Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon outlines radio upgrade timeline, funding shortfall and staffing challenges

Tim Downey, director of Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, briefed the Medford City Council on the center’s role, staffing and a multi-year radio upgrade project, saying the countywide public safety communications system should be operational in the first half of next year.

Downey said Jackson County and its 13 municipalities — plus Crater Lake National Park — now rely on a consolidated 9-1-1 system and radio footprint that touches multiple counties. “When I say that, that local 9-1-1 center is your center. You contribute approximately 37 percent of the user fees for the operation of the center,” Downey said.

The nut graf: The presentation summarized three near-term issues for Medford and the region — completion of a federally and locally backed radio infrastructure upgrade, persistent staffing shortfalls at the dispatch center, and an exploration of longer-term funding options including a possible service district.

Downey described the radio project’s history: a 2019 voter-approved bond intended to…