personnel of agencies that work directly with or under public safety personnel including, but not limited to, emergency management, natural resources and environmental enforcement personnel, nonlicensed public officials with statutory or local ordinance compliance authorities, officers and officials of the court and corrections, public agency security personnel, private security personnel working under contract with public or quasipublic security services and those individuals who support public safety operations under special operations or circumstances as determined by the host public safety agency. Public Service Services provided by public, quasi-public or private entity. A service provided by a private entity is public service if acting under authority of a public quasi-public entity. Also included are any other legally authorized and eligible governmental and quasi-governmental radio system users not otherwise included within the scope of Public Safety. This would include, but not be limited to, public works, transportation, transit operations, environmental management, public and environmental health, parks and recreation, public schools and higher institutions, public libraries, facilities maintenance, building inspection, engineering and zoning, planning and development, general government administration, health and social services and those personnel or service providers under contract to provide or support such services to an eligible governmental or quasi government radio system user. The term Public Service is not used in relation to THE TCRCS; all users defined in this paragraph will be considered to be Public Safety agencies. Regional System A public safety communication system that serves multiple counties. Simulcast Cluster A group of radio frequency (RF) sites that function as a single site in transmit and receive. Site A radio communications tower or other structure that is equipped with the TCRCS trunking equipment. Two County and Regional Mutual Aid Interoperability Talk Groups - Two county and regional mutual aid talk groups are set-aside for communicating among multiple agencies. Regional talk groups can be accessed at any tower site in the region and are used when the potential participants in the conversation do not have a common local talk group. Two county talk groups can be accessed at any tower site in the system and are used when the potential participants in the conversation may be located in more than one region. 6 9 of 33

10 Sub-System A system that connects to the TCRCS system. Sub-System Administrators Individuals responsible for the day to day radio sub-system operations of a participating agency System the TCRCS network. System Administrator The individual acting on behalf of the TCRCS who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the TCRCS system. Talk group A channel established on a trunking system. Talk group is sometimes abbreviated as TG. Zone Controller - The ZC directs and controls most of the components in the zone. The ZC is a server and redundant server that interface with other devices at the master site through its Ethernet ports in the radio system. C. Interlocal Agreement The two county Interlocal Agreement is included as APPENDIX B.3. MISSION SUPPORT SECTION A. CHARTER MISSION STATEMENT The TCRCS Management Group (TMG) consists of public employees representing public safety/service agencies from Martin and St. Lucie County. The mission of the TCRCS system is to provide reliable and responsive two county communications interoperability between fire, law enforcement, rescue, emergency medical and emergency management and other government services. B. AUTHORITY TMG is a decision-making group empowered by the TCRCS to implement and govern Treasure Coast Regional Communication System. C. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TMG I. The TMG shall meet as needed to ensure creation and implementation of communications infrastructure for two county interoperability and monitor progress, scope and effectiveness of the TCRCS. II. III. Develop governance structure and language necessary for the TCRCS to exist. Determine the technical standards of the TCRCS system of 33

11 IV. Develop Request for Proposals (RFP), evaluate consultants and review frequency availability and allocations to engineer the TCRCS system. Solicit bids and contracts for goods/services, based on state guidelines. V. Establish policies, procedures, directives, and potential fees relevant to the TCRCS operations. VI. VII. VIII. IX. Review and authorize agencies submitting requests to join the TCRCS system, define levels of system participation, and determine the membership criteria to join the TCRCS system within each level of system participation. Identify funding methods and determine the entity that will act as the fiscal agent for the TCRCS. Determine the entity that will act as the operational administrator of the TCRCS. As required by Section 3.4 of their December 15, 2015 Interlocal agreement, the Counties shall on or before July 1 of each year, develop a proposed budget for the Master Site maintenance and update costs for the coming fiscal year. Such budget shall then be submitted to the respective County Administrators for approval. Each party shall process its proportionate share of the proposed budget in accordance with its applicable procedures. The budget developed under this section shall be subject to the following limitations: i. The TMG shall develop a three-year capital improvement, repair and maintenance plan for the Treasure Coast Regional Communication System. Such plan shall be subject to review and approval by the respective County Administrators. The plan shall be reviewed by the TMG annually. ii. The Budget shall include a separate fund for long term capital improvements. X. Following approval and adoption of the Maintenance and Update Budget, each party agrees to pay its fifty percent (50%). If a party fails to pay its share of the Maintenance and Update Budget, such failure shall be grounds for dispute resolution in accordance with Section 12 of the December 15, 2015 Interlocal Agreement. D. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE I. The TMG will be assisted by designated County employees, on an alternating annual basis, to provide support duties by preparing, maintaining and posting of minutes of meetings, meeting notices, in compliance with Section , Fla. Stat. (Sunshine Law) and Chapter 119, Fla. Stat. (Public Records Law). Committees or sub-committees designated by the TMG will be responsible for designating the person 8 11 of 33

12 responsible for preparing and maintaining meeting minutes and notices of meetings in compliance with the Sunshine Law and providing same to the TCRCS. All meeting notices and minutes shall be posted and available on both Martin and St. Lucie County websites. II. Each County Administrator, or their designee, will act as the primary point of contact for the TMG and will, under the general direction of the TMG, exercise day-to-day coordination, supervision, and administration of the operation of the TCRCS. III. Each County Administrator, or their designee, shall be the primary interface with contractors engaged in services for the TCRCS and will designate the nature and depth of status and progress reports from the contractor to THE TCRCS. E. MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT I. The TMG Shall Consist of representatives from the following organizations; Martin County St. Lucie County County Administrator or designee County Administrator or designee Sheriff's Department Radio Manager County Fire Rescue Department Sheriff's Department City of Stuart Police or Fire Department St. Lucie County Fire District Sewall s Point/Jupiter Island* Port St. Lucie Police Department County Radio System Manager Ft. Pierce Police Department *Representative will alternate on a biennial basis II. III. Annual review of attendance: 1. If the TMG membership determines that an appointed member is missing more meetings than they attend, the TMG chair shall notify the respective organization of the attendance record and extend an invitation for replacement. 2. If the TMG membership determines that a member is missing more meetings than they attend, the membership can vote to replace said member with an approved alternate from the appointing organization. 3. Alternate Member Representation 4. Agency / entity alternate The primary member shall be responsible for designating his /her alternate based on the authority granted to that member by their respective agency /entity prior to any vote. Voting for removal by teleconference or video conference is acceptable provided a quorum of members appearing in person is otherwise present. Officers 1. Officer Elections and Appointments 9 12 of 33

13 a) All elections and appointments shall occur at the TCRCS designated Annual Meeting by the TCRCS membership. 2. Principal Officers a) The TCRCS shall elect a Chair, who will serve a 2-year term. b) The TCRCS shall elect a Vice-Chair, who will serve a 2-year term. 3. Officer Duties a) The Chair shall in general: 1. Administer all of the business and affairs of the TMG. 2. Following TMG authorization Have authority to sign, execute, and / or acknowledge, on behalf of THE TCRCS, reports and other documents or instruments necessary or proper to be executed in the recourse of the TMG s regular business, or which shall be authorized by resolutions of the TMG. 3. Report to the TMG. 4. Perform all duties incident to the office of Chair. b) The Vice Chair shall in general: 1. Perform such duties as the Chair or the TMG may from time to time specify. 2. The Vice Chair shall conduct the meetings and the business of the TMG in the absence or vacancy of the Chair. c) The Secretary position shall: 1. The position of Secretary shall alternate annually between the two counties. 2. Keep the minutes of TMG meetings. 3. Give all notices in accordance with the provisions of these By-Laws or as required by law. 4. Be custodian of TMG s records. 5. Keep a register of the post office address of each member of the TMG. - In general, perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the Chair or THE TCRCS 6. A staff assistant will be provided by the agency that is hosting a meeting. The staff assistant will take the minutes of the meeting. IV. Resignation or Removal of Members and / or Officers 1. Any TMG member or officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Chair. V. Vacancies 1. Any unexpected vacancy in any principal office shall be filled by the Chair, or Vice Chair if filling the Chair s position, until a successor can duly elected of 33

14 VI. Work Groups Establishment and Assignments 1. The TMG may establish work groups to assist in performing its duties and responsibilities. 2. Any work group detailed to coordinate, research, recommend or act upon any matters associated with THE TCRCS shall be led by a TMG member; but may include non-tmg member subject matter experts appointed by the TMG. 3. A work group is authorized to carry out the assignment as determined by the TMG and shall be responsible for reporting back to the TMG as a whole. VII. Meetings 1. The TMG shall meet no less than four (4) times per calendar year. A regularly scheduled meeting may be cancelled by the Chair. Notification of the status of meetings shall be made to all members via message once a determination is made. 2. A quorum shall be the presence of one (1) more than one half (50%) of the members currently serving on the TMG. 3. Each appointed the TMG member present shall have one vote on matters before the TMG. VIII. Annual Meeting 1. The meeting held during the first quarter of each calendar year will be considered the Annual meeting. It will present an invitation to all public safety and service agencies and provide a status report of The TCRCS initiatives and The TCRCS as a whole. Annual membership appointments will be conducted at this meeting by casting vote of the existing TMG membership. 2. Meetings shall be comply with Chapter 119 (Fla. Stat.). In the event of a conflict between this document, and Florida Statutes, Florida Statutes take precedence followed by this document. 3. Meetings shall be in alternating public locations in Martin and St. Lucie Counties. 4. Members that are present at remote locations shall not be recorded for the purposes of establishing quorum. 5. Meeting Order: a) Regular meetings of the TMG will be conducted in the following order: b) Call to order / Roll call c) Motions, if any, by members to amend the published agenda d) Approval of the minutes of prior meeting(s) e) Public Comment (shall be limited to pre-registered speakers and shall be limited to three (3) minutes per speaker unless otherwise granted by the Chair) f) Committee / work group reports g) Special reports h) Old business i) New business of 33

15 j) Other business (as authorized by law) k) Next meeting date discussion l) Motion to adjourn m) Additional agenda items shall be submitted to the Secretary, for consideration by the Chair, seven(7) days prior to the meeting date n) TMG agendas and minutes shall be posted as soon as possible following each meeting. Minutes that have not been approved shall be marked as DRAFT. 6. Member Alternates a) Member alternates will be allowed to fully participate in place of a primary member in matters before the TMG IX. Voting 1. Each TMG member will be allowed to designate a proxy with 24 hour written notice to the chairperson or his / her designee, in lieu of an alternate or the alternate s vote. 2. Voting shall be recorded as pass or fail on voice votes. Any primary or alternate member may request a roll call on any vote. Individual member votes shall be recorded on roll call votes or when a member or alternate requests their individual vote to be recorded. Adoption of By- Laws/Guidelines 3. Adoption of the original By-Laws and Guidelines was made by The TCRCS upon a majority roll call vote of those present. X. Amendment of By-Laws/Guidelines 1. Amendment of these By-Laws and guidelines shall be made at any regular or special meeting of the TCRCS upon two thirds approval of those members present. 4. OPERATIONS SECTION A. COMMITTEE FORMATION Committees may be appointed by approval of the TMG for a specific purpose. A committee must have at least one member as a liaison to the TMG, and the number and terms will be designated at the time of formation. Standing committees may be appointed where areas of interest or where topics consistently return to the floor. A report will be rendered from the standing committee at each regular meeting. The following are the standing committees and the roles and responsibilities assigned to each: B. GOVERNANCE WORKGROUP This committee is charged with the development of the structure of communications, correspondence, and services for the advancement of The TCRCS. This committee will maintain the policies, procedures and guidelines documents for the operation of The TCRCS. This committee will review applications for membership and prepare a report for The TCRCS of 33

16 C. TECHNICAL WORKGROUP This committee is charged with the engineering, specification and request for proposal (RFP) development, and procurement of any future system growth. The committee will be further charged with oversight of the operational maintenance of The TCRCS and will assist each county in the preparation of their annual maintenance budget. The budget will be submitted to the TMG to be included in the budget review process for The TCRCS. D. OPERATIONS WORKGROUP This committee is responsible for the oversight of the system users of the TCRCS. The committee will develop and submit operational policies, procedures and guidelines, as necessary, to the TCRCS for approval. This committee will also be charged with exercise and training system users and provide after-action reporting on the functionality of the TCRCS for a major planned or emergency events. E. USAGE POLICY 1. Authorized Users All current users of both the Martin County trunked radio system and the St. Lucie County trunked radio system are deemed users of the TCRCS. New users may apply to be considered based upon the following criteria: a) Applicant must be a government or quasigovernment agency operating within the coverage area of TCRCS b) Applicant must provide its own radio equipment that complies with the requirements of this TCRCS. c) Applicant must provide technical information to the Technical Workgroup which will determine the impact of the Applicant upon the system operation. d) The Technical Workgroup will provide a recommendation concerning the application to the Operations Workgroup e) The Operations Workgroup will evaluate the application and make a recommendation to the TMG. The TMG will evaluate the application and the workgroup recommendations and make a recommendation to each County Administrator. Final approval will based upon an interlocal agreement between the applicable county and the applicant I. Participation User Level a defined level of usage of the TCRCS based on the following levels: a) Level 1 Interoperability / Mutual Aid 1. Interoperability use is defined as radio communications in support of multi-agency response to an incident. This is typically across county lines and when responding agencies do not have access to local common channels. Interoperability use will occur on predefined system interoperability talk groups in accordance with of 33

17 the guidelines for use of those channels. All local, county, state, tribal, and federal government agencies, military, local and regional governmental districts and authorities, schools, hospitals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), utilities, and adjacent states, operating in support of public safety, may use the TCRCS for interoperability purposes, and are encouraged to do so. There is no cost to use the TCRCS for interoperability. b) Level 2 Itinerant / Travel 1. Itinerant use is defined as radio communications in support of units operating outside of their home area or system. This is typically when a unit leaves its home county. 2. Examples of itinerant use are: i. A sheriff s deputy on a prisoner transport needs to communicate with their dispatch or the dispatch point for the location they are at. ii. A regional response team in route to/from an incident needs to communicate with their dispatch. Itinerant use will occur on predefined channels in accordance with the guidelines for use of those channels. All local, county, state, tribal government agencies, local and regional governmental districts and authorities, schools, hospitals, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in support of public safety, may use the TCRCS for itinerant communications. There is no cost to use the TCRCS for itinerant communications. c) Level 3 Daily Use / Dispatch 1. Daily use is defined as radio communications in support of internal agency operations such as usual and routine dispatch. Daily use will occur on channels that have been established for internal agency communications. Daily use will not occur on channels established for interoperability or itinerant use. All local, county, state, tribal, and federal government agencies, military, local and regional governmental districts and authorities, schools, hospitals, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in support of public safety, may apply to the TCRCS for use of the TCRCS for daily use communications. User fees and/or in kind contributions to the construction, operation, and/or maintenance of the TCRCS may apply for daily use. User fees are determined by the TCRCS. d) Level 4 Affiliated Sub System 1. An agency wishes to affiliate their radio system with the TCRCS through an ISSI or gateway. e) Level 5 Integrated Build-Out to Increase Coverage and/or Capacity 1. An agency wishes to purchase and construct additional coverage and/or capacity for the TCRCS in order to meet their needs. f) Level 6 Data Use 1. (Future) of 33

18 2. User Application. The duties and responsibilities of the TCRCS in defining users are to review and authorize agencies submitting requests to join the TCRCS system, define levels of system participation, and determine the membership criteria to join the TCRCS system within each level of system participation. When applying for membership to The TCRCS, the following items shall be included in the application: 1. Name of the organization. 2. Type of organization 3. Geo-political boundaries of organization s service area. 4. Level of usage. 5. Contact information. a) Primary contact person b) Primary contact phone number c) Primary contact address 3. Approval Process. I. All user agencies and radios operating on the TCRCS must be preapproved and registered through the submittal of an application form to the system administrator. Applications for Level 1 and 2 will be handled by the system administrator and reported to the TMG. Applications for Level 3 or higher will be reviewed by the TMG. 4. Violation of rules or operating procedures as described in this SOP. Users must comply with FCC rules and all of the rules and operating procedures of this SOP. The actions of all users shall be governed by this SOP and the appropriate MOU s or interlocal agreements 5. User Responsibilities. Users: a) Agree to and follow the Policies and Procedures established by the TCRCS. b) Report all conflicts of usage and other members, and maintenance concerns in writing to the Chair of the TCRCS. c) Immediately report any outages of the TCRCS to the Operational Administrator of the TCRCS by telephone or other approved method. d) Provide proper maintenance of organization-owned communication equipment utilized on the TCRCS system. e) Maintain Proper radio discipline and comply with all relevant FCC Rules and industry standard operating procedures. 6. NIMS-Compliant Communication NIMS compliance will not be addressed in this SOP of 33

19 7. Technical Guidance for Equipment/Infrastructure Purchases a) This document provides technical guidance for purchasing equipment for utilization on the Treasure Coast Radio Communication System (the TCRCS). b) The guideline addresses equipment utilized on the TCRCS. These guidelines do not guarantee interoperability. c) The following are general guidelines for purchasing radio equipment that may be utilized on the TCRCS. Complying with the guidelines/technical specifications does not guarantee total interoperability with the TCRCS. To properly evaluate the radio performance, testing must be performed. d) System Compatibility Guidelines i. Compliant with current P25 standards ii. AMBE+2 Vocoder iii. P25 digital trunking enabled iv. Provide 512 channel minimum capacity v. Minimum capability of 128 control channel vi. Capable of Alphanumeric Display vii. 50 watt (maximum) output viii. Roaming algorithm that considers RSSI, adjacent site information, noise environment, etc. ix. Full spectrum control channel scan capability x. Preferred site list e) To insure interoperability, all radios must be programmed according to the Two County Mutual Aid Talk Group Plan. f) Radios that are grant funded will use this guideline and these are recommended for consistent purchase throughout Martin County and St. Lucie County. While radios with less capabilities may be allowed on the system, they may have limitations. Motorola s performance warranty only applies to Motorola equipment used on the TCRCS. Other trunking enabled P25 radios from other manufacturers may go through a credentialing test to ensure their affiliation to the radio system will not adversely impact the radio system. Approval of non-motorola equipment is at the sole discretion of the TCRCS. 9. Technical Guidance for Talk groups a) This document provides guidance and policy regarding the use of the Treasure Coast Regional Communication System (the TCRCS). Policies included in this document were prepared to assist with direction and control issues and over-all management of the TCRCS from the end-user perspective and application. For this reason, operational standardization is necessary and outlined in this policy. b) The policy addresses all users of the TCRCS, the approval of application and level of participation, appeal of the TCRCS decision and user conflict resolution processes, user responsibilities as a member, and establishment of a fee structure of 33

20 c) Through the records management system of the TCRCS, the System Administrator will monitor usage of the members, outages and maintenance costs, and provide a quarterly report to the TCRCS. The TCRCS at a regular business meeting will take up appropriate action. A. Interoperability Talkgroups a) One of the most significant benefits of The TCRCS is the ability for multiple agencies to coordinate their efforts via a shared communications system. Agencies that need to communicate may do so on each other s talk groups or may use the interoperability talk groups that are created by the TCRCS. In order to enable agencies to quickly and easily communicate, the TCRCS has developed policies for use of interoperability talk groups. b) There will be multiple county interoperability talk groups available for use. Radios should be programmed with two county mutual aid talk as defined in APPENDIX C. This will provide two county and regional interoperability between all users of the TCRCS. c) Interoperability talk groups are assigned in each of the State interoperability regions. (Interoperability regions are based on Florida Emergency Management regions.) These are wide area mutual aid/special event talk groups that will be shared by all public safety agencies. If possible, in order to avoid conflicts, interoperability talk groups should be reserved from the assigning agency (TBD) prior to use. d) All agencies participating in the TCRCS shall program, at a minimum, the regional interoperable talk groups for the respective geographic area. e) While not mandatory, agencies are highly encouraged to program all regional interoperable talk groups into their mobile and portable radios. This will facilitate interoperable communications if these units should be called to respond outside of their home area. f) This policy establishes the regional interoperable talk group or call or dispatch of high priority radio traffic. All dispatch centers shall actively monitor their respective regional talk group. It is recommended that at least the talk group be included in the radio scan list. g) In addition to regional interoperable talk groups, all agencies participating in the TCRCS should make every effort (equipment capabilities considered) to program the two county mutual aid talk groups into their radios as well. The two county mutual aid talk groups may be designated as the two county mutual aid calling channel. Dispatch consoles and RF control stations, where possible, should be programmed to support these of 33

21 talk groups. Those dispatch centers shall actively monitor the mutual aid talk groups for assistance. h) One of the prime objectives of the TCRCS is to establish interoperable communication capability for the two counties. In doing so, the TCRCS recognized a need to provide a series of common talk groups that every agency participating in the system could maintain in their subscriber equipment (mobiles, portables, wireline and RF control station consoles). i) The TCRCS regional interoperable talk groups were established to provide common talk groups within a region for agencies that require mutual aid incident response, or other tactical/operational response to communicate without the need to program and re-program dispatch talk groups in the response region. j) This policy will establish procedures for routinely using the regional interoperable talk groups, and provide operational guidelines for monitoring and management of the regional interoperable talk groups during an incident. k) All subscriber equipment, dispatch consoles, and/or RF control stations should program these regional interoperable talk groups so that all first responders within the multi-county area would have a single point of interoperable communications. l) The creation of programming templates is very complex and requires considerable thought and planning. While having surrounding community dispatch talk groups in radios achieves the highest level of interoperability, it may not be the most economical. As more public safety agencies join the TCRCS, new talk groups will be added and frequent reprogramming of templates could result in significant expense. Often agencies add or modify existing dispatch talk groups, which would require surrounding agencies to make similar changes to maintain the same level of interoperability. m) Therefore, the use of regional interoperable talk groups can significantly reduce the need for reprogramming of templates as more public safety agencies join the TCRCS. n) Based upon the type of console system, the ability to simulcast or transmit on both the primary dispatch talk group and RTACx1 can be easily accomplished. Dispatch centers should have procedures in place for setting the console to perform this function of 33

22 o) Examples of hot call that would qualify for regional broadcast are: pursuits, injury accidents, officer requesting aid or assistance, bank alarms, robbery in progress and other typical emergency radio traffic. p) The ability for every public safety officer to receive these types of calls is critical. Agencies should not be hesitant in the use of RTACx1 for dispatch of these calls. q) To accommodate the region-wide broadcast of these dispatches, the TCRCS will cause every site in the region to transmit all traffic being broadcast on the RTACx1 talk group. Doing so will allow those mobiles, portables and RF Control stations scanning the RTACx1 talk group to receive the broadcast, regardless of their primary dispatch site affiliation. B. COMMAND AND CONTROL. As a mutual aid or interoperable incident is established (often long-term situations), and it is determined that extended interoperable communications is required, the agency with incident command shall request participating agency personnel to move to a Regional Tactical talk group, RTACx2, RTACx3, or RTACx4, depending upon availability. This migration is critical in order to free up RTACx1 for other interoperable traffic (particularly hot calls), and minimize channel usage at sites not required for communications. For example, a dispatch message requesting units to move from RTACx1: Attention all units responding to (EVENT), switch to RTACx2 for all traffic related to this incident. Authority (Martin) County Sheriff. At the completion of the interoperable incident, users should be notified to switch their radios back to their primary dispatch talk group. NOTE: The use of this technology and the interoperable talk groups does not alleviate the protocol for a dispatcher to contact other dispatch centers for requesting aid or assistance. C. PRESERVING VALUABLE SYSTEM RESOURCES. One of the most valuable resources in the TCRCS system is the availability of sufficient voice channels at each communication site. The system features support roaming from tower site to tower site without users having to manually switch subscriber units as they migrate from site to site. Roaming technology enables users to monitor their home talk groups while traveling throughout the system. Utilization of the system in this manner, while convenient to the subscriber, presents the potential of overloading the communications channels available at a given site. While it is important to provide a mechanism for two county interoperable communications for subscribers who roam throughout the system, it must be of 33

23 realized that the overall system design (channel capacity at each site) has been based upon the anticipated number of public safety personnel in the area to be served by the site. The ability for subscribers to routinely monitor any localized talk group not normally affiliated to that tower site, system-wide, may cause available channels to be busy for all users of the site. An example would be a large concentration of members of local, county or state users meeting in the Stuart area, each wishing to monitor home agency talk group(s). Most of these users would be affiliated with the local tower. As more subscribers travel in to the area and affiliate with the site(s), channels would become saturated resulting in system busies for local users who are handling local public safety incidents. To address this situation, most local talk groups do not work on towers outside the home area. To the extent that the TCRCS system supports communications outside users home area, users should limit communication outside home area to extremely necessary transmissions. Alternative methods of communicating with home dispatchers have been provided via the Itinerant talk groups. The ability to communicate with a dispatch center from outside the normal dispatch area can generally be accommodated through the use of regional talk groups or one of the two county mutual aid talk groups. D. PRIVATE CALLS A Private Call permits two radios to directly communicate with one another without using a talk group. It has been determined that The TCRCS will not permit private calls on the radio system. E. RADIO UNIT IDENTIFIERS Radio IDs are 7 digit numbers that range from to Radio IDs must be unique. Typically, radios equipped with a display will show the ID of the radio being received. If the State of Florida has establishes a plan for Project 25 digital radio unit IDs. This is the identification number that is programmed into the radio and can be decoded by receiving units. The purpose of this plan is to provide a logical plan for the assignment of unique radio identifiers to all potential Project 25 digital capable radios used by public safety agencies within the State of Florida. The goal of the plan is to eliminate use of duplicate identifiers and maximize the benefit of the imbedded unit ID capability through the use of a number that is logically defined. This number can be tied to an alphanumeric display. The TCRCS plan to use their exiting ID plan of 33

24 F. TALK GROUP NAMES/ALIAS A Talk Group is a resource on the system that permits a group of users to communicate with one another. Each talk group on the system is assigned a 5 digit talk group number when it is created. Talk group IDs are 5 digit numbers that range from to Talk group IDs are unique; the talk group aliases for a talk group ID should be consistent in all radios! Programming of aliases is an agency responsibility. The TCRCS has developed these policies for managing talk group aliases. The agency identifier, when combined with the county identifier, must be unique throughout the system. Selected identifiers will be compared to existing identifiers to ensure against duplication. II. Appendix Section A. Users of the TCRCS as of System Implementation B. Interlocal Agreement C. TCRCS Mutual Aid Plan of 33

25 APPENDIX A Users of the TCRCS as of System Implementation Martin County Sheriff's Department Martin County Fire Rescue Department Martin County local government agencies City of Stuart Police City of Stuart Fire Department Sewall s Point Jupiter Island St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department Port St. Lucie Police Department Ft. Pierce Police Department St. Lucie County Fire District St. Lucie County local government agencies of 33

26 APPENDIX B INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT of 33

27 24 27 of 33

28 25 28 of 33

29 26 29 of 33

30 27 30 of 33

31 28 31 of 33

32 29 32 of 33

33 APPENDIX C TCRCS Mutual Aid Plan A new zone will be configured for mutual aid between Martin and St Lucie (Treasure Coast Regional Radio System), and Palm Beach Counties. The TG s in this zone will be shared by Martin and St Lucie and simulcast in each County. Using a similar approach as practiced by Palm Beach with their commons, the 16 channels will be specified LE for Law Enforcement and FR for Fire Rescue. There will be no EM for Emergency Management instead there will be channels named TC MA COM#. The zone will look like this: TC LE CALL TC FR CALL TC MA COM1 TC MA COM5 TC LE COM1 TC FR COM1 TC MA COM2 TC MA COM6 TC LE COM2 TC FR COM2 TC MA COM3 TC MA COM7 TC LE COM3 TC FR COM4 TC MA COM4 TC MA COM8 Martin and St Lucie SO and Fire dispatch positions will monitor the LE and FR CALL TG s for requests for mutual aid. The agency with the incident is the lead agency, and all others are responding to assist the lead agency. In cases which involve Palm Beach County units, I ve attached a document provided by Ray Carlson, PBSO which recommends the procedure to follow as these are separate systems and require additional steps in the dispatch centers. Martin will build and enable the range of EID s (7 million range) for Palm Beach to distribute to those Public Safety agencies that have a need for interoperability with Martin and/or St Lucie Public Safety Agencies. Martin and St Lucie will build and enable each other s range (Martin = 5,600,000 to 5,624,999 and St Lucie = 5,625,000 to 5,649,999) in their zone controller of 33