Hogan Slams County For Delays In Radio Emergency System Upgrades

SILVER SPRING, MD — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan slammed Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich on Wednesday for "standing in the way" of upgrading an aging radio tower system that first responders use to communicate.

In a series of tweets, the Republican aired his grievances over the system upgrade delays, but stopped short of naming Elrich as a reason for them.

"Inexplicably, some Montgomery County officials are considering standing in the way of a radio tower critical to our first responders," Hogan said. "This comes after a 14-hour outage last month & firefighters (are) raising concerns that the current system is 'at grave risk of catastrophic failure.'"

The emergency communication system — which is used by the 911 call center and first responders in Montgomery County — has suffered multiple outages. The biggest one happened over Mother's Day weekend. The 14-hour outage forced police officers and emergency personnel to communicate via their personal cellphones.

Comprised of 11 strategically placed radio sites, this radio system is 16 years old and is due for a $45 million upgrade.

"As governor, I am committed to making sure that our law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders are equipped with the technology they need to do their jobs," Hogan said. "Reliable communications can mean the difference between life and death."

Elrich issued a statement in response.

"I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure that the people of Montgomery County are safe," Elrich said. "Every action that I have taken to improve the public safety communication system over the last few months has been done with a sense of urgency and concern for public safety."

Earlier this month, Jeffrey Buddle — president of the county firefighters union — sent a letter to Hogan, outlining his concerns over the aging system.

"At this point, each and every day that public safety workers in Montgomery County must rely on the Montgomery County radio system, more than 1,000,000 residents, and my membership are at risk," Buddle wrote.

The outdated system has been a problem since Elrich's predecessor, Isiah Leggett, was in office. The council has set aside $45 million for upgrades. The project would establish 22 towers across Montgomery County and include police department, park police, and emergency services.

The goal was to have the 22-tower system in place by 2013. However, the project was delayed several times because of contracting issues, site selection, and community backlash.

At first, Montgomery County had planned to place two of the towers in Olney and Seneca. But when residents fought back, Elrich directed project leaders to find a more suitable location.

"This delay expands the time the county and other uses must rely on an aging, unsupported system, thereby increasing the likelihood of significant system disruptions or even failures," project officials said. "Such system disruptions potentially jeopardize both the delivery of public safety services to the community, and the safety of public safety providers. It may also increase project costs."

Officials estimate that the project will be delayed by at least one year, as a result.

Even so, the county executive is considering whether 20 of the 22 transmissions should be temporarily activated until all site issues are resolved. Such a system could be up and running in late 2020.