- Jackson, Mississippi may receive $2 million for a new emergency responder radio system.
- The current 40-year-old system is outdated, causing delays in dispatching emergency services.
- The funds would come from the Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID), marking its first major public safety investment for the entire city.
The City of Jackson could soon receive up to $2 million for the procurement of a new radio system used for the city's emergency responders such as firefighters.
On Thursday, April 17, the Capitol Complex Improvement District Project Advisory Committee during its quarterly meeting voted to recommend the Department of Finance Administration give the city the money to replace a 40-year-old radio system, which has been updated to keep up with modern times but is now totally out-of-date.
"It was old equipment in 2016 … We can no longer support it," said Kenny Jones, a representative of Motorola, which currently has a contract with the city to upkeep its current emergency response radio system. "The current situation at dispatch is when you take that phone call, in order to activate that (emergency response) system currently, you get up, go to a different computer and press a button on that."
Deputy Fire Chief Elliott Holmes said the new system would speed up emergency response by streamlining the process for a dispatcher to hear of an emergency and get that information to first responders.
The key point of this is fast breaking down of the time and being able to get to and from to the scene in a timely manner," Holmes told the committee on April 17 at the Woolfolk building in downtown Jackson.
CCID Project Advisory Committee Chairwoman Rebekah Staples told the Clarion Ledger after the meeting the $2 million was the first major investment into public safety infrastructure benefiting the entire city using CCID funds. She also said she hopes to find other projects to assist both the CCID and the City of Jackson in the future.
"At least from my vantage point, (we) have kind of understood there was a need in Jackson to upgrade the (radio) system," Staples said. "We were recently approached by JFD with what I'm viewing as a one-time investment in a system that will benefit all of Jackson."
The CCID was established in 2017 to facilitate projects that improve public infrastructure. The Capitol Police also has primary jurisdiction in the CCID as opposed to the city's police department.
The committee, also established in 2017, consists of members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House, City of Jackson, Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
In 2023, the Legislature added a third act to CCID, creating a new municipal court with appointed rather than elected judges and prosecutors. The court, which was unsuccessfully challenged by several lawsuits filed by civil rights groups, began hearing cases in January. The law passed in 2023 also expanded the jurisdiction of the Capitol Police within the CCID, which encompass all of downtown, a small portion of South and most of the Northeast Jackson areas.
Projects recommended for by the CCID Advisory Committee and approved by DFA are funded via a special additional sales tax collected within the city limits.
As for when the money will be given, that has not yet been determined. Staples said DFA will likely draft up a memorandum of understanding with the city that will dictate the spending of the $2 million.
Any later costs to maintain the new radio system would also fall on the city, Staples said. Jones said that cost could be between $50,000 and $70,000 per year.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said during the meeting the investment was needed so that city could eventually speed up emergency response time.
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
