SANATOGA PA – Montgomery County is asking for the opinions of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township and other municipalities on whether they want to upgrade their police departments’ radio systems, at an estimated cost of about $48 million countywide, or install a quick and less expensive fix that solves problems now but potentially incurs more costs later.
“No brainer,” Police Chief Michael Shade and township Manager Rodney Hawthorne essentially said during May (2011), when both told the Board of Commissioners they would prefer an upgrade despite the expenses municipalities would bear. They’ll possibly have an opportunity to confirm their preference again, during the commissioners’ first monthly meeting tonight (Thursday, July 7, 2011).
It starts at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, and is open to the public. A meeting agenda was not yet available today as of 6 a.m., but once posted usually can be downloaded from the township website, here.
Commissioners last discussed the status of police radios only two weeks ago, shortly after they received a June 20 letter containing the county’s inquiry and accompanying survey form. At the time they deferred answering it until a further discussion tonight, when the chief is expected to be in attendance.
The county is being forced by the Federal Communications Commission to change how the system works by using different radio frequencies, or bands. With federal demands for an April 28 decision, county commissioners officially voted to undertake the less costly choice of re-banding, or switching frequencies, rather than upgrade, or even replace the entire system at a substantially higher cost of about $120 million.
Like Shade, however, other police chiefs think their communications and safety needs outweigh the money issues. Many have already voiced opinions that an upgrade seems prudent. The county wants confirmation of that desire … in writing.
The survey looks to find out how many new radios Lower Pottsgrove will need for its part of the upgrade (Hawthorne estimates at least 20, at a cost of about $7,000 each, or more than $140,000), and whether the township would be interested in buying the equipment outright or leasing it from the county over a 10-year period, according to county Communications Director John Corcoran.
In the past, the letter notes, “it has been customary for the county to fund the voice and data communications infrastructure while municipalities cover the cost of radio equipment for their police officers.” With so much money at stake in an upgrade, though – the letter calls it “the largest single capital investment in county history” – the county wants “assurances” from municipalities that the upgrade is necessary “and that they are willing to share the costs.”
Related:
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ July 7 meeting):
Radio equipment is often overpriced. As a former Technical Services Special Agent with the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations, I had the opportunity to upgrade HQ AFOSI’s radio system. The most important lesson I learned was to make sure the radio bid goes out to multiple vendors, and that this requires a lot of specifications that people will have to spend time on to write.
It’s crucial that not just the present incumbent vendor is the sole bidder or provider of the hardware. It’s absolutely critical that the technical specifications for the desired systems and hardware be competed by many suppliers.
The fact that they are already saying each set will cost $7000 or more bothers me. There are vast differences in price, and of course volume buys reduce the overall cost. There’s a lot of slop in the Police Communications radio business.
In the end, a side-by-side comparison of hardware and capability leads one to make a prudent decision.