Committee approves $3.58 million Motorola contract amendment after members press for pricing details
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Summary
The Ulster County Law & Rules Committee approved a $3,575,008.36 amendment to the countywide radio system contract with Motorola Solutions, amid questions about scope expansion, missing pricing summaries and whether radios for fire apparatus were included; staff said moving now secures a 3–5% savings.
The Ulster County Law & Rules Committee approved late Resolution 648 on Dec. 11 to authorize a $3,575,008.36 contract amendment with Motorola Solutions Inc. for the countywide radio system.
The committee discussed change order number 6 for capital project 482. Deputy Commissioner Gaffney said the amendment would purchase new portable and mobile radios, specifying that “30 of those portables will be given to the sheriff’s office and 13 mobiles to probation,” and that buying now rather than waiting into 2026 would yield an anticipated 3–5% cost savings.
Committee members pressed staff for clearer cost detail. One member asked directly, “Are we putting radios in every fire truck in Ulster County?” and noted the change order references mobile installations for fire engines but the packet did not include an itemized pricing summary. The member pointed out that the referenced pricing summary was listed as page 46 of the supporting document, but the provided file ends at page 44.
Another member said the contract and prior change orders have grown the project’s aggregate cost — from an original figure in the single‑digit millions into roughly $23 million overall — and asked which portions represent replacements versus scope expansion. Gaffney and other staff said the ports and installations are part of outfitting end users and that moving now captured vendor savings; staff also said they could provide a more detailed cost breakdown.
A committee member observed this matter would also come before the Ways and Means Committee and recommended accepting the late resolution so Ways and Means can review the pricing details before final county approval. The committee voted to accept the resolution as presented and move it forward.
What happens next: The committee approved the late authorization and the item is expected to proceed to Ways and Means for further review; staff committed to supplying a detailed pricing breakdown and clarifications about which vehicles and departments will receive equipment.
Notes and caveats: The packet and the transcript have inconsistent or partially garbled numeric references to some vehicle installation counts; the committee specifically flagged missing pricing pages and asked staff to provide a complete, itemized cost summary prior to final appropriation.
