A bill signed by Gov. Terry Branstad in Adel on Wednesday will make it easier for officials from different emergency response agencies to communicate and manage emergencies together. Branstad signed the bill during a ceremony in the meeting room of the Dallas County Board of Supervisors in Adel, allowing for the creation of a state-wide, interoperable communications system for emergency management officials.
Up until now, there has not been a way for 911 responders and emergency management officials to talk with their counterparts in other areas during an emergency using their radio systems.
The bill allocates $4.38 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1 to the Iowa Department of Public Safety to cover the costs of building the system. It will cost $40 million to build the infrastructure and in total it will cost $58 million, which includes maintenance.
Tuttle said Ames police will closely monitor the creating of the system.
“Right now, we just have to wait and see how this whole thing plays out,” Tuttle said. “It’s too early to give a real definitive opinion on (the bill) yet.”
Branstad, speaking in front of elected officials and emergency management officials from around the state of Iowa, said the bill is another step in the state’s goal of being a fully-interoperable state and gives the treasurer the authority to enter into a long-term financing agreement in order to build the rest of the statewide network.
“Currently, Iowa ranks near the bottom of the pack in states when it comes to statewide interoperable communications for our first responders,” Branstad said. “However, with the Legislature’s commitment as well as that of the local decision makers, we can make efforts to improve on our capabilities.”
“When an emergency event happens and an Iowan calls 911, they deserve to have first responders that can communicate with each other via their radio system,” Branstad said. “This bill helps to make that a reality for our state.”
Dallas County is the first county to connect to the new system, and Westcom, which receives public safety related calls and 911 calls for the cities of Clive, Norwalk, Urbandale and West Des Moines, will be next.
During an incident in December, a Des Moines homicide suspect was surrendered in Dallas County on Iowa Highway 141 south of Woodward. There were several agencies on the scene, including the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and the Perry Police Department. As the scene commander, Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard said he had to walk around to each car to communicate with those involved because they were all on different radios and different frequencies.
Story County Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Morgan said he’s been monitoring the bill as it moved through the Legislature. He agreed with Tuttle, saying, “there isn’t much solid information on exactly how the statewide system is going to be built out, and through what mechanisms local agencies will be able to interact … when it comes to defining that interaction.”
Nonetheless, Morgan said the issue is important.
“For all agencies, communications is a very important part of emergency response, and it is important that interoperable communications be supported, whether it’s at the local or state level,” he said.
The origins of a project like this started nearly 15 years ago after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, and police officers and fire fighters were not able to communicate with each other. Branstad said that event made it evident that interoperable communications systems were needed nationwide.
“There’s been encouragement for the states to go forward and do this all over and a lot of other states have done it,” Branstad said. “It’s not without controversy because it’s relatively expensive, but it also obviously has tremendous potential to save lives and give us the capability we need to deal with emergencies of all kinds.”
— Tribune reporter Grayson Schmidt contributed to this story
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