Efforts to replace outdated radios in the Sheriff’s Department saw Sheriff Randy Wright and the Shawano County Board operating on different wavelengths this week.
The board voted 16-9 Wednesday to postpone a final vote on spending $214,408 to replace 50 radios — 34 in patrol vehicles and 16 portable radios — that do not work with the department’s new digital simulcast system.
The vote was postponed because the county did not request bid proposals.
Wright repeated his warning that the board was playing with fire by not taking action to replace the outdated radios, saying his deputies and the general population were in jeopardy because of the older radios.
Due to the older radios’ limitations with the simulcast system, the transmission coverage of Shawano County is only 40 percent, a significant drop from the 70 percent coverage the Sheriff’s Department had before changing over to the simulcast system. With new radios, Wright expects the coverage to jump to 95 percent.
Supervisor Kevin Conradt agreed the existing coverage was inadequate, citing poor coverage following last week’s severe storm near Navarino, but he was uncomfortable voting with only one bid.
“I realize the need for the radios, but I can’t support this. We bid everything else out in the county,” Conradt said.
Corporation Counsel Tony Kordus said the radios could be bid out, but do not have to be.
Several supervisors said the $214,408 price offered by Motorola Solutions was too high.
Supervisor Thomas Kautza pushed for the Public Safety Committee to contact local vendors to see if the county could get a lower bid. In his motion to postpone the vote, he called for the bids to be returned by the board’s Sept. 25 meeting.
But the price offered by Motorola Solutions expires on Sept. 16, Jeff OVERSET FOLLOWS:Schuh, the Sheriff’s Department technology specialist, told the board. He said the bid was based on a nationwide search by the Western States Alliance.
Supervisor Ray Faehling said public safety should not be put on hold for a few dollars, noting it would only take one lawsuit from an injured party to make the $214,408 cost seem small.
Wright echoed Faehling’s sentiments.
“You know we’re talking about people’s safety here,” Wright said. “How low (a value) do you really want to put a person’s life? Not just one of my deputies, but your citizens that you’re out there to protect. You’re the supervisors out there. This is on your shoulders.”
The resolution would authorize the county to use $86,000 from the gaming funds received annually from the Ho-Chunk tribe and $128,408 from the general fund to pay for the radios.
The original plan was to tap the general fund to pay for the radios, but the Tribal Affairs Committee on Aug. 4 recommended using $86,000 from the more than $105,000 in Ho-Chunk funds held by the county.
Categories
