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Emergency management requests funds for radio maintenance and keeps options open for state migration
Summary
Emergency management director Russ Grimes outlined investments in Alertus/Everbridge, EOC tools and a conservative one‑year radio maintenance request while the town analyzes whether to migrate to the state radio system, a change that would carry significant capital costs.
Russ Grimes, New Canaan’s emergency management director, told the Board of Finance subcommittee that the town has improved regional interoperability and now operates a permanent Emergency Operations Center co‑located with the police department. Grimes described recent work including a multi‑jurisdictional communications drill and CERT deployments, and said the town is using Everbridge for mass notifications and Alertus for in‑building alerts.
"Everbridge is the notification tool," Grimes explained, distinguishing it from Alertus, which he described as "an actual physical...beacons" inside buildings. Grimes said the town’s Alertus license covers up to eight buildings and that the license is already being used for town hall and selected campus buildings.
A central capital question is the town’s aging public‑safety radio system. Grimes reviewed the current VHF system the town owns and maintains and said the five‑year Motorola advanced‑replacement contract is ending. He reported that Motorola proposed a sizable increase on renewal and that negotiations reduced but did not eliminate the rise in cost. Grimes presented a conservative, worst‑case FY27 request for radio maintenance to cover a one‑year contract while the town reviews options.
Grimes said switching to the state 700/800 MHz system remains an option but would require replacing many handheld radios and modifying infrastructure — a multimillion‑dollar capital project if pursued. He said the migration analysis will continue through March to allow council members time to consider whether a longer multi‑year maintenance contract or a migration plan is the better course for the town.
Next steps: Grimes will return refined cost estimates and a March briefing on propagation analysis and break clauses for multi‑year contracts, and the subcommittee asked legal and finance staff to evaluate the contract termination terms and budget timing.
