Richland County committee discusses long-term funding, staffing needs for new radio tower network

Richland County public safety officials on May 2 discussed how to fund and staff ongoing maintenance for a multi-site radio tower project that will expand the county’s tower network from three sites to nine.

Committee members and staff said the county has some borrowed project funds available to purchase subscriber equipment, but long-term maintenance — including leases, generator upkeep, battery replacement, remote monitoring and gravel compound maintenance — will require recurring budget support. Officials estimated annual costs in a preliminary range of $100,000 to $200,000 and raised the possibility of adding a dedicated position to manage the equipment.

The conversation reviewed recent demonstrations of the tower equipment at Penn Comm, where county staff observed integrated racks for each tower and the system’s voting logic that chooses the best tower signal if a microwave link fails. Staff said the equipment “stood up” in simulated operation and that testing showed the system can continue operating when a microwave connection is interrupted.

Board and staff discussion focused on three budget questions: whether leftover borrowed funds could be rolled into the general fund for future maintenance, what department would own ongoing costs, and whether the county should hire an employee or contract out maintenance. Derek (last name not stated) was asked to confirm whether leftover project funds can be placed into the general fund. Staff said the county’s lease obligations for next year were around $44,000 and would need to be built into future budgets.

Committee members described a process to inventory existing radios among fire, EMS and other agencies and to evaluate which subscriber units are serviceable. Highway and MIS staff are expected to lead the equipment-assessment process and to return next month with a plan for distributing available subscriber-equipment funds and a clarified budget proposal for maintenance. The group also discussed pursuing commercial leases for tower space as a potential revenue source but said they cannot assume that income when budgeting.

The committee emphasized that maintenance needs go beyond tower electronics: generators, propane and fuel servicing, compound gravel upkeep, remote monitoring and replacement cycles for racks, servers and batteries are all recurring costs. Staff said batteries might have three-year life spans and some servers five years, and that monitoring/alarm systems and a site‑boss function are part of the vendor/installation design.

Next steps identified: (1) complete an inventory of neighboring agencies’ radios and assess needs; (2) confirm whether borrowed funds can be retained for maintenance or must be expended by a deadline; (3) develop a budget line item and staffing proposal for next year’s budget process. Committee members did not take formal votes on policy changes at this meeting.