Washington County moved one step closer to replacing their emergency radio equipment at Tuesday’s Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting.

During an analysis the current system is only at 35% coverage in the county for portable radios in buildings, and there are instances when emergency crews are responding to incidents in which they have to go back to their emergency vehicle to radio dispatch.

The Board has negotiated a contract with RACOM Corporation based in Marshalltown for both hardware and maintenance totaling around $6 million. This contract would include system hardware and installation of radios in vehicles, portable radios, pagers, and a 10-year maintenance agreement. At the time of Tuesday’s meeting there had been alterations made the to the contract that had not been reviewed by county legal counsel. Following a short recess, and a confirmation from legal counsel, the Board moved to enter into the contract with RACOM. By signing the contract at Tuesday’s meeting the county will receive a 10% discount on the total amount of the agreement, roughly $600,000. The county will make the first payment in the plan on September 15th.