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Staff recommends purchase of portable radios as county transitions frequencies
Summary
City staff told the council the city's handheld police and fire radios no longer reach county towers under a new county frequency plan and recommended buying 10 portable radios with cellular fallback; about half the cost would come from an emergency budget line.
A staff presenter on March 5 told the Gunter City Council that handheld radios used by police and fire no longer reach the towers after the county changed frequency plans, and recommended purchasing 10 portable radios with accessories and cellular fallback capability.
The presenter said the county’s transition left handheld units with limited coverage because the nearest towers are concentrated in the county’s northern area; vehicle radios still reach the towers but the head-mounted portable units do not. “There have been moments where we have definitely experienced the hands-on nature of these portable radios being vital to public safety,” the presenter said, urging the council to allow procurement so officers and firefighters have reliable two-way communications.
Staff proposed using an emergency budget line for roughly half the cost and pulling the remainder from transition funds. Council members asked about unit cost (one member said, "These radios are about $10 a piece," which appears to be an inexact remark in the transcript) and about prior donations and compatibility with existing equipment; staff said some previously offered units could not reach the county’s current configuration.
No procurement vote or appropriation was found in the provided segments; staff said the item would be addressed through the budget/emergency line process.
