One of the most expensive municipal projects introduced since a Charter Revision shifted such costly bonding authorizations into the hands of Newtown residents in 2016 will likely see those taxpayers remaining in control of a large part of that action if a proposal to break the borrowing into two phases is embraced by the Legislative Council on May 6.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal believes taxpayers will respond favorably and support a critical emergency radio system upgrade since the implications of not completing the project brings consequences that could negatively affect virtually any resident or visitor passing through town who is pressed to dial 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.

And so he is proposing phasing borrowing authorizations into two parts — a $2.5 million bonding package that would require imminent approval by the council, and the balance of $5 million that would require voter endorsement at the polls either this November or next April.

Under Executive Orders signed by Governor Ned Lamont as part of myriad actions he has taken since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Connecticut, town meetings and referendums on local 2020-21 budgets were effectively canceled, with those budget authorizations being put in the hands of municipal legislative bodies. In Newtown, the responsibility for ratifying the next fiscal year’s municipal and school district budgets, along with several capital borrowing authorizations originally destined for referendum is now in the hands of the council.

On Wednesday, May 6, at 7:30 pm, Council Chairman Paul Lundquist is calling for any taxpayer to call in to 929-205-6099 and use ID code 226 258 1093 and voice their support or concerns about either spending package, or any part of them, before his panel digs in and authorizes next year’s spending plans and capital borrowing. If there is minimal public call for further scrutiny or suggested adjustments, the budgets and capital borrowing could be ratified this week.

If there is need for more extensive deliberation, the council would then complete its work on or by May 20 — which would provide the necessary time to prepare tax bills for distribution.

The council is also expected to endorse capital borrowing for local road improvements; a substantial utility infrastructure upgrade at Fairfield Hills with 50 percent of the cost underwritten by grants; and the design phase of an HVAC improvement project at Hawley Elementary School.

But the emergency communications upgrade and its proposed $7 million authorization was just too costly for comfort, Rosenthal told The Newtown Bee.

“My feeling is that every day we wait to get this radio system and dispatch upgrade going has implications on public safety,” the first selectman said. Both Emergency Communications Director Maureen Will and a consultant hired to help guide the project to completion have defined the existing system as functionally obsolete.

The need for this upgrade was heightened recently as Rosenthal monitored radio traffic on a possible water rescue dispatch in a Sandy Hook neighborhood that is in one of several “dead zones” where emergency responders’ radio traffic is sketchy. On the call the first selectman heard responders being forced to relay information by cell phones because they could not effectively communicate via their radio system.

That same situation was also being monitored by The Newtown Bee, and the frustration that could be heard in the voices of responders was palpable. According to Rosenthal, this was not the first time such a situation occurred, and while it resolved favorably it was a reminder of the potential for harm that could come to a responder or resident in the event emergency radio transmissions could not be completed.

Planning Since 2018

According to Will at the Emergency Communications office, in late 2018 the contractor providing service for the town’s two-way radio system notified her that the manufacturer was ending support for the majority of the equipment used at the towers and transmitter sites; while they would make every effort to keep this critical equipment operational, it has been in continual service around the clock since being installed in 2003 and replacement should be planned for and budgeted.

The Town of Newtown Board of Fire Commissioners created a working group to develop a new system that would address all the town agencies’ needs as well coverage, features, and interoperability. The group solicited input from the police, fire, ambulance, and public works departments to ensure that all of the stakeholders in the radio system had significant involvement.

The project was carefully divided into three separate areas:

1. Dispatch area equipment consisting of new radio consoles, operator positions, and all ancillary equipment. This would be located at the new police department building in the 911/dispatch center and would be the hub of operations.

2. Subscriber equipment would include all of the mobile radios, portable radios, pagers, and radios within firehouses, public works buildings, and others.

3. Fixed end equipment would be the largest and most complex portion of the project and would include replacing radio equipment, base stations, receivers, cabinets, and antennas, as well as adding three new sites to address coverage issues in the rural areas of our town.

The committee then hired a consultant to provide planning support, develop schedules, review inventories, submit FCC filings, create recommendations to the Connecticut siting council, and provide documents to land owners.

After reviewing recommendations and field testing, the committee recommended moving forward with the purchase of a complete land mobile radio system that would operate on the existing VHF spectrum in a digital P25 compliant mode. This would not only provide enhanced coverage, but it would better support interoperability.

Coverage enhancement was one of the key deciding factors in choosing this technology, Will explained.

During another more serious incident — a house fire on Great Quarter Road — the on-scene commander was completely unable to direct arriving fire apparatus and coordinate efforts. Areas such as Eden Hill, Paugussett State Forest, and Hanover Road are also victim to these lapses in coverage.

“While this is a significant expenditure, this single system benefits every single taxpayer, resident, and visitor,” Will said.

“The bottom line is, we’re exposed if the equipment goes down; we’re creating space in the new police headquarters and we can’t relocate this old fragile hardware into the new space, and we don’t have the luxury to wait,” Rosenthal added.

From a financial standpoint, taxpayers would also have to foot the bill to keep the dispatch center open and operating at its present Town Hall South location even when the rest of the police force operations relocate to the new headquarters facility until such a time that the new equipment is authorized, purchased, ordered, and installed.

“At the same time, I’m sensitive about the taxpayers’ right to vote on this bonding so I’m proposing the council moves forward authorizing the hardware acquisition now, and having taxpayers weigh in at the polls either this November or next April,” Rosenthal said. “So all the council has to do is modify the authorization sending the balance of the $5 million in bonding to a future referendum vote, while authorizing the $2.5 million required to initiate the purchase of all the system equipment so we can get that phase of the project going.”