MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A committee meeting turned heated when Memphis Police talked about the cost of a radio system replacement.
It could cost the city and county $85 million combined, and some City Council members said they will not support it.
During the committee meeting, Deputy Chief Harvey gave council members a breakdown of what it could cost to replace radios for the department. He said the radio system would allow them communicate easier.
“I think that it would be more of a tragedy if we don`t move forward and that day happens when a part goes out that we can`t repair and we have no radio system. Nobody could be called to put out a fire, nobody could be called for help,” he said.
Some City Council members said they`re hesitant to spend millions on a new radio system when the city is already short hundreds of officers and dealing with more than 60 homicides this year.
“It’s like a vehicle that`s breaking down and we replace the radio that`s in it with some Bose speakers. I just can`t digest this,” said Council member, Jamita Swearengen,
The city`s portion would cost more than $58 million.
Starting December of 2018, federal requirements would make the department’s older model radio system unable to be serviced by Motorola which handles the contract.
City leaders asked the consultant for the project Mission Critical to come up with a plan to spread out the cost of the new system over several years.
“One of the things we asked Mission Critical to come back to us with the last time they presented was a three year. Essentially we had to get this done in three years. I`ve asked them to come back and let us know if there`s an opportunity to space that out to five years based on a public safety,” said COO Doug McGowen.
