Harvey County 911 Communications Director Don Groove told the Board of Commissioners on May 28 that the county’s emergency communications center faces routine maintenance costs, aging radios and staffing pressures that make a new radio technician position and an additional dispatcher the department’s top budget priorities.

Groove described the 911 center as one of the busiest in the state by per‑capita call volume and said the center handles both 911 calls and admin calls countywide. "We are the eighth busiest PSAP in the state for 911 calls," he said, citing state data. He told commissioners the 911 fund uses wireless fee revenue (about $220,000 per year) and local general funds but still runs low compared with maintenance and replacement needs.

The director proposed a permanent radio technician to perform programming, preventive maintenance and tower work now done under contract. "I think that we if we had a radio tech in house that they could do that work and that would offset some of that cost as well," Groove said. He estimated First Wireless preventive maintenance costs at about $21,000 per year and said in‑house work could reduce recurring vendor bills. Groove described duties including programming P25 radios and troubleshooting consoles; he suggested a salary near shift‑supervisor pay (quoted market range $25–$28 per hour).

Groove also requested adding one full‑time dispatcher. He said staffing studies and state comparisons indicate the center should have 19–21 staff; the center currently has 17. "Chip away a piece of time here to add 1 more to our staff and try to catch up with this load a little bit," he told commissioners, noting the center’s answer‑time rates remain high but have shown some increases amid training and turnover.

On equipment funding, Groove explained a supplemental to cover increased maintenance charges for consoles and for fiber installation proposed by a grant to run fiber to towers (replacing older microwave links). He said part of the county’s console maintenance payments will rise when a previous console upgrade payment drops off, and noted recurring annual increases of 0–6% for software and equipment maintenance contracts.

Groove also addressed county‑owned radios and lease purchases. He said radios purchased in 2016 are aging and replacement models have grown more expensive: "The radios that they bought in 2016 averaged a price about $3,000 each. The radios that they're coming out with now… the quote… is just under $10,000." Grove said he found a dealer selling surplus portables at lower rates and proposed buying a block of used/new‑in‑box radios (estimate: 60–65 units) to bridge supply delays and then start an annual equipment reserve into which the county could deposit roughly $100,000 per year.

Commissioners asked whether the radio technician could provide after‑hours coverage; Groove said the role would include on‑call duties and that the technician could bill to cities for services as an offset. They also discussed the Burton Tower and long‑term system replacement options (SUA2 type contracts and next‑generation installations) and agreed to keep planning ahead of the estimated 5–7 year replacement horizon.

Groove requested commissioners consider the personnel and supplemental items in the proposed 2026 budget and said he would forward contract numbers when available. "If I leave and don't have anybody to take my place that can do this type of thing, it's gonna be a major expense on the county and the cities to get programming services done and get some of that maintenance done that we could do here," he said.