Council OKs Joining New Radio System
Saying it is vital to law enforcement and emergency response, the City Council has approved joining a new $80-million countywide communication system.
The 800-megahertz system will link all police, fire and public works agencies in the county to one network. The upgrade is considered crucial to coordinating emergency services, officials say, because the current aging network is dangerously obsolete.
Newport Beach will pay about $3.2 million as its share of the new system, expected to be fully operational by 1999.
City Manager Kevin J. Murphy, who is responsible for coordinating and implementing the new system, said he expects the city to pay its share in installments over 10 years.
Because of the county’s late 1994 bankruptcy filing, the communication project was put on hold until city and county officials could work out a way to pay for it. Cities will now pay more than they had expected before the bankruptcy.
More than a dozen city councils have already approved the plan, and the rest are expected to do so in coming weeks.
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