Firefighters and police urge Montgomery County to fund radios, burn building and training campus upgrades
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Summary
Representatives of Montgomery County firefighters and police urged commissioners to fund an interest‑free loan program for radios, design a new burn building and continue upgrades to the public safety training campus; county officials signaled support and mentioned a $6 million allocation for radios.
Representatives of Montgomery County’s fire and police leadership urged commissioners to invest in communications equipment and training facilities during public comment on the proposed 2026 county budget.
"We support the proposed interest free loan program in for 2026 for first responders to purchase new public safety radios," Bill Henderson said on behalf of the Montgomery County Municipal Fire Officers Association, adding that the county’s 40‑year‑old burn building has reached the end of its life and should be replaced to support live‑fire and multidisciplinary training.
Mike Jackson, chief of police for Lower Providence Township and vice president of the Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County, said bulk purchasing radios and improving the public safety training campus ‘‘directly improves performance, readiness, and the quality of service that we could provide to our residents.’’ He said reliable communications are essential and that buying in bulk saves taxpayer dollars.
A presiding official acknowledged the request and said the board was "glad to put it in another 6,000,000 for the radios," noting it had been about a decade since the last major purchase. Speakers also asked for continued funding for the CAD system, modem replacements in first‑responder vehicles, and infrastructure and technology work at the county fire academy.
No formal appropriation or vote on these requests occurred at the hearing; speakers asked commissioners to include the items in the budget under consideration.