For a price tag north of $130 million, Motorola would deliver thousands of new radios for police, firefighters and emergency medical services and install or retrofit more than 50 transmission towers in the region. In its contract with Henrico, Motorola projected to finish the work for Henrico in a year and a half.
Now nearly a decade later, the work hasn’t finished, and some costs have continued to mount. Steve Yob, a deputy county manager for Henrico, told the Board of Supervisors that Motorola now expects to finish the project in 2028.
The company has been beset by employee turnover, slowing progress, Yob said in an interview. Now Henrico leaders worry that by the time the new system arrives, it will be obsolete.
“They just, quite frankly, haven’t delivered what they said they could,” said Dan Schmitt, a member of Henrico’s Board of Supervisors, at Tuesday’s meeting. “I don’t see their urgency to do so.”
Chantal Montsion, a spokesperson for Motorola, said the company “is proud to be deploying a state-of-the-art P25 land mobile radio system for the Richmond capital region. We are working closely with the regional committee to deliver the system to law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics serving the region.”
Montsion did not address the cause of the delay, the Henrico official’s claim that employee turnover had affected the project or what Motorola is doing to complete it.
In Henrico, the new system would replace 20-year-old technology, provide better reception in buildings and reduce the noise that cellphones cause on two-way radios. As new schools and offices are constructed with the environment in mind, they are often built with tighter windows and thicker insulation, which can impede radio waves. The new system also would interconnect the public safety agencies in Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties and the city of Richmond.
Motorola signed a contract with Henrico in 2016 for roughly $37 million. The company later delivered more than 4,600 new radios for members of the police, fire and EMS that are capable of working on the old system and the new one. It also began building or retrofitting more than 50 towers across the region, including 16 for Henrico, 16 for Hanover, 15 for Chesterfield, eight for Richmond and one for Colonial Heights, Yob said.
Localities across the Richmond region signed individual contracts with Motorola. Hanover agreed to pay Motorola $28 million to build and maintain the new system, according to a copy of the contract. The city of Richmond signed two contracts totaling $38 million, in which Motorola promised to install the public safety land mobile radio system and provide 12 years of maintenance, a spokesperson for the city said. And Chesterfield County signed a deal worth $34 million, said Teresa Bonifas, a spokesperson for the county.
Chesterfield is working closely with Motorola and its regional partners to finish the work and testing, Bonifas said. The emergency communications system is operational, and there is no risk to public response.
When Motorola missed Henrico’s deadline to finish work in a year and a half, the county extended the contract to six years, Yob said. But Motorola missed that mark, too, Yob said. Now Motorola projects completion in May 2028.
“I’m very sorry to report that,” Yob told Henrico’s supervisors Tuesday. “This is a lot of money, and we want to spend our money wisely and protect our public safety people in doing their jobs.”
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As Motorola’s work continues, Henrico has continued paying a consultant that provides expert advice on how to install the system. The county first hired Altairis Technology Partners in 2013, three years before the contract with Motorola. On Tuesday, Henrico’s board approved a resolution to pay Altairis an additional $2 million for consulting services.
If Henrico compensates Altairis for the full amount, it will cost the county $5.5 million, Yob said. Henrico could pay less if it does not need the consulting services or if Motorola finishes its work faster.
“And I pray for that,” Yob told the board.
Altairis is a good use of county funds, Yob said, because the company provides expert advice on a complex matter. The firm, made up of former Motorola radio engineers, can offer advice on how much power an antenna requires or which direction it should point, Yob said. Its employees can troubleshoot problems, such as why a firefighter’s radio loses signal in a hard-to-reach spot. The good news, Yob said, is that Altairis has billed Henrico less than the county expected.
Richmond agreed to pay Altairis almost $4.5 million over 13 years, a spokesperson for the city said. And Hanover hired the consultant for up to $240,000 worth of work, according to the contract.
Employee turnover at Motorola has played a significant role in the delay, Yob said. Over the years, Motorola has employed multiple project managers, different construction crews and various engineers, Yob added. Each time a new project manager comes on, he or she needs time to get up to speed, Yob said.
Switching to a new contractor isn’t an option, said John Vithoulkas, Henrico’s county manager. When Henrico awarded the deal to Motorola, there were only two bidders capable of doing the work, the manager added. Now Motorola is the only one.
“You basically have one game in town,” Vithoulkas said.
Though the period of the contract has extended dramatically, Henrico has not had to pay Motorola more as time goes on. Conversely, Henrico has saved more than $3 million of the original $37 million contract because of the missed deadlines.
“I’m glad to hear that Motorola isn’t getting the lion’s share of expenditures until the product is delivered,” Schmitt said. The county’s board plans to discuss the issue more at a future work session and consult with other localities at an upcoming regional meeting.
But Vithoulkas said he worries that by the time Motorola finishes the new system, it will have become outdated. First responders often use cellphone apps to supplement their radios.
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