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Board authorizes Nevada County to join state radio system and approve Motorola purchases
Summary
After a technical review, the board approved joining the California Radio Interoperability System (CRIS) and authorized Motorola equipment purchases for a county radio infrastructure upgrade, using federal DOJ COPS funding and county investment credits toward CRIS subscriber fees.
Nevada County moved forward on a years-long effort to modernize public-safety radio communications, voting Aug. 6 to join the California Radio Interoperability System (CRIS) and to authorize Motorola equipment purchases for infrastructure upgrades.
Captain Bob Jacobs of the Sheriff’s Office summarized the multi‑phase plan to replace aging analog equipment and improve interoperability with neighboring counties. Jacobs said a federal DOJ COPS Technology Grant awarded $4.8 million toward the project and that an original county-only upgrade ran into site and budget challenges after an inventory showed insufficient vault space and overloaded towers.
Motorola and Cal OES offered an alternative: integrate with CRIS, a statewide interoperable radio system Cal OES is building. Joining CRIS would require purchasing CRIS‑capable radio equipment but would shift microwave installation, core connectivity and lifetime maintenance responsibility to the state. Cal OES also agreed to provide credit against subscriber fees for county capital contributions, helping reduce long‑term operating costs.
The board approved three resolutions: (1) delegation to the sheriff to enter an MOU with Cal OES to join CRIS; (2) authorization to purchase Motorola equipment for Phase 2; and (3) authorization to purchase tower equipment and services for Phase 3. Roll-call votes on each resolution were recorded as unanimous in the transcript.
Jacobs said delivery timelines anticipate radio equipment arriving in 2025 (Motorola’s lead time cited) with a target phased go‑live in 2025 after additional site construction, ongoing microwave connections and staged testing that will overlap with legacy systems.
The county will complete installations at key vault and tower sites, including a new site at Sierra College and a regional dispatch tower to connect dispatch centers directly to the CRIS core. Jacobs and staff said the MOU and subscriber-credit arrangement should enable local agencies to join CRIS at no annual cost, depending on local agency radio purchases.
