Well, yes and no. An APX 8000 doesn't cost $10,000 if you don't provision every feature it's capable of. Yes, it's still an expensive radio even in a bare bones configuration, but in some cases it's worth that expense. This FD, for example, only needs them to do UHF analog currently, but will be migrating to 700 MHz Phase II in the future. When that time comes, they simply purchase the upgraded flashcode (which comes on a USB stick), and they unlock those features within a few minutes.
Agencies are also getting a lot of these radios through grants, which means they're not paying for them directly out of pocket. Yes, the expense of those grants trickles down to every taxpayer eventually, but it's not such a direct blow to a single municipalities annual budget.
No, these radios aren't cheap, but saying that it's "throwing money away" is a bit extreme. I'd much rather pay for a rock-solid APX that is going to last at least a decade, can be upgraded on-the-fly to basically operate on any band in analog or digital, conventional or trunked. The extra expense is often worth it for the peace of mind you get knowing you have a true public safety grade piece of equipment, vs some hambone grade POS.
