Crime & Safety

Council OK's Some Police Radios

Half of the requested narrowband compliant radios, repeater for headquarters restored to capital budget.

The mayor and council authorized allocating an additional $45,564 to the capital budget for the purchase of half of the requested narrowband compliant portable and car radios, as well as a repeater for headquarters, during Monday's work session. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has mandated that all police mobile radio systems must convert from wideband to narrowband radio systems by Jan. 1, 2013. 

At the of the mayor and council, the proposed expenditure for the purchase of 22 portable radios and eight car radios was removed from the police department's capital budget. Instead, of the proposed $101,000 in capital expenses, only $27,000 was allocated for the purchase of a radio repeater at the middle school.

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The current bandwidth radio systems do not work at the middle school because the materials used in the construction of the building obstruct the signal. 

Councilman Dominic Colucci argued that because the radio conversion was a federal mandate, he did not support the removal of these funds. 

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"This expense is not going away," he said.

In addition to safety concerns, Colucci also cautioned that the town may face certain fines if it does not fully comply with the mandate.

Councilman Austin Ashley supported the removal of the expenditure for the radios and repeater at police headquarters, as well as on-board cameras for primary control police vehicles, in an effort to keep capital expenses as low as possible citing that the taxpayers cannot afford any additional increases. 

In response to the cuts to his proposed capital budget, Chief Frank Papapietro told Patch that his primary concern was the repeater for the middle school.

"For the safety of the children, my priority is the repeater at the middle school." 

Regarding the repeater at police headquarters, Papapietro said that it is reaching the end of its life span. "The technology is old and parts replacement is becoming increasingly difficult."

Papapietro's position is that in order for the repeater to be effective at the middle school, the one at headquarters needs to be replaced. 

During the April 9 work session, the council revisited the radio and repeater expenditures and agreed to restore half of the requested funds. $45,564 was allocated for the purchase of 11 portable radios, four car radios, and a repeater for headquarters, bringing the total police capital budget to $72,564.


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