Commissioners approve radio backup for dispatch consoles after price concessions

County Administrator Marshall McSherry and sheriff personnel asked the commission to approve adding two radios to the dispatch center consoles to provide an automated redundant backup if the primary system fails.

"This is a proposal to add two radios to the current consoles. In the dispatch center, this will help to make the system even more redundant than it already is," McSherry said, explaining that the radios would allow dispatchers to flip to a backup system immediately if the main system goes down. McSherry said the original quote was about $22,993.88 but, after negotiation, the county was able to reduce the price to $15,536.28.

Sheriff Sam Smith and other staff supported the proposal, noting the redundancy would reduce operational risk in the justice building and dispatch. Commissioners moved and approved the purchase by voice vote.

Why it matters: the upgrade aims to reduce communication downtime during critical incidents by adding a failover capability to the county's dispatch consoles.

Next steps: staff will finalize procurement and contract paperwork with J&K Communications and proceed to implement the equipment upgrade.