Richland County hires radio technician as countywide simulcast testing continues

Jeremy Bourke, the county’s new radio support technician, introduced himself to the Public Safety & Judiciary standing committee on March 6, saying he brings experience in emergency communications and telecom project management and will help finish the county’s radio tower and dispatch transition.

Bourke said he most recently worked as a telecom project manager at Fort McCoy and is focusing on the “back end” of the tower project and outstanding system shortfalls. “I come with a pretty robust background working in emergency communications,” he said.

Sheriff Mason told the committee that testing of the new simulcast radio system is proceeding but has revealed equipment and firmware issues on mobile and portable units. Vendors and the county’s contractor, Gencom, have been assisting to resolve those problems. Mason said the county is also locking down licensing on a couple more channels; once licensing is secured he expects an organized push to reprogram first-responder radios to operate on the new system.

The county discussed a near-term timeline: licensing work likely to finish in about a week, then reprogramming and broader user testing. Committee members asked about outstanding costs and a $43,000 communications-related bill; Mason and staff confirmed maintenance and some equipment charges are appearing in the bills packet and that a longstanding maintenance contract with Motorola Solutions (for Arcad RMS systems) remains in place.

The introduction of a dedicated radio technician aims to shorten response time for configuration and troubleshooting as the county completes the transition to the new simulcast system. The committee did not take formal action on the project at this meeting; staff said they will continue testing and push for reprogramming once licensing is secured.