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South Beloit approves MOU to share radio frequencies with Rockton, move toward Winnebago County dispatch
Summary
The City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with Rockton Fire Protection District to share radio frequency use and split dispatch equipment costs as a step toward consolidating dispatch with Winnebago County.
The South Beloit City Council on Dec. 9 approved Resolution 6579, a memorandum of understanding with the Rockton Fire Protection District to share radio frequency use and split financial responsibility for dispatch fees and related equipment.
City Administrator Courtney explained the technical need: “We are not able to, dispatch with Winnebago County because we have an antiquated system that cannot talk to the county.” The MOU will let South Beloit and Rockton share a repeater channel and radio infrastructure so Winnebago County’s 911 center can dispatch police and fire calls on a common system.
The agreement is intended as an interim technical fix while the city works to align with the county’s dispatch system. Courtney said the shared arrangement should improve radio coverage across the city, reduce the risk of dropped or lost 911 transfers and could lower the city’s current dispatch expense paid to a private vendor (Mercy). She told the council the county has an agreement in its own review process and that South Beloit would not cancel Mercy until all pieces were in place.
Council members were told the change can also help the city’s ISO rating because dispatch performance is a factor in evaluating emergency response capability. The city’s fire staff and chiefs had been consulted in scheduling the equipment and repeaters, and Chief Wilson (Rockton) signaled support for sharing the channel once stability was confirmed.
The MOU assigns cost- and equipment-sharing responsibilities to Rockton while South Beloit transitions. The council approved the resolution unanimously.
The technical work described by staff includes installing a repeater and related antenna/cabling at a site Rockton provided; the city expects improved signal coverage and the ability to operate on common county frequencies. Officials said further county-level agreements and CAD upgrades remain necessary before full county dispatch begins.
