Motorola
Solutions was awarded the contract to transition Livingston County to a state
of the art, Astro 25 Phase II TDMA VHF Trunked Radio System in 2015. Over the course of the last two years, the
project management team has assisted in the design, construction, and
procurement of a system that will place all public safety entities on one radio
system, with the ability to communicate across all public safety disciplines.
"These
upgrades will transition all first responders within the county onto one radio
solution that will vastly improve abilities to respond to emergencies, and
communicate effectively, both within the county and regionally," Sheriff
Dougherty said. "I am proud of the project management team the county has
assembled to undertake this critical task. The relationships we enjoy with our
federal, state, county, town and public safety agency partners are essential
for our continued success. It is because of these relationships that we
continue to see positive progress for our community."
The ability to fund a project of this magnitude comes
from the awards that were distributed through a State-funded competitive grant
program supporting regional communications partnerships throughout New York State. Over the past three years Livingston County
has received approximately $10 million from the New York State Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Services to complete the needed upgrades. Over
$2.3 million was dedicated to radios and subscriber equipment for first
responders operating in Livingston County.
"This
is exciting news, years in the making”, stated County Administrator Ian
Coyle. Interoperability and clear
communication channels are must-haves for public safety in 2017. Funding was crucial to the success of this
program as our county would not have been able to undertake this effort without
significant state grant support. Kudos
to our Project Management Team as they collaborated on the herculean task of managing
this system change. Finally, a special
thanks to the local fire, ambulance, police and highway professionals who use
this system daily to communicate regarding public safety responses. We are extremely fortunate to have such
dedicated public servants in our community."
Mr.
Eric Gott, Chairman of the Livingston County Board of Supervisors said, "Our 911 system
upgrade is a classic example of Livingston County government, in conjunction
with local volunteers and others in the public safety community, coming
together in a cooperative effort to both improve services and save taxpayer
dollars. Emergency response technology
is not a nicety, it's a necessity, and I am pleased to report that these system
updates will position our first responders with the technology and information
infrastructure backbone they need to support crucial boots-on-the-ground
services and programs."
Although
this transition is a milestone for the county, the county will continue to move
forward in keeping up with the technology available. “This this is a proud day, and we are
committed to continued progress,” Undersheriff Matthew Bean said. The Sheriff’s Office is also in the beginning
stages of upgrading its computer systems and Computer Aided Dispatching, while
moving towards NG911 capabilities.
“Fully
transitioning to Next Generation 911 across the state is expected to exceed
$2.2 billion over the coming years”, stated Undersheriff Bean. “Unfortunately, not all the fees charged on home
or cell phone bills comes back to the local PSAP, and not all cell phone users
are charged this fee. Our citizens deserve a dedicated revenue stream from our
state government to fully fund and maintain these critical systems.”
