Brown County commissioners moved to withdraw a FEMA-obligated seven-siren storm-warning project and instead explore other alerting options after staff reported a substantial price increase that would raise the county's local match and ongoing operating costs.

Emergency management staff told the commission that the project, originated in 2021 and obligated by FEMA in December 2023, was originally estimated at $186,696 with a 90/10 federal-local match. Recent quotes from the vendor increased the total to about $281,000, staff said, raising the county's 10% share from roughly $19,000 to about $28,000 plus recurring annual software and data fees estimated at about $10,000 per year.

"The system went down back in November," an emergency management staff member said, describing an earlier cyberattack that led the vendor to move to a new platform. Staff emphasized the new vendor platform currently lacks FEMA iPAWS integration and that the quoted increase reflects current equipment and installation costs. "As you can imagine, the cost has increased substantially since 2021," staff added.

Staff laid out four options for the commission: absorb the additional local cost and continue with seven sirens; change scope to install fewer sirens (proposed reduction from seven to four) and seek FEMA/Tito approval for a scope change; submit a budget increase request to FEMA to cover the higher total and associated local match; or withdraw the project and pursue alternative local preparedness investments. Staff also noted that the originally proposed rotating sirens would carry additional maintenance obligations the county must absorb.

Commission discussion cited limited geographic coverage per siren and the trade-offs of investing in recurring data and software fees versus alternative solutions. Commissioner comments favored exploring other systems that might provide broader coverage or additional functionality.

Commissioner (unnamed in transcript) moved to withdraw the project and directed staff to investigate alternatives; the motion was seconded and taken by voice/hand without a recorded roll-call tally. The commission recorded the motion as approved in the meeting discussion.

Next steps: staff will explore alternative alerting systems, assess costs and coverage, and report back to the commission in a future meeting. The county's ability to pursue a budget increase or scope change with FEMA/Tito remains contingent on those agencies' approval, staff cautioned.