SAN CLEMENTE : City OKs $1 Million to Join Countywide Radio System
The city has agreed to take part in a countywide project to replace Orange County’s aging public safety communications system.
The City Council on Wednesday approved spending $1.06 million to pay its share. The city has been setting money aside for the project during the past three fiscal years, said Kumi Johnson, central services manager.
The new 800-megahertz system will link all police and fire departments in the county on 61 channels and will be able to connect as many as 10,000 radios. It will replace a deteriorating 23-year-old network that now operates on 18 channels and was designed to support 2,000 radios.
The new network is to be installed in October and to be fully operational by 1997.
“The beauty of the system is that all law enforcement agencies will be able to communicate with one another,” as well as with federal and state agencies, said Lt. Ron Wilkerson of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Orange County will finance about 29% of the project, estimated to cost $84 million. Participating cities will make up the rest, according to staff reports.
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