County approves $5M proposal for emergency communications

The Greene County Commission on Tuesday approved a $5.2 million proposal calling for an emergency communications upgrade.

The proposal is specifically designed to improve the Springfield-Greene County Emergency Communications' trunked radio system, according to a news release. The TRS' components and functions include communications for incident response operations, notifications, alerts and warnings, and requests for assistance.

“The commission is pleased to be able to upgrade our radio equipment for first responders as the outdated analog equipment was no longer compatible and was presenting a number of difficulties in transmission,” Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon said in the release. "Our law enforcement officers will have better tools as a result of this upgrade to digital equipment and be better enabled to keep the public safe.”

The allocation was approved to come out of Greene County's American Rescue Plan Act funding, along with nearly $300,000 from the Greene County Highway Department’s budget.

“The U.S. Treasury granted the necessary flexibility in guidelines under ARPA, and this has tremendously benefitted county taxpayers and those engaged daily in our public safety," Dixon added in the release.

Of the $57 million in ARPA funds the county must distribute, $10.2 million has been set aside for countywide projects, according to past reporting. The commission late last week issued nearly $23 million to 10 recipients in the first round of ARPA funding.