Updated article from the Wisconsin State Journal:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/289811
Dane County to spend more than $30 million on emergency radio system
By SANDY CULLEN and MATTHEW DeFOUR
THU., JUN 5, 2008 - 12:38 AM
Dane County plans to invest $34.2 million in a new radio system that would allow all police, fire and EMS agencies in the county to communicate with each other.
But that price tag doesn't include an estimated $20 million for the 6,500 radios that will be needed by emergency responders and other end-users of the system, including Madison, Dane County and smaller municipalities. And those municipalities and agencies that don't agree to buy the radios would be left out of the communications loop.
Officials from five Dane County groups representing fire and police chiefs, EMS workers, towns, cities and villages — but not the city of Madison — told County Executive Kathleen Falk the county should pay their members' portion of the bill.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the five associations applauded Falk for planning to upgrade the system but said "we believe the proposal is dangerously incomplete because it does not include funding of all end-user equipment. Without that funding, some of the smaller agencies in Dane County can't afford the upgrade. There will be gaps in the system, gaps which will compromise public safety."
"We need a whole system here," said Fitchburg Mayor Tom Clauder, president of the Dane County Cities & Villages Association. But Falk, who said Wednesday that the county is issuing a request for bids to select a contractor to build the network, said municipalities will have to buy their own radios. She said they would have to replace them by 2013 anyway because the Federal Communications Commission is changing the frequencies available for emergency transmissions.
Falk said the county could help municipalities seek grant money for new radios.
The $34.2 million the county plans to spend will be its second-largest capital investment ever, behind the $44 million the county spent to build the new courthouse, Falk said. It includes $30 million for the core radio system and $4.2 million to upgrade the Dane County 911 center's computer system to handle it. She couldn't say how much taxes might be increased to pay for the system, which has been in her capital budget plan for the last two years and will require borrowing from 2009 through 2011.
Falk spokesman Joshua Wescott said talks with the associations are continuing. Consultants are working to identify ways in which the estimated $1.5 million annual operating and maintenance costs might be equitably shared, he said.
The actual total cost to replace the radios isn't known. A survey has been sent to determine what the actual needs will be. The system will take four years to build, and it will take six months to select a company to build it. The request for proposals was sent out this week to meet the 2013 deadline.
Revenue limits
Clauder said some municipalities also are concerned that state limits on how much revenue they can raise in taxes will prevent them from buying the new equipment.
Fitchburg Fire Chief Randy Pickering, a member of the 911 center board's technology committee, said there is "a huge concern" by the five associations that they will be cut out of the new system because they can't afford the equipment.
"The mantra is nobody gets left behind," Pickering said, adding that the people involved in implementing the new system are committed to finding a solution.
Basic equipment
The $20 million estimate reflects only the basic equipment needed to be compatible with the new county system, Pickering said. Some cities, such as Fitchburg and Madison, are budgeting for more expensive equipment, but smaller agencies aren't expected to make the same investment, Pickering said.
Radios for the city of Madison account for about half of the $20 million estimate, but the city already anticipates upgrading its radio system for police, fire, ambulance, public works, Metro Transit and other services. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said the city plans to spend $20 million in 2010 and 2011 on the equipment — a higher-end version of what is needed for the new countywide system. It's expected to be the city's largest capital expense over the next five years, Cieslewicz said.
"If I could get the county to pay for it, I'd say great," Cieslewicz said. "But I'm just sort of realistic of where that was going."
Cieslewicz noted that Madison property taxpayers will end up funding the radio system either way. "They're either going to pay for it in the city share of their property tax bill, or pay for it in the county share," he said.
'Critical' system
Pickering called the new system "critical" to dealing with emergencies involving responders from multiple agencies, such as the 2005 Stoughton-area tornado and the massive Interstate 39-90 traffic jam during a February blizzard.
The radio system also will allow emergency responders to communicate with other service providers, such as snowplow drivers, highway departments and water utilities. Stoughton Fire Chief Martin Lamers, who was an incident commander during February's traffic jam, said he tried to communicate with a snowplow driver who was 100 meters away but couldn't because their radio systems didn't mesh.
Lamers, who is also vice president of the Dane County Fire Chiefs Association, was among the officials who met with Falk last week to ask her to provide the additional money.
Members of his association have indicated that if they had to choose between buying a new fire truck or new radios, they're going to pick the fire truck, he said.
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Note that the County Public Safety Communications Center Board still hasn't published their minutes of the meeting that approved this. Sometime ... at:
http://www.co.dane.wi.us/committees/agendas.asp nor is the RFP published on the public site yet. Also, where is the analysis from the Governance RFP (cost sharing and management proposals)??
