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Brookfield announces roughly $650,000 federal appropriation to replace police radios and buy drone, training and license-plate readers
Summary
Village staff announced that an appropriations package will provide about $650,000 to replace aging police radios so each officer can have one; Chief Carville said roughly $450,000 will cover radios, with remaining funds for a drone, virtual training and a license-plate-reader component.
Village management announced on Feb. 9 that Congress has approved roughly $650,000 in federal appropriations to fund replacement of the police department's antiquated radio fleet and related equipment.
Tim, the village manager, said the funds were secured with help from Congressman Chuy Garcia's office after an earlier appropriation was temporarily frozen. "We were just informed...the money has been voted into law," Tim said, adding that the community should expect the funds to be delivered through the normal grant and appropriations process.
Chief Carville described how the award will be used. "The lion's share of this purchase is going towards restocking our radios so that all of our officers can be equipped," he said, estimating about $450,000 will replace the aging fleet so officers will no longer need to share radios. He said additional funding from the award will cover a second drone for the department, a virtual training component and a license-plate-reader (LPR) component to assist investigations.
Village officials said the department had planned a multi-year purchase schedule to stretch limited funds but that the appropriation will allow them to accelerate replacements. Officials did not state the grant's exact award mechanism or the delivery timetable; they said they were awaiting formal documentation and any press event coordinated with the congressman's office.
What happens next: Staff will await formal grant paperwork and proceed with procurement according to village rules; police and management said they intend to follow procurement and training processes before deploying new equipment.
