Washtenaw County 800 Megahertz Consortium Business Plan

Desired Outcomes  Share information about emergency response and communications equipment  Answer any questions about the 800 MHz Consortium Business Plan

Agenda  Interoperability discussion Interoperability across disciplines (police, fire, EMS) Interoperability across jurisdictions  Coverage discussion  Details of business plan, including funding

Current Reality  Countywide agencies: 15 fire, 12 police, 1 primary ambulance, 1 Hazmat, 1 State Police  Four communication systems – not interoperable  400+ fire fighting personnel  800+ police officers  341,000+ County residents  Approx XXXXXX people dialed 911 in 2004  Change in federal communication standards (APCO 25)

Current users of Washtenaw County 800 MHz Radio System  Police – Ann Arbor, Chelsea, EMU, Milan, Northfield Twp., Pittsfield Twp., Saline, Washtenaw County, Ypsilanti (10 of 12)  State Police – MSP/Ypsilanti (1 of 1)  Fire – Ann Arbor Twp., Northfield Twp., Pittsfield Twp., Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Twp. (5 of 15)  EMS – part of Huron Valley Ambulance  HazMat – part of the HazMat team

Why isn’t communication equipment already interoperable?  Different jurisdictions use different equipment  Limited local funding; competing local priorities  Planning is limited and fragmented  Requires shared management  Limited amount of radio spectrum available to public safety

Coverage  Rural coverage is poor Manchester, Sylvan, Lyndon, Milan, Bridgewater, Sharon, York, Augusta People transporting through areas also have poor coverage  Urban coverage In-building communication for fire safety is poor Non-public safety users on system

800 MHz Consortium Charge  Develop a plan for one system Interoperability: all police, fire, EMS can talk directly with one another 95% geographic coverage: recognizing the amount of time residents spend traveling Sustainable from a funding perspective  Nine options were examined  Recommendation: Migrate to Michigan Public Safety Communication System (MPSCS)

MPSCS  State system, used by State Police  Lowest cost option  Allows Washtenaw to take advantage of infrastructure in Jackson, Livingston, and Monroe  Communication statewide  APCO 25 compliant

How County agencies benefits  More efficient communications  Greater radio signal coverage and strength  Replacement of obsolete equipment  Compliant with federal guidelines  Positions agencies for mobile data  Common communications platform  Required upgrade to digital communication

How County residents benefit

Plan Details  Build additional towers  Replace all current radios & consoles for Fire, Police, EMS  Purchase radios for Fire agencies not now on the 800 MHz radio system  Finalize details with MPSCS  Seek voter approval Dedicated millage of XXX November 2005 ballot issue

Summary o Interoperability o Coverage o Sustainability

Questions?