(March 2, 2017) As the legislation that got the wheel turning on Project 25 — a radio interoperability requirement that would allow local, state, federal and other officials to talk to each other in an emergency — was signed by former Gov. Martin O’Malley, Snow Hill and Pocomoke can’t argue they didn’t see it coming.
What the municipalities can and must now do is worry about where the money for the project will come from, as a deadline of September 2017 looms as budget season begins.
Police and emergency radios are expensive — Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman said a single unit can run between $3,000-$4,000 — and the consoles used by dispatchers to communicate with the radios are even more expensive.
“The State of Maryland, State of Delaware, Commonwealth of Virginia and Worcester County are actively transitioning all state government radio system users to the Project 25 standard,” a release provided by Dorman reads. “If the Town does not upgrade their radio infrastructure the Snow Hill Police Department will be unable to communicate with other agencies.”
The county acts as dispatcher for the SHPD, the release continues, and for that service to continue the town must foot the bill for the upgrade.
The town applied for a grant for about $39,000 to purchase the remaining equipment last year, but the funds were denied, Dorman said.
“We don’t have to change,” Dorman said, “but if there were some kind of disaster we couldn’t talk to the state. It also didn’t come with any money, and we’re just a small town trying to make it work.”
Dorman said Snow Hill only has so much money to spend.
The town has purchased radios in a piecemeal fashion until now. Dorman said the town has already spent about $30,000, and is about halfway through the required radio inventory.
He estimated it would have taken $70,000 to perform the upgrades all at once.
That’s right in line with what Pocomoke City intends to spend this year, City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot confirmed.
Crofoot said he has a budget line for $60,000 included in this year’s draft for the radios, which has not yet gone before the city council. No funding source for the radios has been identified other than town finances at this time, he said.
The municipalities are scheduled to begin presenting their budget requests to the county at the County Commissioners next meeting on Tuesday, March 7.
What the municipalities can and must now do is worry about where the money for the project will come from, as a deadline of September 2017 looms as budget season begins.
Police and emergency radios are expensive — Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman said a single unit can run between $3,000-$4,000 — and the consoles used by dispatchers to communicate with the radios are even more expensive.
“The State of Maryland, State of Delaware, Commonwealth of Virginia and Worcester County are actively transitioning all state government radio system users to the Project 25 standard,” a release provided by Dorman reads. “If the Town does not upgrade their radio infrastructure the Snow Hill Police Department will be unable to communicate with other agencies.”
The county acts as dispatcher for the SHPD, the release continues, and for that service to continue the town must foot the bill for the upgrade.
The town applied for a grant for about $39,000 to purchase the remaining equipment last year, but the funds were denied, Dorman said.
“We don’t have to change,” Dorman said, “but if there were some kind of disaster we couldn’t talk to the state. It also didn’t come with any money, and we’re just a small town trying to make it work.”
Dorman said Snow Hill only has so much money to spend.
The town has purchased radios in a piecemeal fashion until now. Dorman said the town has already spent about $30,000, and is about halfway through the required radio inventory.
He estimated it would have taken $70,000 to perform the upgrades all at once.
That’s right in line with what Pocomoke City intends to spend this year, City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot confirmed.
Crofoot said he has a budget line for $60,000 included in this year’s draft for the radios, which has not yet gone before the city council. No funding source for the radios has been identified other than town finances at this time, he said.
The municipalities are scheduled to begin presenting their budget requests to the county at the County Commissioners next meeting on Tuesday, March 7.