The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 9 approved a multi‑agency contract and financing plan to replace the county’s aging public‑safety radio system with a regional interoperable next‑generation platform known as “Ring.” The vote clears a sales agreement with EF Johnson (KVC Kenwood), adoption of a Master Service and Governance Agreement and a master equipment lease for up to $20 million to finance construction and equipment.

The county’s assistant CEO, Elisa Benson, told the board the package is three parts: (1) a governance framework to run the regional system, (2) a sales agreement to acquire the radio system, and (3) lease financing to spread capital costs over time. “This is a new day in critical communications infrastructure for our first responders,” Benson said during the presentation.

Tammy Weigel, director of the county’s Information Services Department, said the final negotiated sales agreement has a post‑discount capital cost of about $18.5 million and an operations-and‑maintenance contract of roughly $9.5 million that includes warranties and an equipment refresh in year 7–8. The vendor agreed to volume discounts on radios, and the University of California Santa Cruz is contributing approximately $2.7 million for its 800 MHz subsystem, staff said.

Jim Frawley, the project consultant, outlined the governance structure that will bind initial founding members — the county, four cities and UCSC — and described a device‑based cost allocation model. Ryan Freydick, senior administrative analyst, said the county worked with financial advisors and received multiple bids; JPMorgan was selected to place the lease with an estimated interest rate of about 3.86% (capitalized for the three‑year construction phase) and a 10‑year repayment schedule. Staff estimated that, when fully operational in 2030, the combined capital and operating cost could amount to roughly $2.00 per radio per month when spread across a broad user base.

Sheriff Chris Clark endorsed the project, citing communications failures during past emergencies. “We know firsthand just how important this system is,” he said, pointing to the operational challenges the county faced during storms and the 2020 response work.

Fire chiefs and several special districts supported interoperability but urged changes to the funding model. Mark Carrera, representing the Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association, said the device‑based allocation would disproportionately affect small independent fire districts. “Basing costs on subscriber units is disproportionately unfair, especially to those smaller agencies,” Carrera said, asking the county to pursue a joint powers agreement or other approaches that would spread costs more equitably.

Supervisors pressed staff for more granular cost projections for small districts and for assurances about interoperability with statewide systems such as CAL FIRE. Staff said the proposal includes technical provisions to interconnect with other systems (ISSI switching) and that encryption is a policy decision enforcement agencies may use to protect sensitive information; they also committed to exploring media and public access arrangements for encrypted channels.

Supervisor Cummings moved the staff recommendation with added direction that staff explore funding offsets, including Measure Q, state and federal grants, earmarks and other revenue measures to reduce the burden on small subscriber agencies. The motion passed on a roll‑call vote with all supervisors voting yes.

The board’s action authorizes contract and governance steps to begin Phase 1 (dispatch console and microwave upgrades), Phase 2 (infrastructure deployment) and Phase 3 (system cutover and acceptance). Staff said construction will proceed over approximately two to three years with a phased cutover and extensive acceptance testing.

What’s next: staff will provide updated, agency‑level cost projections and pursue grant and other funding opportunities to reduce impacts on small special districts, as directed by the board.