A new emergency radio system in Hamilton County is expected to boost response time and likely will keep one veteran police chief from retiring.

County commissioners Wednesday announced they would pay for and install what the county needs for an 800-megahertz emergency radio system. Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus and other county officials had previously called the system vital but unaffordable.

That move, says Blue Ash Police Chief Mike Allen, might urge him to remain in law enforcement. Allen, who has been in police work for 35 years, has been one of the leading proponents of a new emergency radio system. He saw a proposal for the system fail in May when voters shot down a countywide emergency communications levy.

Allen knows he can retire at any time, but Wednesday said the county's move to pay for and install a new system might keep him on the job until the system is operating in about 2 1/2 years.

"If it's going to be that close, I wouldn't mind staying on," he said.

The commissioners, led by Bedinghaus, told county Administrator David Krings to find a way to make the system a reality. They asked the county's emergency communications director, Bill Hinkle, to work closely with officials from other governments, including Cincinnati, which operates its own 911 dispatching center. If those local officials are willing to contribute the money necessary to jointly serve their communities, they and the county likely can save money by building together,Bedinghaus said. Officials predict the communities that contract with Hamilton County for 911 service should be able to afford the costs of buying new radios - especially with three years' notice. But Cincinnati's costs will be far higher.

Hinkle estimated the costs to Cincinnati would be less than $30 million - somewhat less than the county's costs, because the city has less territory to cover than the county. The county system, because it serves the sheriff's office, would have to cover the entire county, including within Cincinnati city limits. But extra equipment would have to be installed on towers serving the city, which requires 20 different radio frequencies than the county's 20.

The decision means Blue Ash would have to spend about $148,000 to serve its 40 officers - something Allen says is no trifling amount for the government. But with three years to save up, that should ease the financial burden, he said.

"We've got some smaller cities that can't afford a lot of things now," Allen said. But it will not be an option for them to keep using their old radios, which will not work with the 800-megahertz system, he said.

Meanwhile, Hinkle, who recently was elected president of the National Emergency Number Association, which advocates for 911 advances and continuity across the country, said he plans to talk in his NENA capacity to Motorola officials about building more basic, more affordable radios so more governments can afford them.

Officials still hope to create a countywide system that would serve not only areas already served by county dispatchers, but also areas served by dispatchers elsewhere, such as Norwood and Wyoming, which would be invited to contract with the county and join its system.

The costs would much higher for Cincinnati - almost half the project's total cost - because of the additional equipment it requires for the city's frequencies.

"Yeah, there should be an 800-megahertz system that serves both the county and city," said Deputy City Manager Richard Mendes. "We're certainly willing to sit down with them any time, any place," to discuss how to reach that goal.

"I think it's a proposal worth looking at," said Cincinnati Councilman Tyrone Yates, chairman of the Law and Public Safety Committee. "We have to see how our funds look."

Yates said it was disappointing that voters rejected the $63.7 million May 4 tax levy because such a system is badly needed. The problem, he said, was that voters didn't trust how the county would spend the money, after seeing how stadium money has been spent.

Hinkle, the county's 911-center director, estimates that 800-megahertz radios would cost $3,700 to $4,000 apiece, depending on whether they are vehicle-mounted or worn by emergency officials.

Wednesday's announcement was a dramatic shift from Bedinghaus' remarks the night of May 4, after the issue's third defeat since 1984, when he said: "The county is not going to belly up to the bar and pay for this system. It isn't the way this operates."

During the campaign prior to the May 4 election, county officials insisted there was no way the county could afford the system. Those who campaigned against the levy disagreed, noting the county finished 1998 with $43 million in excess funds.

Allen, this spring, saw his community and Montgomery torn apart by a tornado, and thought the radio chaos that resulted would be enough to persuade voters to approve the levy.

But voters for a third time rejected the proposal as critics of the levy noted county government's excess of funds.

Copyright 1999 The Cincinnati Post