Sheriff: Des Moines County switching to new 700/800 MHz radio system; consoles and radios funded through separate sources

Sheriff Kevin Glendening told the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors on April 1 that the county is transitioning its public-safety communications this week to a new 700/800 megahertz radio system and new dispatch consoles.

“We are finally at that point where we're transitioning on the emergency communications…we are going live with our new radios and system and consoles,” Glendening said. He said consoles were funded through the county’s general-supplemental budget while the radios for the sheriff’s office, Burlington Police Department and West Burlington Police Department were purchased with 9-1-1 board reserve funds.

The sheriff described the scope of the upgrade: moving from a UHF system to the 700/800 MHz statewide system will require new equipment in vehicles and in dispatch and will bring the county closer to industry-standard on-road coverage. “The on-road coverage, for law enforcement, the industry standard is 95%. We were at the seventies in Des Moines County,” Glendening said, calling the upgrade a long-term objective that had required coordination and funding.

Glendening also told the board the jail population and out-of-county housing remain operational considerations; he reported the jail population at 92 and noted out-of-county housing remained elevated, including transportation and housing demands for some incoming cases.

Ending: The sheriff said the new system will require additional operational adjustments and training but praised the improvement to coverage and interoperability across agencies.