Beaumont Spending Nearly $1.4M For New Police Radios

BEAUMONT, CA — The Beaumont Police Department is set to receive 125 new "state-of-the-art" radios that may be better than any other law enforcement agency on the West Coast, according to BPD Chief Sean Thuillez.

The chief made his statement during the Sept. 7 City Council meeting that saw unanimous approval of a lease-to-own contract with Motorola that will cost over $1 million for the new equipment and installation.

The city will initially pay out $471,785 from Public Safety Community Facilities District Reserve funds for the Motorola APX Next radios and finance the remaining $620,352.63 as part of the lease-to-own deal.

Sixty-two radios will be handheld portables, and the other 63 will be installed in vehicles at an additional cost to the city not to exceed $34,212.78, according to the Sept. 7 approval.

All but 30 of the 125 radios will be deployed in the field. The rest can be used by city staff in case of emergency or used out in the field as needed, the chief said.

At its August 17 meeting, City Council approved the purchase of 28 portable handheld police radios and necessary accessories in the amount of $252,984.98.

The deals are part of the city's migration to the Riverside County Public Safety Enterprise Communication system that is designed to expand coverage and build radio links to other agencies.

"This department will have probably the best radio on the West Coast," Thuillez told council members.

Current Beaumont police radios are 14 years old; the life expectancy on the new radios is 10 years, according to the chief.

The goal is to pay off the lease in two years, possibly with the help of an annual grant award of $112,000 for the next two fiscal years, the chief said.

The lease rate is 2.69 percent, according to city documents.

The radios come with a one-year equipment warranty and a three-year service warranty, the chief said.