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As Troup County and LaGrange prepare to swap over to the new emergency 911 radio system, the county began to realize many of its portable radios are more than 20 years old.

Emergency Management Director Zac Steele explained that not only are the radios old and often in need of repair, they have outdated technology, and parts are no longer available to repair them, so they need to be replaced.

A lot of the radios have software from three generations ago, and about 85 percent of the county’s radios do not work with modern encryption and software, Steele said.

Steele said the issue was unfortunately discovered when they began to integrate the radios into the new 911 system.

Upon researching quotes to replace the radios, Steele said they discovered new ones would cost around $1.4 million for a countywide replacement, so they began to consider alternatives. Fortunately, thanks in part to LaGrange Police Chief Garrett Fiveash, they learned that the Georgia State Patrol is transitioning to a different radio system and is surplussing out their radios.

“Some of the equipment that they’re surplus and still has about a 10-year lifespan on it, we think it can be bought anywhere in the $525,000 to $550,000 range, which would take care of all the mobiles and portables for all the public safety,” Steele said.

Steele said they could purchase around 135 to 150 of the used radios, which would fully fill the county’s portable radio needs for a decade or more.

“We think they can be bought from the State of Georgia anywhere from $1200 to $1,500 a piece, as opposed to possibly paying $3500 to $4000 for the new Motorola ones,” Steele said.

Steele also recommended purchasing around ten new radios per year to ensure the county doesn’t get into a similar situation again where they would need to replace every radio at the same time.

The commissioners unanimously approved the radio purchase up to $550,000.

Funds for the purchase will come from the general fund.