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Board approves new county position to upfit and maintain emergency‑vehicle radios and equipment
Summary
After extended discussion of cost, staffing and inventory, the board authorized advertising and inclusion in the FY27 budget for a county‑funded emergency vehicle installation specialist/radio technician to upfit and maintain radios and aftermarket equipment for sheriff, Wintergreen, volunteer fire/rescue squads and county vehicles, with Wintergreen offering a $20,000 annual subsidy.
The Nelson County Board of Supervisors on April 14 authorized the county to proceed with a request to create a full‑time, county‑funded Emergency Vehicle Installation Specialist/Radio Technician to install, program and maintain aftermarket emergency equipment and radios for law‑enforcement vehicles, volunteer fire apparatus, ambulances and county fleets.
Sheriff Embry presented the proposal, which the Emergency Services Council vetted and recommended. He said counties currently pay outside upfitters approximately $6,500 per patrol car and wait weeks or months for installations and repairs; creating an in‑house position, he said, would produce annual cost and time efficiencies, reduce vehicle downtime, and let the county service its own fleet. The sheriff identified an existing county‑owned facility at 8375 Thomas Nelson Highway as the likely shop for smaller vehicles and suggested the County bus garage as an option for larger apparatus.
Sheriff Embry said a conservative salary estimate for a qualified technician is about $70,000 plus roughly $30,000 in benefits; he estimated startup inventory needs but said he did not have a precise dollar figure for initial parts and supplies. Wintergreen officials in the room offered a $20,000 annual stipend to subsidize the position and a three‑year partnership arrangement was discussed.
Board members pressed the presenters on expected utilization (volunteer and county vehicles combined), inventory and parts management, thresholds for Wintergreen’s subsidy, and the risk that the first year would require an upfront stock purchase. Staff said more precise cost details would be prepared for budget work sessions, but county administration indicated the position could be advertised now and the line item folded into the FY27 budget and considered for adoption in June.
A supervisor moved to proceed with establishing and advertising the position as presented; the motion was seconded, and the board voted in favor.
The transcript records the board’s approval to proceed and direction to include the position in the budget process; hiring, procurement of parts and any final contract arrangements were left to subsequent administrative work and budget adoption steps.
