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From this mornings Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Choices range in price, may include a consolidated dispatch center.
Washington County could spend between $8.9 and $19.5 million to replace the aging radio system used by the Sheriff's Department, a county consultant said Thursday.
Costs vary depending on which frequencies, such as VHF or 800 MHz, and digital technologies are used, said Dominick Arcuri, senior vice president with RCC Consultants Inc.
The Woodbridge, NJ - based firm was hired by the county to recommend a new system.
The department currently depends on a VHF system that uses a wide band of frequencies, Sheriff Brian Rahn said. Washington County is planning to replace that system in 2007, a step ahead of federal regulators who have ordered county and municipal emergency radio systems to invest in so-called narrowband technologies by 2013.
Creating a centralized radio dispatch center serving the Sheriff's Department and all municipalities within a new structure would cost $1.21 million in addition to the price tag for equipment, said Kent Ryan, a managing consultant with RCC.
In one standard plan, known as a consolidated dispatch center, dispatchers on duty would answer radio calls from any and all communities.
The Cities of West Bend and Hartford and the Village of Germantown operate dispatch centers for their communities separate from the Sheriff's Department.
If those municipalities agree to join a centralized, countywide dispatch center under the condition that one dispatcher on every shift is dedicated to each of their communities, the additional consoles and other equipment needed would add about $216,000 to the building costs, Ryan said. This type of service is known as a combined dispatch center.
Arcuri and Ryan released the cost estimates Thursday at a meeting of the County Board's Radio Communications Systems Committee. In early January, RCC will submit a preliminary report to the committee and recommend a new radio system, Arcuri said.
The consultant will not recommend whether the county should move to a centralized dispatch center, however.
Hartford Police Chief Tom Jones told radio committee members that the Common Council there would decide whether to invest the money in new technology so that it could continue operating a separate dispatch center.
The Hartford "city council will not stand by and let the County Board decide whether the dispatch center will be taken away," Jones said.
One technology option being considered by RCC is a conventional narrowband VHF radio system that would cost the county between $8.9 million and $9.7 million, Arcuri said. Each municipal police and fire department would be assigned specific channels in a conventional system.
A so-called trunked narrowband VHF system, in which calls can be broadcast on any channels within a shared pool of channels, would cost up to $13.1 million. A big share of the added costs would come from equipment needed to route calls among the channels.
Using an 800 MHz frequencies would be the most costly option, with an estimated price of up to $19.5 million. Signals fade over a shorter distance than VHF, however, and the main reason for the higher costs is the need for additional transmission towers.
VHF systems would require four to six towers, while an 800 MHz system would require 10 to 12 towers to provide the same reliability of service, Arcuri said.
Choices range in price, may include a consolidated dispatch center.
Washington County could spend between $8.9 and $19.5 million to replace the aging radio system used by the Sheriff's Department, a county consultant said Thursday.
Costs vary depending on which frequencies, such as VHF or 800 MHz, and digital technologies are used, said Dominick Arcuri, senior vice president with RCC Consultants Inc.
The Woodbridge, NJ - based firm was hired by the county to recommend a new system.
The department currently depends on a VHF system that uses a wide band of frequencies, Sheriff Brian Rahn said. Washington County is planning to replace that system in 2007, a step ahead of federal regulators who have ordered county and municipal emergency radio systems to invest in so-called narrowband technologies by 2013.
Creating a centralized radio dispatch center serving the Sheriff's Department and all municipalities within a new structure would cost $1.21 million in addition to the price tag for equipment, said Kent Ryan, a managing consultant with RCC.
In one standard plan, known as a consolidated dispatch center, dispatchers on duty would answer radio calls from any and all communities.
The Cities of West Bend and Hartford and the Village of Germantown operate dispatch centers for their communities separate from the Sheriff's Department.
If those municipalities agree to join a centralized, countywide dispatch center under the condition that one dispatcher on every shift is dedicated to each of their communities, the additional consoles and other equipment needed would add about $216,000 to the building costs, Ryan said. This type of service is known as a combined dispatch center.
Arcuri and Ryan released the cost estimates Thursday at a meeting of the County Board's Radio Communications Systems Committee. In early January, RCC will submit a preliminary report to the committee and recommend a new radio system, Arcuri said.
The consultant will not recommend whether the county should move to a centralized dispatch center, however.
Hartford Police Chief Tom Jones told radio committee members that the Common Council there would decide whether to invest the money in new technology so that it could continue operating a separate dispatch center.
The Hartford "city council will not stand by and let the County Board decide whether the dispatch center will be taken away," Jones said.
One technology option being considered by RCC is a conventional narrowband VHF radio system that would cost the county between $8.9 million and $9.7 million, Arcuri said. Each municipal police and fire department would be assigned specific channels in a conventional system.
A so-called trunked narrowband VHF system, in which calls can be broadcast on any channels within a shared pool of channels, would cost up to $13.1 million. A big share of the added costs would come from equipment needed to route calls among the channels.
Using an 800 MHz frequencies would be the most costly option, with an estimated price of up to $19.5 million. Signals fade over a shorter distance than VHF, however, and the main reason for the higher costs is the need for additional transmission towers.
VHF systems would require four to six towers, while an 800 MHz system would require 10 to 12 towers to provide the same reliability of service, Arcuri said.
