GREENFIELD — After 14 years of the same handheld, portable radios, Greenfield Police Department Chief Jeff Rasche told city officials it is time for an upgrade.
Rasche went before the Greenfield Board of Works on Tuesday and then the City Council on Wednesday evening to make the case for new radios for his force.
“I really don’t feel comfortable waiting on this,” Rasche said. “This is our only means of communication after officers get out of their car.”
Because the current radios are so old, the manufacturer, Motorolo, is no longer making replacement parts for them. At this point, if a radio breaks, it can’t be fixed, Rasche said, which is driving his request.
Because the radios each cost about $4,100 and the GPD needs 55 to 60 radios, Rasche said he decided to make his request as a three-year rotation plan, where the city buys 20 radios a year for three years instead of trying to buy everything at once.
The exact cost breakdown would be $83,593 for the first two years for a total of 40 radios. The exact cost of the third year is still up in the air as Rasche said the department might need another 20 or might only need 15. If the department replaces all 60 of them, the total cost would come out to $250,779.
The cost per radio also includes the battery, charger, belt clip and programming expenses, Rasche said. The department decided to go with Motorolo again for the new radios because of their current relationship with the company and the quality of product.
“We’re hoping to get another 14 or 15 years out of these new ones,” Rasche said. “They make a good radio that is very durable which is important to police work.”
The money for the radios would come out of the city’s Local Option Income Tax account, according to the ordinance. Generally, big expenses for law enforcement are paid for out of the LOIT account. Rasche also said there are no grants available to help pay for the radios.
“I was kind of disappointed when I saw there were no matching grants available, because the fire department got one,” Rasche said. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option for us.”
Mayor Chuck Fewell asked if the department could get any trade in value for the old radios once they are rotated out. Rasche said that was an option they were looking at, but the GPD will also keep a few of the old radios that are still in working condition as emergency backups.
The appropriation was approved by the Board of Works and the City Council approved the ordinance on first reading.
