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Richmond County approves purchase of handheld radios as new radio system comes online
Summary
After coverage testing showed improved reception, the Richmond County Board agreed to buy discounted handheld radios to equip EMS, fire and sheriff’s departments and create a small surplus for emergencies; staff also outlined a December rollout of a new MAS emergency notification system to replace Code Red.
Richmond County supervisors voted to proceed with purchasing handheld radios to outfit emergency responders after staff reported final coverage testing of a new county radio system showed improved reception in previously spotty areas.
Mitch Paulette, chief of emergency services, told the board the county is in the final phase of coverage testing and that early results “showed noticeable improvement” in handheld coverage. He presented a time-limited quote from L3Harris that would allow the county to buy 30 radios for roughly $96,000 or to take advantage of deeper discounts on larger orders.
Board members debated whether to buy 30 radios now or push for 60 to gain greater surplus and resilience. Staff noted that the discounted radios include a one-year full warranty and five-year internal warranty. After discussion a motion to proceed with the purchase was called and approved by voice vote (motion text not specified in the meeting transcript). The purchase was presented as intended to be split among EMS, the sheriff’s office and fire departments and to provide a cache of backup radios for large incidents.
Separately, Paulette said the department plans to launch a new MAS emergency notification system in December to replace Code Red. He described outreach strategies — Facebook drives, a QR-code sign-up on county property tax bills and in-person registration at events — to rebuild the subscriber list after a privacy export issue limited Code Red data to only 47 names for the county.
The board’s action was procedural: staff were authorized to finalize vendor arrangements and proceed with the discounted procurement. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the public transcript; the vote was taken by voice.
Next steps: staff will return with purchase paperwork and financing details and incorporate the radios into department inventories and training schedules.
