Dispatchers in the Levy County Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Center sit at banks of computers accepting emergency communications and responding.
By Terry Witt -Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County Commission Chairman Matt Brooks volunteered on Tuesday to bring back cost estimates for upgrading the county’s imperfect emergency radio communications system.
Commissioners also discussed potentially tapping into historically low-interest rates to fund the new radio system and they briefly talked of including the road department’s antique radio system as part of the overall upgrade.
The board hasn’t ruled out replacing the county’s aging 911 communications building, which isn’t hurricane-proof, but cost would be a factor if it was included in the radio communications upgrade.
The county is facing federal and state mandates to completely revamp its central radio system to allow reliable communications between dispatchers and deputies countywide and radio communications with other law enforcement agencies around Florida in the event of a statewide or nationwide emergency.
“A lot of it goes to the terrorist type stuff. They (the state and feds) want it to be foolproof where you can be able to communicate agency to agency without any problem,” Sheriff Bobby McCallum said after the meeting. “A lot of that goes to inter-operability with agencies throughout the state. We don’t have the capability now.”
McCallum said the county can talk to other agencies by patching through to Alachua or Marion counties and using their radio systems to contact other agencies but that type of patchwork communications system isn’t what the state and federal law enforcement agencies are requiring.
McCallum said the generally accepted estimate of what it would cost to upgrade the central radio communications system is around $2 million to $3 million but the estimate isn’t firm and he doesn’t like asking the commission for more money. His budget has already been approved for the 2020-21 year.
Levy County Commissioner Mike Joyner, a retired career law enforcement officer raised, the possibility of tapping into interest rates as low as 1 percent to 1.5 percent to purchase the new radio communications system rather than taking the money from reserve cash.
“You never hear of getting money that low,” Joyner said.
He made the comment at the end of the meeting when commissioners can raise issues not on the agenda.
President Trump advocated for lower interest rates to boost the national economy after many businesses nationwide were forced to close for two months to stop the spread of the virus. The Federal Reserve, responding to the artificial recession caused by the virus, dropped interest rates to record lows.
The economy is reopening slowly and interest rates won’t remain this low forever. The commission’s budget officer, Jared Blanton, who is employed by the clerk’s office as its financial director, said he would favor borrowing at low-interest rates rather than dipping into the county’s reserve funds. To emphasize his point, he said the county is earning higher interest on investments than what the loan would cost.
Blanton said he doesn’t think interest rates will begin to rise for the next six months or so but he said there’s really no way to get an accurate forecast on when rates might begin to rise again.
McCallum said the original state and federal deadline to begin installing the new radio system was early next year but the COVID-19 pandemic may have pushed the deadline back. He said the new radio system isn’t optional.
“You’ve got to have your radio system compliant and those numbers have always fallen between $2 million to $3 million. I don’t know for sure but we expect it to be over $2 million for the radio part and the units, he said.
He was referring to the central radio system at the 911 communications center in Bronson, the mobile units in patrol cars, and the handheld radios used by deputies on patrol.
McCallum said he has also expressed his concern about the communications center.
“That building is obsolete. We’re out of space. It’s a terrible situation. It’s not hurricane proof and you don’t want to lose your communications in a storm. We’ve been very fortunate we haven’t,” he said.
The communications center is housed in the same building as investigations. The investigations’ building was constructed in the mid-
1990s by sheriff’s office personnel. A deputy who happened to be a contractor supervised construction of the building.
The building isn’t for anyone who is directionally challenged. It serves its intended function, but the interior is a rat maze of hallways lined with offices. It has a functional meeting room right at the heart of the building.
McCallum said federal and state law enforcement agencies are serious about the requirement to upgrade the communications system from top to bottom.
“They’re trying to provide more security and a better radiation system. Ours is probably better than it has been in the past, but we have dead spots in the county now that deputies can’t communicate by phone or radio. The new system is supposed to eliminate the dead spots,” he said.
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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting October 6, 2020; Posted October 8, 2020
