911 board amends budget for $400,000 consolidation reimbursement and approves equipment purchases

The River Valley Communication Center 911 governing board voted unanimously on March 26 to amend its 2026 budget to record a $400,000 reimbursement from the State of Arkansas for planned PSAP consolidation and approved related equipment purchases to prepare for the consolidation.

The board’s Chair told members the consolidation remains “on track for July 2026” and that the $400,000 would be shown as revenue with an offsetting consolidation expense account in the budget. The board approved the resolution by roll call, 9 in favor, 0 opposed.

Board members then approved three purchases to be paid from the consolidation expense account: a Motorola system purchase and radio reprogramming for $272,043.23; network and workstation upgrades for $12,773.37; and 10 purpose-built dispatcher chairs from Bodybilt for $18,610.15. The Chair said the radio work will move three console radios and fire paging responsibilities from the Sebastian County PSAP to the Fort Smith PSAP, reprogram radios to a unified countywide system, and add backup infrastructure and tornado‑siren activation capability.

Committee members asked about bid comparisons and decommissioning work on existing microwave links. The Chair explained procurement choices: Motorola and Dell equipment were procured through existing purchasing contracts (AWIN and NASPO) and the chair vendor selection followed three bids, with Bodybilt offering the lowest modular option. On the microwave links, the Chair said Sebastian County will be decommissioned when consolidation occurs and described the microwave connections that currently tie Sebastian County into the regional simulcast and Fort Smith’s role as the jump point.

The Chair also described replacing aging backup consoles (installed in 2008) with updated APX consoles to broaden backup capability for a larger, unified center and reduce replacement costs over a three‑ to five‑year horizon. A board member questioned whether replacing some consoles now was necessary if the existing units had an 85% chance of still working; the Chair said the replacement increases resiliency and is classified as a consolidation expense.

The purchases were moved, seconded and approved by roll call. The Chair said the board will reconvene in June with a more detailed consolidation update and additional purchase specifics as Motorola integration work advances.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the approved purchases and return to the board with implementation details at the June meeting; consolidation work is scheduled to proceed the week of July 6, 2026.