Funds Sought for Radio System

City officials are scrambling to find a way to pay for participating in the county’s new emergency communications system.

Unlike most other Orange County cities, Seal Beach has set aside no money toward the $730,000 cost of joining the new 800-megahertz system, which would link all county police, fire and public service agencies to one radio network.

“I just can’t, at this point, recommend that the council blindly enter into a contractually binding obligation,” City Manager Keith Till told council members earlier this week.

The council approved the city’s participation in the new communications system “in concept,” and will explore the possibility of creating a joint dispatch system with neighboring cities. Till said the city could save about $125,000 by taking part in a shared system.

If the city were to remain on the current 400-megahertz system, expenses could eventually exceed the cost of switching to the new system, according to Till, who also warned of possible communications problems from being the only Orange County city still on the old system.

One option for the city is to finance the cost over 10 years, according to Till, paying $105,000 a year for a total cost of $1.05 million. Without financing, the city can take five years to pay at a cost of $146,000 a year.

Councilman George Brown said the city has little choice but to find a way to participate.

“Right now, it’s do or die,” Brown said. “If we vote not to do it, we’re out for an indefinite period of time. This city really can’t afford to be on something other than the 800-megahertz system. It’s going to take some creative financing to figure out how to do it.”