“What we learned was that most of the chiefs and city managers, folks like that we’re dealing with now, weren’t here 10 years ago,” Franke said. “They’re not the ones who signed the participation agreement or processed it.”
In 2005 the county commissioners approved a temporary sales tax levy to upgrade the county’s communications system. But now Motorola, the provider of Butler County’s equipment, doesn’t make the radios anymore. And beginning in 2019, won’t service them. Local jurisdictions are responsible for replacing their own radios.
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Several elected officials were caught off guard recently when news of the expensive replacement surfaced. County Administrator Charlie Young said he asked the sheriff to hold off as long as possible on the replacement.
It seemed everyone needed to budget replacements next year. Young said that may not be the case.
“The sheriff has worked out a financing plan where the payments would then be started in 2019 and would run for two or three or five years, whatever makes sense,” Young said. “The county can either pursue that financing scheme or find some other way to pay for it.”
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