JACKSON COUNTY, MI – Voters agreed to a ballot proposal that will double a $1.50 a month surcharge on their phone bills to help pay for new emergency radios for all first responders in the county.

The measure passed 36,228 to 26,783, according to unofficial Jackson County election results.

Jackson County asked voters to raise the surcharge on phone bills up to $3 per month to aid in purchasing new 800-megahertz radios for firefighters and police.

The surcharge is used exclusively for funding emergency telephone call answering and dispatch services within Jackson County. This includes facilities, equipment, maintenance and operating costs. The additional funds will be used to outfit all first responders with new emergency radios.

If the ballot proposal had been rejected, individual local municipalities would have been responsible for purchasing radios compatible with the county’s emergency dispatch system.

The ballot proposal came after the Jackson County Supervisors Association, Jackson County Fire Chiefs Association and representatives from the local police organizations had a joint meeting to discuss mounting concerns over a lack of a plan and funding to replace aging radios.

The radios police and firefighters currently use are about 10 years old and entering a period of declining reliability and frequent repairs.

These radios are designed to function anywhere, anytime and under any condition and would work when electricity is down, when there is no cell service and during inclement weather.

The joint group projects that 641 radios — 369 for fire departments and 272 for police — are in need of replacing.

To purchase the fire radios would cost an estimated $3,320,442. Police radios would cost $2,205,898.

The consensus of the group was that without a countywide option, underfunded townships would be left to fend for themselves, radios purchased individually may not be compatible with the county system and emergency services across the county would slow.

The group argued a countywide tax, though unpopular, would fully fund new radios, get them all replaced in one shot and ensure compatibility across all first responders.

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