Committee accepts interoperable radio grant and considers company donation to fire department; donation amount in transcript inconsistent

The Finance Committee approved a Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs interoperable radio grant award of $49,872 with a required 20% match ($9,961.54) to upgrade software and equipment for Green Bay Fire Department radios.

Mike Padeshi, identified in the record as a floor firefighter and radio expert, described the grant as funding software updates and command-rig equipment that will allow the city to patch Brown County channels and improve mutual-aid communications. He cited the Larson fire as an example where improved interoperability would have eased operations: "One part of this grant is to put equipment in the command rig that allows us to patch our Brown County radio channels with other agencies coming in," Padeshi said. The committee approved accepting the grant; staff said the city has until May 2027 to complete the work.

On a separate item, the agenda listed a donation from TUCO of $50,000 to Green Bay Metro Fire Department; during the presentation staff described the donation as $15,000 and proposed possible uses such as a tire balancer, cloud-based drive cameras and workout equipment for several fire stations. Because the transcript records different figures (agenda: $50,000; presenter: $15,000), the exact donation amount is not fully clear in the recorded discussion. The committee voted to accept the donation and thanked the donor.

Both items carried on committee voice votes. Staff noted the grant match would be paid from a 424 fund and that the interoperability upgrades should improve mutual-aid communications across jurisdictions.