Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Emergency management asks for joint workshop as council signals end of siren funding
Summary
Rob Sabey, La Porte County Emergency Management, said the county council indicated it will stop funding outdoor warning sirens and asked commissioners for a joint workshop to develop a replacement or phase-out plan; he estimated full replacement at about $2 million and noted limited parts for many sirens.
Rob Sabey, La Porte County Emergency Management, told commissioners that during recent budget hearings the county council indicated it "wanna quit funding the emergency sirens" and asked him to develop a plan to phase them out. Sabey said many sirens are 50–60 years old, parts are obsolete for most models and the county already spent an extra $50,000 this year to keep systems running.
Sabey asked for a joint workshop with the county council and commissioners to explore options. He said limited cellular coverage in parts of the county means alternative alerting (phone alerts, NOAA weather radios) does not fully substitute for sirens in some areas. Sabey estimated replacing the system could cost "probably around $2,000,000, maybe more" and noted smaller grants historically cover only a few sirens at a time. Commissioners asked staff to gather comparative information from other counties before the workshop.
