The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing $124,585 to buy a new radio dispatch system for the police department.
Police chief Heath Scott said that the current system has “served (the department) well,” but they “expect a failure at some point down the road.”
Scott told the CVN that the system – which is almost a decade old — was a commercial off-the-shelf product, whereas the new one will be higher quality, more appropriate for a police force.
The cost includes new work stations, software, monitors, other hardware and installation.
The system no longer can be serviced if it fails, according to the budget information presented to the assembly.
Assembly member Paul Rogers attested to the importance of radio communications to public safety, “especially in regions like ours, where you have mountains.”
Carolann Wooton, borough contract and grants administrator, said the current system could “catastrophically fail at any time.” The budget request categorized the upgrade as a “life safety issue.”
The current system is almost twice as old as its five-year warranty, according to Wooton.
Chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart said the current system was purchased along with an E-911 system and all new radios, due to updated federal requirements. That total bundle cost $535,500; this year’s purchase is only the dispatch system.
The borough needed to sign the contract before Thursday because the manufacturer, Washington state-based Racom, plans to raise its prices on Friday.
Wooton said the borough has been “trying to keep (the current system) together, to Band-Aid it,” but its possible deterioration endangers personnel.