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Council reviews radio purchases, police radio encryption and a regional dispatch study memorandum of understanding
Summary
Council heard staff briefings on fire department radio purchases, a proposed multi-jurisdiction study on consolidating 911 dispatch services, and a police radio encryption retrofit to reduce public scanner access.
Town public safety staff presented three related communications items: a budgeted purchase of new mobile and portable radios/video equipment for the fire department via a state contract with Motorola; a proposed four‑party memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly fund a study into consolidating emergency dispatch services with Murfreesboro, La Vergne and Rutherford County; and a plan to encrypt police department radio traffic and retrofit consoles with NASSCOM to prevent public monitoring of sensitive communications.
Fire Chief Goss said the radio purchase is included in the capital budget and cited a budgeting line of $153,100; he said the equipment quote came in at approximately $134,947 (staff clarified the radios are programmable to support regional dispatch if the town moves forward). Council asked whether the radios would be redundant in the event of a future consolidated dispatch; staff replied the radios are programmable for partner frequencies and would be compatible with regional operations.
The proposed MOU seeks equal contributions (the town’s maximum was stated at $35,000) to pay a vendor Murfreesboro will procure to study operational and financial efficiencies of a unified communications/dispatch center. Chiefs said the study is exploratory—its timeline and vendor cost estimates will be confirmed during Murfreesboro’s bid process—and that results will guide whether a consolidation is advantageous for Smyrna and surrounding jurisdictions.
On police radio security, staff reported an initial retrofit estimate for encrypting department radio traffic had been as high as nearly $700,000; after additional work with NASSCOM the cost to retrofit consoles and reprogram radios was presented at about $20,142. Councilmembers emphasized officer safety and the need to limit public access to tactical radio information; one member cited an incident when scanner listeners learned operational details before officers had updates.
Chiefs and staff asked for council direction to present formal authorization/agreements at a future meeting: (1) the Motorola purchase through the state contract, (2) the MOU approving the town’s funding share for the dispatch study, and (3) the NASSCOM encryption contract and schedule. No formal council votes were recorded at the workshop; staff said each item will return for formal council action.
