Council hears plan for Motorola software to boost radio core capacity; emergency communications budget informational

City staff told the council the city has connected its radio core to Midland County’s new core and will operate as a backup redundant core, which will extend radio range and improve interagency communication after remaining bugs are fixed. “To increase capacity when Midland fills over to us, this software will allow us to handle the workload of Odessa, Midland and helper cities,” the presenter said when describing the Motorola software purchase. Staff said the Motorola software and related work will cost $382,005 and that the purchase would be charged to the internal IT fund and amortized over five years; the cost was not taken from the general fund this year. Staff said configuration, bandwidth or reallocation costs would be the customer’s responsibility and that the city contracts with MCA (through Mola Road) for system work. Council also received an informational budget presentation from the Emergency Communications District for Ector County. The staff representative said the emergency communications district (911) is funded through taxes on cell phones and landlines, not direct city appropriations, and that the district’s budget is largely unchanged from prior years. Council took no final vote on a purchase order in the meeting minutes recorded. Staff indicated further discussion may be needed but presented the funding plan and contract channel for the Motorola software.