Butler County approves nearly $1.0M Motorola contract for 911 server virtualization; staff flags $20M longer-term needs

Butler County commissioners approved a contract with Motorola Solutions not to exceed $993,848 to purchase, install and program virtualized radio-server hardware for the county's 911 telecommunication and emergency dispatch system.

County staff said the purchase moves the system from physical servers to a virtual configuration and recommended approval from the capital reserve fund. "I recommend approval," said the presenter, and commissioners voted to approve the packet that contained the purchase. During the discussion staff urged a standalone work session to review near-, mid- and long-term capital-improvement needs for 911 infrastructure; staff estimated nearly $20.25 million in additional investments over the next 7–10 years for towers, equipment, shelters and generators.

Officials said the Motorola contract covers hardware and migration (not an ongoing service extension) and that the funding source is the county's capital reserve fund rather than new 911 operational funds. The board approved the contract by unanimous roll call as part of the departmental resolutions packet.