Cities Not Interested in Comms Funding

Public safety communications isn’t on the minds of America’s mayors, according to a wish list of funding requests they recently submitted to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Of the 18,750 infrastructure requests that mayors from 779 cities submitted, just 193 were related to public safety communications, representing less two-thirds of one percent of total dollar requests. The list of projects was submitted by a wide range of large and small cities, and besides public safety includes categories of transportation, energy, housing, education, water and streets. The Conference asked for local infrastructure goals as part of its Mainstreet Economic Recovery project. They stipulated that the projects should allow quick funding and start-up. The mayors’ group generated the list to help convince Congress of the need to use some of the financial stimulus funding for America’s cities and towns.

All of the cities’ requests totaled over $149 billion, while those related to public safety totaled $5.6 billion, or about 3.7 percent of the total.

The public safety communications items ranged from just $3,976 from Miami-Dade (Fla.) for mobile laptops, to a whopping $100 million from Shreveport (La.) for a regional EOC. Some of the largest projects submitted by the mayors were related to communications, including $477 million for radio projects from eight individual cities.

One of those projects is from Lake Havasu City (Ariz.), a city of just 56,603 residents. Yet the city submitted a wish list that included $75 million for a “Police, Fire, PW Infrastructure Digital Radio System.” Madison (Wisc.), a city of about 228,000 residents, submitted a similar request for a county-wide, interoperable radio system, but only requested $38 million.

In between the smallest and largest requests were submissions for ShotSpotter systems, mobile data equipment, new and upgraded CAD software, a Reverse 911 system, new EOC buildings and mobile command posts. Several cities, including North Royalton (Ohio, $250,000) requested siren warning systems.

Norfolk (Virg.) asked for $120,000 to, “Renovate aging Emergency Communications Center Common areas, restrooms, and lounge.”

Philadelphia (Penn.) led all the cities with $150 million in public safety communications requests, including above and below-ground radio upgrades, and a 911 upgrade. Shreveport (La.) was close behind with $131 million in requests, including a regional operations center, 700 MHz radio system and new mobile command vehicle.

Of the total communications requests, 11 cities asked for 65 percent of the total, or $670 million.

Most of the other big-ticket requests submitted by the mayors were for large construction projects, including a new police or fire administration building, new fire stations, or new training facilities.

According to the Conference, funding this projects will create 1,604,371 jobs in 2009 and 2010.

“It should be obvious that investing in Main Street metro economies is the most direct path to creating the jobs and stimulating the business that can begin to resolve the current economic crisis,” the Conference wrote in introducing the wish list requests.

Read the entire 334-page Conference report and see a list of the projects by category here.

Download (pdf) a copy of just the public safety communications projects here.