Rugged Budgeting on LPD Toughbooks

[XLFD]

Tough books tough on bucks

One of the many excesses in the 2013 budget is the purchase of 5 toughbook computers for the LPD's vehicles, which are to replace the five five-year old ones purchased in 2008.  Funds to replace these are $25,000, or $5000 per computer for those from Seminole Avenue.  As developed here:

After confirming my suspicions through some internet research on Panasonic Toughbooks, I sent out a FOIA request to find out how much the previous toughbooks costed the department, when they were purchased, and was rewarded with the following receipt:

In early 2008, the 5 toughbooks used for the LPD vehicles cost the City $13,758.  In computers, you frequently see the cost of them come down over time, while the product gets stronger.  If you purchase the current breed of toughbooks, you will have more than 80 Gb storage, 1 Gb for RAM.  So you can easily get a four times more powerful computer, at a less price than you could back in 2008 now.  This is reflected in some internet ads for Panasonic Rugged and semi-rugged Toughbook computers.  Here is a refurbished rugged toughbook with 4GB RAM, 320 GB storage:

With free shipping, 5 of these Toughbooks, with top of the line specs and a 6 month warranty, cost $4245, which is $20,755 less than the budgeted amount created by City Manager John Shay.   They can probably arrange to trade in their old Toughbooks to the "King of Laptops" for an even bigger savings.  Smaller capacity 'refurbs' cost as cheap as $599.

Maybe LPD doesn't want their new toughbooks to be 'refurbished', here's one with almost the same stats and brand spanking new for about $500 more:

This one is what's called 'semi-rugged' meaning that it can survive drops of 3 ft. and other significant abuse, whereas the fully rugged one first depicted can survive 6 ft. drops and even more abuse.  Five of these costs $7355, so there is $17,645 left over to add to the general fund thereafter-- giggles.  How about a new, fully rugged toughbook?  Here you go:

It can survive a 30" drop, and offers a variety of features that the current ones can't even begin to imagine, and costs $2529 with free shipping, making five of them $12,645, a savings of $12,355 over the budgeted amount.  The features in this model are found in more expensive models which go up to $5000 each.  But so do the features in the refurbished models at about a third of the price of this one.

Replacing computers for policemen's cars after five years is reasonable, replacing them with $5000 computers is irresponsible, when you can get computers with the same features for much less.  At worse, you can get much superior replacements for half the price, and refurbished, warrantied, superior replacements for a fifth of the price.

[Lisa O'Brien]

I'm guessing the high cost allocated is also for software licensing and installation of the toughbooks and also a maintenance contract. My installation charges for the vehicles would be over $2500 each, and software licensing is very expensive.

[XLFD]

The budget separates the hardware purchases from the software purchasing, and internet services, as can be somewhat inferred by the top budget listing.  The previous purchase in 2008, also had a purchase of adapters as extra, but nothing else.  This amounted to under $500.

Installation at $2500 each to put in replacement toughbooks?  I don't get that, but I don't get the $34,000 for fixing up a men's room at the beach either.  I really need to become a government contractor.

[Lisa O'Brien]

Well since I'm not familiar with how the Ludington police cars are set up, when we install computers in vehicles, theirs the labor charge for the technician(since most aren't local they have to be flown in, hotel accommodations and food) and the mounting hardware (from the picture it looks like they are set on a board going across the passenger seat) and the cabling. Personally I would of sold them a better system with the computer mounted in the trunk and a touchscreen monitor mounted to a pivoting post, with a wireless keyboard/mouse combo(optional). The placement from the picture shows a very congested passenger compartment and the heat/ac vents are behind the laptop, while the ac will not have much effect on the laptop, the heat definitely will.

[XLFD]

I'm not a technician by any means, but it's my understanding that they are purchasing the new toughbooks primarily because of the compatibility with the old ones, and the likelihood that the individual officers, who already have used similar models for nearly five years can already easily attach and detach the computer from the existing wiring when they need to make it portable for outside-the-vehicle use. 

If these were a whole new system of computers with new wiring, adapters, software, etc. needed, some of the purchases you mention would make more sense.  As it is, I think it's overbudgeting of around $12,000. 

[XLFD]

Another interesting tidbit from 2003 with some bearing on this article, in the first Ludington city council meeting in March, the minutes report that:

If you recall, John Shay was hired in February of 2003, so was not responsible for budgeting the original purchase.  Could Mark Barnett do the same responsible thing this year, and save the City over $12,000? 

That's doubtful, he was in his second year as LPD chief at that point in 2003, and I'm sure any sense of thrift has left the building, replaced by a "get me the most expensive toy, John." attitude.  The business, CDGW, that they purchased the 2008 toughbooks from does not seem to offer the lowest prices on computer models.