A screenshot from the Ansonia Aldermen's July meeting.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Board of Aldermen voted on July 11 to approve up to $2.2 million in radio upgrades for police, fire, EMS, and the public works departments.
At the meeting, emergency management director Jared Heon submitted a request for funding to the board, saying that the departments had been in talks to upgrade their systems since 2018. The current systems have outlived their intended lives by years, according to that request.
Although police and EMS have received intermittent upgrades, parts of their systems date back to 2006. The fire department has not received a radio upgrade since 2003. The funding request says that most radios used by city departments are only supposed to last about eight to ten years.
“With a ten-year plan, this should be our third upgrade,” Ansonia Fire Department Chief Alex Horjatschun told the Aldermen. “This is only our first in 21 years, so it’s well overdue.”
The plan was expanded earlier to include public works after their main radio system failed. Heon said that they had tried to repair their system, but were told by vendor Motorola that the required parts were no longer kept in stock. Public works has been using loaner equipment since then, he said.
Last November, voters approved $1.625 million in bonding for the project. However, the city intends to avoid borrowing and pay for the project in cash, according to budget director Kurt Miller.
Heon said he will work to bring the final cost down.
“Any way that we can trim this back to not use the entire budget, we fully intend on doing that,” Heon said.
He described the $2.2 million ask as preparation for a “worst-case scenario” in a phone call with The Valley Indy.
Ansonia budget director Kurt Miller said the cost structures are still being worked out, but that the authorization will allow the city to initiate the project. He said a $567,000 installment will need to be made when the orders are placed.
The upgrades will also improve compatibility between departments, according to the request. Ansonia police currently operate on different radio networks than state police; after the upgrades, they will be on the same network, allowing for easier communication. All departments included in the upgrade will migrate to the same network as well.
“When the (public works) guys are out plowing streets, if an ambulance calls in, they want to be able to hear it, to make sure that that road can be plowed and opened up so the ambulance can get in to take care of a patient,” Heon told The Valley Indy. “Some of the guys on public works are firemen, and if the alarm goes in, they want to be able to hear that there’s a fire call and then go help with the fire call.”
A more detailed breakdown of the approved upgrades can be found in the funding request linked above as well as here.
The project is expected to be included in the city’s five-year capital spending plan, which Miller has previously said will be revealed in August. The board of apportionment and taxation, which oversees the plan, is next scheduled to meet on Aug. 5.
