Interop Grant Trickles Down

Grant money for improved public safety communications flows downward to states, and then trickles down to local agencies, as experienced by the New Franklin (Mo.) Police Department. The state of Missouri will receive $17.4 million from the federal government for public safety interoperability grants. Now the state has awarded $2.9 million to 70 agencies to convert to narrowband radio gear and set up interop channels. Among those agencies is the New Franklin Police Department, which received a $9,195 grant to purchase three mobile radios and two portables. The town of 60,000 didn’t have money to make their own purchase, officials said. Chief Jason Wells told a reporter that there are lots of provisions in the grant award, and that he would have to carefully follow the grant provisions to make sure the money is all received and spent.