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Officials outline countywide radio plan and propose shared ‘fire channel’ to improve responder communications
Summary
Staff updated the court on digital radio changes and proposed a countywide fire-channel repeater system (four repeaters, quote about $55,000 split across five fire departments) to restore inter‑department communication and improve responder safety; commissioners discussed cost-sharing and next steps.
Newton County staff and commissioners reviewed a countywide communications update following a digital radio conversion and discussed establishing a dedicated countywide fire channel to improve interagency radio interoperability.
Staff reported that digital upgrades have improved sheriff coverage but that some fire departments remain on analog and cannot consistently hear all transmissions. The proposed solution is a fire-channel repeater network—four repeaters covering multiple sites (Mayflower, Newton, Trap Creek and Dville were discussed)—with an estimated quote of about $55,000 split among participating fire departments. Officials discussed options to let fire districts fund the repeaters directly or to share infrastructure to reduce per‑party cost; commissioners also discussed restoring a commissioners’ channel for operational coordination.
Speakers emphasized safety benefits: a single fire channel would allow fire departments to request resources directly without using the sheriff’s primary dispatch frequency, reduce overlapping traffic and help when cell service is unavailable. Commissioners asked staff to verify technical details in the quote, clarify whether repeaters can be piggybacked, and pursue cost‑sharing discussions with fire districts and the city.
