Emergency Services Depts. Struggling To Pay For New Radios
October 13, 2021 at 1:46 a.m.
Emergency Services Depts. Struggling To Pay For New Radios
By David [email protected]
Pierceton Police Chief Tim Sammons told the County Commissioners that his grant application – along with that from other departments – was denied. Now his concern is how to pay for new radios and he sought advice, input and suggestions from the Commissioners Tuesday on how to do that.
“Several months ago, (Emergency Management Director) Ed Rock ... sent this link to all department heads about a grant that was, in my opinion, a hail Mary pass for funding for radios,” Sammons said.
His police department, being smaller than some, requested eight portable radios and four in-car radios. The cost for all of that was approximately $56,000.
“And that was through a quote from J&K Communications, Columbia City. I know you’re familiar with J&K,” Sammons said. “So, the grant was submitted on time. I didn’t get any feedback from the state Homeland Security on any further documentations needed for the grant. We waited and waited and waited, and finally got the denial letter.”
Sammons said he called Rock’s office and was informed that not only was his grant not awarded, but “none of the grants were awarded.” Rock said that was correct. The denial letter states that all decisions are final.
“So, I started looking at other solutions, and the (Edward R.) Byrne grant is out there again, which is the Justice Assistance Grant, better known as JAG for some law enforcement officials,” he said.
The current Byrne grant is used basically for body armor, body cameras, GPS trackers, DNA testing and allowable purchases with that, caps on overtime pay, contraband, silicones, K-9s, etc. Sammons said in this particular grant cycle, communication and radios are not listed.
“With small budgets such as my office deals with, and decreased budgets across the state, we all know that any additional funding is difficult to work that in at some point,” Sammons said. “When you are going to my elected officials and saying I need $56,000 to upgrade radios so my officers can stay safe and communicate and so on and so forth, that’s a big hit of a percentage to a small budget. And Pierceton does not deal with multi-million budgets and never will. So $56,000 is a huge percentage to small budgets.”
He said other police departments across Kosciusko County are struggling with the same question he is. He said Rock’s office is great about being that advocate for the departments and finding funding.
Commissioner Bob Conley said he read through the Byrne information and thought it was for anything police related, though he didn’t find anything that was specifically for communication related equipment either. Rock said, in the past, there were radios purchased through that grant.
“But, every grant changes its focus every year, so I would have to look through that grant to say yes or no,” Rock said when asked by Conley for his take on the Byrne grant.
Sammons said he was gracious for what the Commissioners have done regarding the communication towers, etc.
County Commissioner Cary Groninger said the new radio system that the county will have is “compatible with all the current radios we have.” He said going into the project, they didn’t want to get into a position where everyone had to buy new radios. He said they were able to negotiate a very discounted rate on the radios, so there is an incentive to replace the radios now.
“I fully agree that now is the time, as well as just the full use of this new system to use all the bells and whistles, all those things that are going to be niceties that this system is going to bring, you’re going to need that new technology. We all know new technology is short-lived, it’s constantly changing. But I know we’re looking at several different things there on what other funding sources are out there. I know we’ve got a meeting next week with our consultant to finalize a few things. I know we’re working on whether or not radios can actually even be bought with (American Rescue Plan) dollars. At this point, we’re not seeing that that qualifies, but we’re looking into that deeper. There’s multiple things we’re looking at, trying to come up with a good solution, something that is palpable for all the stations across the county. There are a lot of radios out there and we know a lot of people are having the same struggles,” Groninger stated.
He said it takes a while to figure everything out and they’re working on it.
Sammons requested, if there was an opportunity, to be included in some of the county’s meetings as a representative of the smaller departments in the county.
The Commissioners also heard a Bowen Center annual report from Tera Robinson, director, Kosciusko County Outpatient, and Michael Murphy, director, Syracuse Outpatient Office.
Robinson thanked the county for its “generous” support of the Bowen Center, which was $685,103 for the past fiscal year. In Kosciusko County, Bowen Center provided 118,048 services in the past year. Total free care provided by the Bowen Center in Kosciusko County totaled $2,709,739. Staff in this county alone totals 431, and 6,747 patients were served.
Murphy reviewed the services provided by the Bowen Center, including skilled services, outpatient therapy, residential treatment for adults and inpatient services.
“And then we have a unique project up in Enchanted Hills and, of course, some of you are familiar with it. It is our only community-based project for the entire Center,” he said.
In this past year, the Bowen Center took on two additional things, he said. One is the new health clinic established in Warsaw, and the other is the COVID-19 testing site.
Groninger said the county really appreciated Bowen Center “stepping up to the plate for us” in regards to COVID-19 testing. “We just appreciate all you guys have done for us, providing those services to our community, so, we just appreciate all your guys’ help. As well as all the other services you provide. I know that mental health is probably going to be something we’re going to see a lot more of,” he said.
In other business, the Commissioners:
• Heard an update on grants from Rock that he submitted. He confirmed again that the radio grant was denied, as was the cybersecurity grant, from Homeland Security. Two grants that were approved were the salary grant for his department at over $47,000 and another cybersecurity grant for about $40,000.
• Recognized County Auditor Michelle Puckett for completing the 2020 state and federal audit with no errors and everything is balanced. Groninger said this was the third year in a row. Puckett said she’s got two more years before the end of her term and she’s going for five. She recognized all the other county departments and the Council and Commissioners for their support.
• Approved a $14,721 proposal from CORE Mechanical Services for glycol for the boiler system to keep the pipes from freezing this winter, as requested by County Administrator Marsha McSherry.
• Approved for Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty to apply for a $40,000 Indiana Department of Transportation grant to upgrade railroad crossings. It’s a 100% reimbursable grant, he said.
Pierceton Police Chief Tim Sammons told the County Commissioners that his grant application – along with that from other departments – was denied. Now his concern is how to pay for new radios and he sought advice, input and suggestions from the Commissioners Tuesday on how to do that.
“Several months ago, (Emergency Management Director) Ed Rock ... sent this link to all department heads about a grant that was, in my opinion, a hail Mary pass for funding for radios,” Sammons said.
His police department, being smaller than some, requested eight portable radios and four in-car radios. The cost for all of that was approximately $56,000.
“And that was through a quote from J&K Communications, Columbia City. I know you’re familiar with J&K,” Sammons said. “So, the grant was submitted on time. I didn’t get any feedback from the state Homeland Security on any further documentations needed for the grant. We waited and waited and waited, and finally got the denial letter.”
Sammons said he called Rock’s office and was informed that not only was his grant not awarded, but “none of the grants were awarded.” Rock said that was correct. The denial letter states that all decisions are final.
“So, I started looking at other solutions, and the (Edward R.) Byrne grant is out there again, which is the Justice Assistance Grant, better known as JAG for some law enforcement officials,” he said.
The current Byrne grant is used basically for body armor, body cameras, GPS trackers, DNA testing and allowable purchases with that, caps on overtime pay, contraband, silicones, K-9s, etc. Sammons said in this particular grant cycle, communication and radios are not listed.
“With small budgets such as my office deals with, and decreased budgets across the state, we all know that any additional funding is difficult to work that in at some point,” Sammons said. “When you are going to my elected officials and saying I need $56,000 to upgrade radios so my officers can stay safe and communicate and so on and so forth, that’s a big hit of a percentage to a small budget. And Pierceton does not deal with multi-million budgets and never will. So $56,000 is a huge percentage to small budgets.”
He said other police departments across Kosciusko County are struggling with the same question he is. He said Rock’s office is great about being that advocate for the departments and finding funding.
Commissioner Bob Conley said he read through the Byrne information and thought it was for anything police related, though he didn’t find anything that was specifically for communication related equipment either. Rock said, in the past, there were radios purchased through that grant.
“But, every grant changes its focus every year, so I would have to look through that grant to say yes or no,” Rock said when asked by Conley for his take on the Byrne grant.
Sammons said he was gracious for what the Commissioners have done regarding the communication towers, etc.
County Commissioner Cary Groninger said the new radio system that the county will have is “compatible with all the current radios we have.” He said going into the project, they didn’t want to get into a position where everyone had to buy new radios. He said they were able to negotiate a very discounted rate on the radios, so there is an incentive to replace the radios now.
“I fully agree that now is the time, as well as just the full use of this new system to use all the bells and whistles, all those things that are going to be niceties that this system is going to bring, you’re going to need that new technology. We all know new technology is short-lived, it’s constantly changing. But I know we’re looking at several different things there on what other funding sources are out there. I know we’ve got a meeting next week with our consultant to finalize a few things. I know we’re working on whether or not radios can actually even be bought with (American Rescue Plan) dollars. At this point, we’re not seeing that that qualifies, but we’re looking into that deeper. There’s multiple things we’re looking at, trying to come up with a good solution, something that is palpable for all the stations across the county. There are a lot of radios out there and we know a lot of people are having the same struggles,” Groninger stated.
He said it takes a while to figure everything out and they’re working on it.
Sammons requested, if there was an opportunity, to be included in some of the county’s meetings as a representative of the smaller departments in the county.
The Commissioners also heard a Bowen Center annual report from Tera Robinson, director, Kosciusko County Outpatient, and Michael Murphy, director, Syracuse Outpatient Office.
Robinson thanked the county for its “generous” support of the Bowen Center, which was $685,103 for the past fiscal year. In Kosciusko County, Bowen Center provided 118,048 services in the past year. Total free care provided by the Bowen Center in Kosciusko County totaled $2,709,739. Staff in this county alone totals 431, and 6,747 patients were served.
Murphy reviewed the services provided by the Bowen Center, including skilled services, outpatient therapy, residential treatment for adults and inpatient services.
“And then we have a unique project up in Enchanted Hills and, of course, some of you are familiar with it. It is our only community-based project for the entire Center,” he said.
In this past year, the Bowen Center took on two additional things, he said. One is the new health clinic established in Warsaw, and the other is the COVID-19 testing site.
Groninger said the county really appreciated Bowen Center “stepping up to the plate for us” in regards to COVID-19 testing. “We just appreciate all you guys have done for us, providing those services to our community, so, we just appreciate all your guys’ help. As well as all the other services you provide. I know that mental health is probably going to be something we’re going to see a lot more of,” he said.
In other business, the Commissioners:
• Heard an update on grants from Rock that he submitted. He confirmed again that the radio grant was denied, as was the cybersecurity grant, from Homeland Security. Two grants that were approved were the salary grant for his department at over $47,000 and another cybersecurity grant for about $40,000.
• Recognized County Auditor Michelle Puckett for completing the 2020 state and federal audit with no errors and everything is balanced. Groninger said this was the third year in a row. Puckett said she’s got two more years before the end of her term and she’s going for five. She recognized all the other county departments and the Council and Commissioners for their support.
• Approved a $14,721 proposal from CORE Mechanical Services for glycol for the boiler system to keep the pipes from freezing this winter, as requested by County Administrator Marsha McSherry.
• Approved for Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty to apply for a $40,000 Indiana Department of Transportation grant to upgrade railroad crossings. It’s a 100% reimbursable grant, he said.
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