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Agreements put in place years ago to create a comprehensive emergency communications network of several hundred devices, under a system called ARMER,  are due to expire in December.  The county commissioners adopted wording for a new agreement,  which will be distributed to agencies and government units.  Fees and conditions in the agreement  are for one-year only, effective in 2027.

The County Board has discussed this system at length in “budget committee” meetings, usually convened on their off-Wednesdays. 

A staff report highlighted some issues complicating the current agreement:  such as,  agencies with “mixed” equipment that can create inefficiences. 

County Emergency Communications staff  accommodate digital files for programming all the various models and to interface with different software.  There is a “significant safety issue” for firefighters equipped with old equipment (potentially explosive) and battery life that is inadequate.  The system is at the point where radio programming updates  can’t be done,  due to internal memory and processing issues.  

Motorola has ended support for the original units. The company also no longer manufactures batteries  and stockpiles are not available from any aftermarket battery company, the Board was advised.

County Administrator Chase Burnham said the county is aware not all departments and agencies have the budget to replace all their equipment at the same time.  It is anticipated some older pieces will be viable for a while and can be replaced on a staggered scale.  “Each one is different, it all depends on when the equipment was acquired,” he noted.

Cities are also allowed to find pre-owned legacy radios with life remaining if they are searching for bargains. 

The new 2027 to 2028 agreement spells out cost for support of the old “legacy” radios at a charge of $300 per radio. 

A support fee of $200 per new radio is written in the agreement. The difference in fees is because new radio units can be programmed over WI-FI and the older models call for a physical, hands-on maintenance effort. 

Entities must decide if they will purchase or lease equipment through the county.  The fees were developed to cover just the radios.  The administrator explained that the county as a whole is supporting operations such as towers, outbuildings, staff needed for tech tasks.  Debt that the county encumbered for establishing original system towers is due to expire in 2032, Burnham added.  

There is always the potential the Metro Emergency Radio Service Board could opt for systemwide future upgrades, however, and as a member of this state sharing group Chisago County would be expected to keep up.

Everybody has to have their involvement in the county system decided before end of this year, in order to maintain presence and continue access to the Allied Regional Matrix of Emergency Radios (ARMER).  The estimate is 688 radios are involved in ARMER here, from highway department communications to city police to the county jail.  Sheriff operations alone need 143 radios.

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