Budgeting and Financial Management

The major for Jefferson City has requested a cost-benefit analysis. In short, she wants to know if the city can save money by suing outside security vendors for public events held at the citys convention center. The city manager has appointed you, budget analyst, to conduct the analysis. Your analysis should provide three alternatives. The first one should provide the data for the cities police department and the latter two should be estimates from two private companies (Security One and First Line Security). Since private companies are considered in this example, the budget should be primarily limited to personnel and operating costs. Below is a list of information that you should use when conducting your analysis. When you complete your analysis, make a recommendation to Major McClain. You are free to write your analysis in any form that you choose as long as you consider the information that is provided below. Last, in addition to what the city spent, you must create a budget for the remaining vendors.
The city spent $740,000 in salary and benefits last year (police department) in providing security at the convention center for 35 events.
The events averaged 25,000 people.
A total of thirty-five officers were used, on average, for each event last year.
The convention center has a main security office that requires three persons to be on duty at all times.
There are 8 points of entry that require an armed security guard.
The events averaged five hours in length.
Security One has contracted with the city in the past (four years) with fairly good evaluation scores on customer service. They have 40 security officers who are trained in CPR and paramedic skills, with an overage tenure of 6 years. Thirty-five of the officers are registered to carry weapons. They have four staff members with at least one person on duty at all times. The main office is not in the downtown area.
First Line Security is a new company that was started by the pervious police chief. They have 50 security officers with an average tenure of 10 years of experience and five staff members. They also have an office downtown near the areas where events tend to occur (open 24 hours per day). They have managed two large events thus far with few problems. They received high evaluation scores on both events. In addition, their fees tend to be slightly less than the competition for the same services.
Items to consider in the Benefits section of your analysis could include: education levels of security officers, certifications (delivery training, CPR, etc.), length of experience, permits (handgun, etc.), age; age of company, clientele list, work history of company, number and type of security vehicles; and expected length of the security contract. Also, note that the contractors are completely responsible and liable for their employees and any incidents that may occur (i.e. employee insurance; contractor must be bonded, etc.). In addition to the above items, you should consider speaking with a security officer or police officer to see what additional items should be included in your proposal It is not necessary to include every possible detail in your cost, by try to be holistic in your categories so as to keep your budget succinct.