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Hunt County approves $6,000 contingency to add quiet-channel toning for volunteer fire radios
Summary
The court approved a limited purchase to enable base-station and handheld 'quiet channel' toning for volunteer fire department radios (P25 system), prioritizing base stations plus three handhelds per station as a cost-saving initial rollout (estimated up to $5,390; authorized up to $6,000 from contingency).
Hunt County Commissioners voted March 24 to pay for an L3 radio software feature that enables ‘quiet-channel’ toning for volunteer fire departments. The feature—priced at roughly $110 per radio—allows select radios or base stations to remain on a silent monitoring channel and open when a tone alerts them, reducing nighttime disturbance for on-duty personnel.
Chief Biggers, who spoke for the county fire association, recommended equipping each base station and three handhelds per department to balance cost and operational readiness. County staff estimated the initial rollout in that configuration would cost about $5,390; the court authorized up to $6,000 to come from contingency funds to cover the first phase.
Chief Biggers told the court the radio-based toning is more reliable for firefighter notification than smartphone-based alerts, saying the radio system “is the most consistent and doesn't have downtime and fail.” The court also heard that some departments would supplement the initial purchase later through fundraising or future budgets if more handheld units are needed.
The funding is one-time for software/feature activation; further programming and distribution will be coordinated by county staff and the vendor. The court approved the motion and directed county staff to proceed with purchase and programming.
