Subject: [NEXTEL-1] City plans new radios for officers, firefighters

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 14:09:12 -0400

City plans new radios for officers, firefighters

04/17/03

BENJAMIN NIOLET and CAROL ROBINSON
News staff writers

The City of Birmingham may soon spend up to $15 million to replace
police and firefighter radios.

The proposal to build a new
system and field hundreds of
radios has been developed at
City Hall for more than a year.
A City Council committee of
two recommended the new
system Wednesday.

Mayor Bernard Kincaid said in
an interview that his plan is to
have new radios on the street
by July 1, the beginning of the
new fiscal year.

"We didn't know if this could
fly so we didn't do a big
fanfare," Kincaid said.
"Obviously we had to pay attention to whether we could afford it."

The mayor and his staff will still have to find a pot of money in a shrinking
city budget that is currently running a projected $15.9 million deficit. The
task will then be to persuade council members to vote for the new
system. They will likely get help from the city's police and fire
departments, which have long grumbled about the old radios, specifically
their design and suitability for public safety work. They praised the new
system on Wednesday.

"No system is going to be 100 percent, but this is a very good system,"
said Birmingham Police Chief Annetta Nunn.

The city has reviewed bids and selected Motorola to provide the new
system, said Al Herbert, Kincaid's chief of staff. The city would own the
equipment, including the radios, which were designed specifically for
police and firefighter use.

Birmingham leased its current system and pays for monthly air time. The
system, supplied by Southern LINC, has cost the city nearly $100,000 a
month for leasing, maintenance and air time, according to city records.
Birmingham would continue to use that system for some city
departments, such as Public Works, but fees are likely to decrease since
fewer radios will be used.

News that the city was so far along in the process was a surprise
Wednesday even to people who have helped the city investigate a new
system.

"That gives us a lot of hope that we're going to have a system up and
running soon. That is certainly going to put the officers and citizens they
protect in a safer environment," said Sgt. Allen Treadaway, president of
the Birmingham Fraternal Order of Police. "It will allow us to respond more
adequately to any emergency situation that may arise."

The City of Birmingham signed on with Southern LINC and its 800
megahertz radio system in 1998 after four years of controversy and court
battles. The city expected to pay about $2 million per year to lease the
digital system and equipment, and pay air time. It signed a seven-year
contract. Southern LINC is a company owned by Alabama Power's parent
firm, the Southern Company. The equipment included hand-held radios
and car-mounted devices that serve as a two-way radio, digital phone and
pager.

The city relied on an outside consultant to decide which system best
suited its needs. The system was chosen over police objections.

The system was not designed specifically for police work and did not
meet the police and fire departments' needs, officials said.

"It was a round peg in a square hole," Herbert said.

Shortly after switching to the new system, police and firefighters reported
problems and safety risks. Officers complained of dead spots and delayed
signals in some buildings and areas of the city.

Last year, South Precinct Officer Chris Holland confronted a knife-wielding
man. Holland tried to call for backup on his radio but got no signal. He had
to go to a home and use the phone to call 911.

Holland remained concerned Wednesday about the current radio system.
"We're just worried about our safety as well as the citizens," he said.

Officers also have trouble contacting dispatchers, either because
someone else is talking on the channel or the radio cannot transmit the
call. In emergencies, officers cannot break into radio traffic if someone
else is talking on the channel. The radios have beeps and lights that make
officers seen or heard when they don't want to be. They also say the
batteries don't even last a full shift, and complain because the radios take
as long as 45 seconds to power on.

"That's a long time when a life is in danger," Nunn said.

City Council members Joel Montgomery and Roderick Royal, members of
the council's Public Safety Committee, endorsed the new system and
urged the administration to move quickly.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/1050580011119770.xml

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