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Police and fire chiefs cite persistent county radio-system failures; city funds feasibility study on PSAP alternatives
Summary
Peachtree City public-safety leaders said the countywide EF Johnson radio system has ongoing audio, outage and capacity problems that create safety concerns; council authorized staff to pursue a feasibility study to evaluate staying with the county, building a local PSAP or joining a regional system.
Police and fire leaders told council on Feb. 25 that persistent problems with the Fayette County EF Johnson 800-megahertz radio system have undermined confidence in the countywide communications platform and, in some cases, created life-safety concerns.
Chiefs described frequent signal outages, “busy” signals in areas with otherwise good reception, poor penetration inside large retail and manufacturing structures, unpredictable volume fluctuations and missed call tones at some fire stations. Chief Moon and Chief Murphy said they and other municipal chiefs (Tyrone and Fayetteville) signed a May 14, 2024 letter to the county describing the problems and that vendor performance has not sufficiently improved despite protracted implementation work that dates to a 2018 contract.
The chiefs provided operational examples: at active incidents they have experienced radios that cut off or distort transmissions to the extent that firefighters could not reliably communicate while inside burning structures. They said the limitations had led to changes in communications protocols that reduce radio traffic during high-priority incidents, which in turn limits supervisory and command communications.
In response, city staff opened a budgeted feasibility procurement for a public-safety answering point (PSAP) and 9-1-1 alternatives. The city issued a request for proposals and received seven responses; staff evaluated proposals on qualifications, project approach and price and identified a top-ranked firm. City staff said the winning proposal was under the budgeted amount and that a formal award would be presented to council later in the process. The feasibility study will examine whether the city can (a) remain with Fayette County and fix issues, (b) build its own PSAP and 9-1-1 infrastructure, or (c) join another regional 9-1-1 system. The study will include infrastructure recommendations, staffing needs and cost estimates.
Council members said the study could reveal that the city should pursue a local PSAP if county improvements are insufficient. No procurement award was made at the meeting; staff said they will return with the selected proposer, scope and price for council action.
