The $2.75 per phone monthly surcharge would pay for a significant upgrade to Muskegon County’s 911 dispatch system to ensure police and fire departments continue to respond quickly and efficiently to citizens’ calls for help.
The $31.2 million upgrade would move the dispatch system from an analog to an 800 MHz digital network, and would include a wide range of equipment upgrades, from new radio towers to new radios to new in-vehicle computers.
Emergency responders are currently working with an aging and unreliable communication system, some parts for which are no longer being made, officials said.
“This is not some shiny toy we want to have,” said Michigan State Police Lt. Christopher McIntire. “We have to have this.”
The ballot request is nearly identical to one voters rejected in November 2018. Police and fire officials said they will continue asking until the surcharge is approved because they have no other options.
In addition to failing equipment, the upgrades are needed to allow police and fire agencies in Muskegon County to continue communicating with counterparts in surrounding counties that are switching to digital 911 communications, officials said. That’s especially important to such communities as Fruitport that are close to county boundaries.
The request would increase the monthly surcharge from the current 42 cents to $2.75 until June 30, 2032. The end date is the only difference from the November 2018 proposal, which had no specific date it would end.
The $2.75 surcharge would be levied on every device capable of placing a phone call, including land lines, cell phones and tablets. Businesses would pay surcharges on 10 phone lines and then one surcharge for every 10 lines after that.
“When firefighters are inside a burning building, the margin for error is small,” said Muskegon Heights Fire Chief Christopher Dean. “We rely on our radios working the first time we press the button, and right now it is not always happening.”
The surcharge, which would raise nearly $4 million annually, would pay for:
--Five new radio towers to be placed strategically throughout the county.
--1,700 digital radio devices for public safety.
--A $1.5 million upgrade and expansion of the Central Dispatch facility located in the downtown Muskegon Fire station.
--200 new in-vehicle mobile computers.
--Fiber optic backup to prevent communication outages.
--A $7.57 million equipment replacement fund.
The system would become part of the state of Michigan’s existing digital emergency communications network. That means much of the equipment would be purchased from Motorola through the state’s bidding process.
If approved by voters, the surcharge would begin to be levied July 1, with full collections beginning Oct. 1.
The surcharge is the fairest, most equitable way to share the costs of the dispatch upgrades, said Shawn Grabinski, executive director of Muskegon Central Dispatch. It’s how most other communities have secured funding to keep up with emergency communications needs, she said.
If the increased surcharge is approved, the 42 cents currently levied would still be directed toward operations. Among Muskegon Central Dispatch’s other revenue sources are a 0.3-mill property tax, and a 25-cent state wireless surcharge, its budget shows.
The system dispatches and manages communications among first responders from 15 fire departments, 11 police agencies and two ambulance services.
Police and fire officials give several reasons the new digital system is needed:
--Intrusive static or unexpected dead spots during radio transmissions. This can delay the sharing of critical information, or cause some responders to miss it entirely. There are multiple reasons for those issues, including narrowing channel bandwidth, aging radios and other equipment, tree growth and not enough radio towers.
--Limited radio channels. There’s currently one county-wide analog channel for police dispatch, and one for fire, meaning if there’s an emergency, other routine radio traffic is interrupted by the breaking event. There is one other “LEIN” channel, but all talk must go through a dispatcher and isn’t sufficient if there’s more than one major incident going on simultaneously. Tactical channels can be used but not all responders are connected to them and neither is Central Dispatch Digital radios would have multiple channels, allowing responders on an emergency to communicate with each other without involving dispatch.
--Outdated equipment. Some equipment, including repeaters needed to send transmissions throughout the network, is so old that replacement parts are no longer manufactured and must be hunted down from such spots as eBay.
--Inability to communicate with neighboring agencies. Surrounding counties have switched or are in the process of switching to digital systems, which will make it difficult to communicate across borders. In addition, some law enforcement officials, such as FBI agents or state Department of Natural Resources officers, could help in an emergency, but may not know about it because they’re using digital radios.
McIntire, whose Michigan State Police post in Rockford covers multiple counties, carries a digital radio and a VHF radio so he can communicate as he travels throughout his region.
Police and fire chiefs throughout Muskegon County have been sharing information about the surcharge with hopes for a better outcome this election. Town hall meetings have been held, but generally have been lightly attended. Public Safety officials say they have been able to change the minds of some skeptics.
North Muskegon Police Chief Edward Viverette said public safety officials “would not be doing our duty” if they didn’t ask voters for the surcharge. If a “catastrophic” event were to occur, emergency response could suffer given the state of the current communications system, he said.
“It’s that bad,” Viverette said.
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