Emergency Management urges replacement plan for hundreds of unsupported radios; grant funding sought

Jennifer Toby, director of Elkhart County Emergency Management, told the County Council that an inventory review shows a portion of the county’s public-safety radios are no longer supported by vendors and will require replacement or warranty support.

Toby said the Integrated Public Safety Commission’s new listing of equipment indicates the county has 43 radios at immediate risk of losing vendor support. She proposed a multi-year sustainment approach rather than replacing a large batch at once. "I don't wanna spend $294,000 to replace these radios when now radios only have a life of 12 to 15 years," Toby said, explaining two budget options she was including in the submission: replace five radios annually (about $33,000 per year) or replace 10 radios in the first year (about $67,000) and fewer thereafter.

Toby said she is not asking the council to pay the full amount up front and described a series of grant applications under way that could reduce the local cost, including applications to the AEP foundation, Firehouse Subs, Norfolk Southern, TC Energy and the state Homeland Security grant program. She asked the council to include a placeholder in the 2026 budget to cover radios if the grants do not arrive.

Council members asked whether event costs (for example large downtown or convention events) should be billed to sponsors who request county support; Toby said the county often partners with municipal organizers and sometimes other agencies provide in-kind support, and that the question deserved broader policy consideration.

No appropriation was approved. Toby said she would return with grant results and more detailed cost estimates.