$4.5 Million to Build Radio Towers in Wisconsin

In Madison, Wisconsin, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi has proposed spending $4.5 million toward building four emergency radio towers in 2015. The county has already experienced operational problems with their new emergency radio system, DaneCom, and these towers will hopefully eliminate the delay. According to WISC-TV, “DaneCom’s original $30 million proposal included additional towers and stronger signals, which can penetrate hard-to-reach buildings and landscapes better, no matter where an emergency might take first responders. But at former Dane County Chief Executive Kathleen Falk’s direction, the county board committee cut DaneCom’s budget by $12 million after 61 Dane County cities, villages and towns did not like the idea of having to share DaneCom’s cost. The eventual $18 million plan included fewer towers and a weaker signal.  Despite that, the county maintained DaneCom would still operate using standards similar to those first responders use across the country.” The new towers will be in Mount Horeb, Stoughton, Deerfield and Deforest, and will bring the total number of towers in the county to 12.