Newspaper: Officials Were Misled on Radio Progress

An investigation by an Oregon newspaper has found that state officials provided misleading information about the state’s new public safety radio network to state legislators, the governor and the public, including maps that exaggerated the progress of installing new towers and unsupported financial figures that showed lower costs for the system. The Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network (OWIN) two years behind schedule, and the projected final cost has increased from $414 million to almost $600 million, according to a long story in The Oregonian. The project was launched eight years ago by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, who was just re-elected and will return to office in January. So far, $24 million has been spent, and only two towers have been installed. There are 12 paid consultants on the project, hired to speed up the entire process. The newspaper state Administrative Services chief Lindsay Ball managed the project during 2009, and during a hearing misstated the total cost of the system, and didn’t mention $77 million a year in maintenance costs. He also claimed to have shaved $251 million off the final costs by having local agencies share costs, and by a redesign that allowed fewer antenna towers. He also claimed having state employees manage the program and cheaper radios would reduce overall costs. Now, none of the claims can be documented, the newspaper says. Read the entire story here, and follow-up on fixing the radio system here.