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Council backs staff recommendation to build EF Johnson radio network to replace reliance on Motorola; staff to include costs in budget
Summary
Council gave staff consensus direction to pursue an EF Johnson‑based land mobile radio solution and to include necessary one‑time costs and ongoing operating figures in the next budget, with staff exploring short tax notes and partnerships to recover costs.
City technology and wireless‑infrastructure staff outlined options to replace or continue the city’s existing Motorola P25 land mobile radio system, which is costly to maintain and reaches the end of its 10‑year contract in October 2025.
Staff said the Motorola system provides high availability but requires reliance on the vendor’s core support and a six‑year maintenance deal that the vendor offers at a significantly higher annual cost (staff estimated roughly $3.74 million per year under a new Motorola agreement). An alternative staff proposed was to expand an EF Johnson distributed P25 architecture the city already operates at limited sites. Staff said EF Johnson would be cheaper to operate long term (about $800,000 annual maintenance in staff modeling) and could be supported in‑house, although it would require one‑time investments in equipment, vehicles and tools and would require adding staff.
Staff presented a 10‑year cost analysis that showed higher one‑time upfront costs for EF Johnson but a multi‑million‑dollar cost avoidance across the period versus staying with Motorola. Staff also described a chargeback model in which Irving would build capacity and offer services to partner cities; initial conservative estimates showed several hundred thousand dollars per partner in set‑up and annual charges.
After staff discussion and council questions about financing options, City Manager and finance staff discussed issuing short tax notes to cover the one‑time capital items and drawing on debt‑service reserves to smooth the budgetary impact. Councilmembers then indicated consensus to accept staff’s recommendation to pursue the EF Johnson approach and to include the financial impacts in the coming budget process. "Staff's recommendation is to move forward on EF Johnson," a staff member said; multiple councilmembers voiced support.
Why it matters: The city’s emergency radio and public‑safety backhaul system is a core municipal infrastructure. Choosing a vendor and funding approach will affect near‑term capital needs, staffing and long‑term operating costs and could enable revenue if other nearby agencies partner with Irving.
