Macon-Bibb to vote on outsourcing public safety radio maintenance

When a software malfunction took place several weeks ago at the Macon-Bibb County E-911 Center, the county had to call on a couple of employees in their last week before retirement to come to the rescue.

It took a few days to restore the system, and Macon-Bibb public safety leaders say that fortunately the breakdown did not cause major personnel issues. But with the county's mini-department of radio maintenance technicians disbanded because of retirements, some officials say they are eyeing a plan to contract out that role for now.

The county has about 1,000 radios as well as some other electronic equipment that would be covered under a public safety communications maintenance agreement that the County Commission is expected to vote on Tuesday.

The proposal is in response to Macon-Bibb having lost four of its five radio maintenance personnel by the end of September as they accepted early retirement packages.

"We're concerned about any radios we have with public safety," County Manager Dale Walker said at a committee meeting last week.

The communications systems are a lifeline for public safety agencies, both Bibb County Sheriff David Davis and Macon-Bibb County Fire Chief Marvin Riggins said.

They said they don't have issues with outsourcing the maintenance. The proposed contract with Williams Communication, which has a Georgia office in Rome, would cost $290,250 for the first year, with a possible increase in subsequent years not to exceed 5 percent annually.

"Anytime you have to bring a system down, you get on edge because you're not functioning on all cylinders," Riggins said. "It's nothing uncommon for us to have to call techs in the middle of night, and those people are depended upon to have the knowledge to make sure our radio systems are viable and in good health. It's comforting to me if we can quickly get a contract to assume those roles."

The outsourcing would save the county about $44,500 over the first year as the radio communications staff's salaries and benefits was $334,500, said Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore.

"We don't have a feasible alternative," Mayor Robert Reichert said. "We need radio technicians ready to work right now."

Contracting with a company may be beneficial because the Macon-Bibb radio staff had to handle the entire city-county government's radio system, said Donnie Self, interim director of the Macon-Bibb E-911 Center.

"I think this will be better because they are not stretched as thin," he said.

Williams Communications is the lone region service provider for Harris Corp. RF Communications, the company from which the former Macon City Council purchased an 800-megahertz emergency radio system for $7.7 million in 2012.

Davis said he has been assured by Williams Communications that the company will set up a local site. If something happened before the agreement is approved, Davis said he would contact one of the vendors to get assistance.

The new system, like any technology, has some issues at times, but it's worked significantly better than the previous one, he said.

"We're a long ways from where we were before where we didn't know if a thunderstorm might knock our system out," Davis said.

For Commissioner Gary Bechtel, outsourcing the maintenance of public safety communication equipment is a wise proposition. It provides a set price for manpower compared to government employees where other factors such as workers' compensation could drive up costs.

"As we continue to provide services, I'm going to advocate contracting wherever possible," Bechtel said. "I think it gives the taxpayers the best value."

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb to vote on outsourcing public safety radio maintenance ."