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Jay County Commissioners approve moving ahead with Motorola radio purchase pending council review
Summary
Consultants and a Motorola representative presented a roughly $1.4 million countywide radio estimate; commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with Motorola pending county-council financial approval. The plan leaves LTE activation configurable and flags dispatch consolidation as a separate policy decision.
The Jay County Commissioners voted Sept. 8 to proceed with procuring a countywide radio system from Motorola, pending financial approval by the county council. Consultant Barry Ritter presented equipment estimates at about $1.4 million and described changes requested by the highway department and the City of Portland.
Ritter said the highway amended its original request and the City of Portland reduced its console need; Prash, a Motorola representative, told commissioners the county could enable or disable LTE features and that higher-tier radios offered discounts that narrowed price differences. Commissioner Duane Monroe moved to proceed with Motorola; Commissioner Doug Horn seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Commissioners discussed that the radio procurement may be the appropriate moment to revisit centralized dispatch but recognized that consolidation is a separate policy decision that the county and Portland must resolve. Ritter noted existing 911 call transfers to Portland sometimes lose data, and that dispatch policies had already been altered after raising those concerns with the sheriff's office.
The decision to proceed is contingent on formal financial approval by the county council; the commissioners did not finalize interlocal agreements with outside departments at the Sept. 8 meeting.
