County upgrades its radios

Saturday, December 29, 2012

CHARLESTON -- The Mississippi County Sheriff's Department won't have the best radios available but they will be up-to-date, compliant and somewhat ready for the future.

County commissioners approved the purchase during their regular weekly meeting of a $47,727.95 radio update package offered by JCS Wireless in Cape Girardeau. The Commission met Friday instead of their usual Thursday this week due road conditions following the Christmas snow.

"I think that's the best solution," said Gerald Walton of JCS of the package selected by commissioners.

To go to a "Cadillac plan" that would have cost as much as $65,000, "we would have been throwing out radios that have years of service left in them," Walton said.

But the package selected will be "getting them into the 21st century," he said.

While commissioners knew last week that as the sole bidder JCS would be the vendor, they asked Walton to come in and explain what the Sheriff's Department needed now to be in compliance with the state's Jan. 1 narrowbanding mandate. Commissioners also wanted to know which purchases should be made to be compatible with radio technologies likely to be phased in over the next few years.

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