Friday, October 23, 2009

Tax Approval Needed for Emergency Radios

St. Louis County emergency officials say Proposition E911 is about protecting the public.On November 3, county voters will decide whether to approve a new communications system for emergency responders. It would be paid for and maintained with a one-tenth of one percent sales tax increase.

"Today we're using the same radios that we used when we got into this business in 1977," Police Chief Tim Fitch said. "Since that time we've changed our handguns three times, but we're using the same radio system."

Currently the county's 65 police departments and 43 fire departments are not able to communicate with one another because each uses a different radio system.

Officials say revenue from the sales tax increase could only be spent on emergency communications.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:44 PM

    When I want to buy something expensive, I set aside a portion of my budget. I call this my "savings." When I have saved enough money, I make my purchase. However, I may need to make a sacrifice here and there. I might need to go without a new tazer, for example. But, that's just me.

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  2. Anonymous7:34 AM

    One would think, that this makes a good and valid case for county wide consolidation. Maybe there would be a lot less confusion with less than 65 police departments and 43 fire departments. Maybe correcting the base line problem makes more sense.

    Another question. Surely, there is current budget money to operate and maintain the current system.......what happens to that money? Does this new money just get piled on top of what is already inplace?

    How much technology can we afford?

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