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Berlin police to seek grant for new CAD/RMS mobile terminals to share data with county partners
Summary
The police chief asked council to approve submitting a grant application to offset start-up costs to adopt a CentralSquare CAD/RMS/MCT system that would integrate Berlin with Worcester County, Ocean City and Ocean Pines; the council approved the submission and directed staff to return with fallback funding if the grant is not awarded.
The Berlin Mayor and Council authorized the police chief to submit a grant application for a CAD/RMS/MCT replacement, a system the department says will modernize dispatching, reports and in‑car mobile terminals and allow direct data sharing with neighboring agencies.
Police leaders said the standalone cost for a proprietary system can be large, but negotiations anchored to the county’s existing CentralSquare implementation produced a lower start-up quote and an annual subscription. The chief said initial vendor pricing of roughly $99,816 was reduced to a start‑up figure of $50,503 with an annual subscription of $21,550 after coordination with Worcester County.
The chief described operational benefits including quicker access to shared incident history, imagery and video, and the ability for local dispatchers and officers to verify updates that now are sometimes relayed by a separate 9‑1‑1 center. He also reported the department will pursue Byrne/JAG/BJA grant opportunities; the council approved the motion to proceed with the grant submission and asked staff to provide a funding plan if outside funding is not secured.
Council members and staff emphasized training and rollout logistics; the chief estimated classroom-based training for dispatchers and officers would take several days and be completed within weeks of procurement. The council’s vote authorizes grant submission; final purchase will depend on grant award and subsequent funding decisions.
