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Council approves transfer of $1 million from Fire to Police for radios and amends capital program
Summary
By unanimous vote the council approved transferring $1,000,000 of appropriation authority from the Fire Department to the Police Department to buy radios (part of a $1.5M procurement across departments) and adopted a capital program amendment that includes that transfer and water grant adjustments.
The Sioux Falls City Council on June 3 approved two related financial actions: a resolution transferring $1,000,000 of appropriation authority from the Fire Department to the Police Department (pursuant to the City Charter) to purchase radios, and a complementary resolution amending the 2025–2029 capital program to reflect that transfer and several other adjustments.
Finance Director Sean Pritchett explained the transfer followed an earlier capital plan that included a proposed $1.5 million tower project for radio coverage. After further review, staff recommended purchasing new-generation radios that can use radio frequencies, cellular data and Wi‑Fi to improve coverage across the community. Under the recommended approach, $1,000,000 would move to the Police Department for radios and $500,000 would remain with Fire Rescue for its radios. City staff said a 35 percent discount from Motorola is available if the city proceeds later this month, prompting the timing of the transfer.
Pritchett told the council the Charter requires a resolution to transfer appropriation authority between departments. The council approved the transfer by roll-call vote, 8-0. Councilors and public speakers exchanged light remarks at the dais; Councilor Sale cautioned against any competitive tone between departments and urged support for both public-safety services.
Separately, the council passed a capital-program amendment that incorporated the radio appropriation transfer along with other funding adjustments: supplemental appropriations previously discussed (Metro Communications recorder and a specialized police vehicle), an added $400,000 of grant authority for a water-well project, and the potential for an $8 million state grant to accelerate the Lewis & Clark third connection pipeline. The capital amendment passed unanimously.
According to staff remarks, the radio procurement and other changes will proceed through standard purchasing and bonding steps; the transfer and amendment do not themselves authorize contracts beyond the appropriation authority.
