Fort Wayne and Allen
County have agreed to pay about $17 million to upgrade the city-county 911
radio system and will spend the rest of the spring hashing out exactly how to
pay for the overhaul.
A joint city-county
emergency communications board approved the deal Wednesday after about a month
of negotiations with radio maker Motorola, said Fort Wayne Fire Chief Pete
Kelly. Motorola also supplied the current system.
…
Under the plan, the city
would buy about $5.6 million worth of new radios, while the county would pay
about $2.9 million for its own units. The city and county would split the $8.5
cost of upgrading the 911 radio infrastructure, including software and new
radio towers, Kelly said.
…
The next major task for
the city and county will be to settle on a funding source for the upgrade. They
also must find space for the new city-county 911 call center, which will not
fit in its current location at the Ed Rousseau Centre, said Dave Gladieux,
chief deputy with the Allen County Sheriff's Department.
Allen County officials
have floated the possibility of using Allen County's share of the $15 million
in unexpected income tax money distributed to county taxing units earlier this
year to make up for a state accounting glitch.
County officials expect
much of their funding to come from local 911 user fees that raise about $2.5
million annually, but no detailed funding plan has been established, Gladieux
said.
To cover the rest, the
city and county will need to either pay in cash from their general funds,
borrow money or set up an eight-year payment plan with Motorola. Gladieux said
the county council has indicated they would rather pay cash. The city, however,
is looking at all the options, Mayor Tom Henry said.
…
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