Fiscal Note
The Planning Division's 2008 operating budget includes $40,000 for contracting with the Applied Population Lab to develop a pilot for the Neighborhood Indicators Project.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into a contract with the University of Wisconsin's Applied Population Lab to develop a pilot for the Neighborhood Indicators Project.
Body
WHEREAS, the continual and systematic collection, maintenance, and analyses of data is necessary to monitor the health of the City's neighborhoods over time and to identify trends that may indicate future problems; and
WHEREAS, information from multiple City agencies and other units of government integrated into a single database would facilitate a coordinated response to existing and emerging neighborhood issues before they become more serious problems; and
WHEREAS, staff has met several times to learn about similar efforts in other communities and to discuss the types of indicators that may be appropriate for Madison; and
WHEREAS, neighborhood input on this topic was received at the City's 2006 Neighborhood Conference and 2007 Neighborhood Roundtable; and
WHEREAS, indicators being considered generally fall into the following working categories: statistical profile, health and family well-being, economic vitality, community action and involvement, public safety, and housing quality and availability; and
WHEREAS, undertaking a pilot project for a portion of the community would allow the system to be fine-tuned before expanding it city-wide; and
WHEREAS, the University of Wisconsin's Applied Population Lab has particular experience and expertise in developing such systems. Their unique qualifications include serving as the clearinghouse for all census data for the State of Wisconsin, experience with Web-based presentation of demographic data, developing indicator packages for other Wisconsin municipalities and neighborhood groups, and geographic modeling to assess residents' proximity to community amenities; and
WHEREAS, per Madison General Ordinances, Sec. 4.26 (4) (a) 4., the City may enter into negotiated contracts without a competitive bidding process for the purchase of services if the services are to be rendered by a university, college, or other educational institution.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized to enter into a contract with the University of Wisconsin's Applied Population Lab on a sole source basis to develop a pilot for the Neighborhood Indicators Project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the contract with the Applied Population Lab to develop this pilot project not exceed $40,000 as authorized by the City's adopted 2008 operating budget.