Todd County emergency manager reports $120,597.06 CSX payment, announces April 4 siren test and radio-encryption talks

Todd County Emergency Management briefed the fiscal court on disaster-recovery receipts, communications upgrades and a planned countywide tornado-siren test during the court’s April 1 meeting.

The emergency-management director told the court the county received a $120,597.06 cost-recovery check from railroad company CSX that will be distributed across departments to replenish response materials and reimburse expenses. He also reported an $11,818.03 FEMA payment tied to a major disaster declaration that arrived this week.

"We received our cost recovery check from CSX in the amount of $120,597.06," the director said, noting departments will receive allocations from the check. He said county crews had been reimbursed in the past and outlined the intended use of funds to restock materials used during hazardous-spill responses.

On radio communications, the director said law-enforcement partners and some municipalities have inquired about encrypting radios to restrict access to certain channels. He cited a vendor quote of roughly $840 per unit to provide encryption for sheriff, emergency management and dispatch radios and said county staff would work with Cornerstone to implement the change if the court approves.

Not everyone supported encryption. A court member said encrypting radios could be "temperamental," might block mutual-aid communications with neighboring counties and could raise legal questions about unauthorized possession of police radio equipment.

The director also explained why some residents did not hear sirens during a recent storm. He said National Weather Service tornado warnings are issued as geographic "polygons" and only sirens inside the polygon are activated; sirens are designed to alert people outdoors and are not a substitute for cell-phone or indoor notifications. He urged residents to use multiple warning sources, including NOAA weather radios and the county's "Text My Gov" alerts.

To test coverage, the county will conduct a full siren test on April 4 that will run about three minutes. "We have our first tornado siren test next Saturday. That's the April 4. It will go off for approximately 3 minutes," the director said. He invited residents needing help to program weather radios to contact his office.

The director said the county's emergency operations plan is about 80% through a first pass of revisions and credited recently approved software for helping manage the update. He added the District 16 Regional Radio Project has been submitted and is awaiting state-level legislative action.

The court heard the report and asked staff to continue work on communications and planning.

Ending: The emergency-management office will proceed with outreach ahead of the April 4 siren test and return with any recommended purchases or formal proposals for encryption and radio upgrades.