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911 budget review: county moves forward with Motorola radio upgrade, CAD delay pushes some equipment offline until 2025
Summary
Flathead County 9‑1‑1 director presented the FECC budget and capital plan. Commissioners heard that a countywide Motorola 800 MHz radio upgrade is under contract and partly funded by state appropriation; a scheduled CAD/server upgrade was delayed to September 2025 and some laptops remain offline until the upgrade is completed.
Elizabeth Brooks, Flathead County 9‑1‑1 director, presented the Flathead Emergency Communications Center budget and capital-improvement plan to the commissioners. She said the budget reflects a reorganization of building rent billing (OES will be charged rent directly) and modest program adjustments, and that the overall operating increase across non-personnel items is small.
Why it matters: Commissioners were briefed on two technology projects that affect emergency communications continuity and future costs: a Motorola trunked radio system replacement and a New World (Tyler) CAD/server upgrade.
Brooks said the county signed a contract for the Motorola 800 MHz system expansion and expected to begin vendor work; the overall project timeline is roughly a year from contract start, and the county has secured a $1.3 million appropriation from the state (described as Zinky’s office funds) to accelerate the project. She said most tower sites for the radio project are complete and Motorola is awaiting equipment deliveries.
Brooks also reported a New World CAD/server upgrade was postponed by the vendor from June to September 2025. That delay has left certain agency laptops running an unsupported Windows build “offline” for CAD functions until the upgrade completes; Brooks said the offline equipment is not mission‑critical to center operations and that agency IT teams have been advised not to move those machines to the new Windows version until the vendor rollout.
Capital items included a planned $2.5 million Motorola system contract (project figure discussed in public packet) and a separate $300,000 project to replace a legacy 383 conventional repeater system used by fire and EMS. Brooks said the 383 system is different from the trunking system and will be addressed via an RFP for wholesale repeater replacement.
Brooks and finance staff described how vacancy savings in the FECC operating fund are held in the fund’s cash reserves; those reserves can be reallocated to CIP in later years if necessary. The director said the center will maintain current fee levels for now and intends to continue working with county IT and department managers on equipment valuations and maintenance schedules.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff and IT to continue coordinating on the Motorola rollout, the New World upgrade schedule and the 383 replacement RFP. Brooks said she will return with updates as the vendor schedules firm delivery and go‑live dates.
