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provided. In addition, the effectiveness and efficiently of personnel in the field may be improved <br /> through having the best possible radio system so that personnel can communicate essentially at <br /> will at all times. <br /> To put the cost of the recommended system in perspective, assume that the system is paid for by <br /> selling $10.64 million of bonds that would have a ten year Life. Without regard to what budget or <br /> budgets would be used to obtain the funds to pay off the bonds, the citizens of Anoka County <br /> would have to contribute monies to build up a fund to pay off those bonds in ten years. The cost <br /> per year to pay off $10.64 million in bonds will probably be substantially less than 2% of the <br /> annually recurring cost of fire and law enforcement protection in the County. It is concluded that <br /> a less than 2% increase in cost of fire and law enforcement protection is worth that cost for the <br /> improved operating safety of firefighters and law enforcement officers, and, especially, an even <br /> slight improvement in effectiveness and efficiency of personnel that can occur if the optimum <br /> land mobile radio system is placed in service. Service to the public can be improved. For <br /> example, at present, there are areas of the County in which it is likely that only half of the radio <br /> page receivers used by firefighters will receive page messages. During the day, there tend to be <br /> only a small number of volunteer firefighters available to respond to any fire incident. It is also <br /> becoming more and more difficult to recruit volunteer firefighters so many fire departments are <br /> understaffed. It is often essential that every available volunteer receive the radio page alert if a <br /> necessary minimum crew to man a fire truck will be able to respond. If half of the page receivers <br /> do not receive the page, due to poor coverage, then there may not be enough man power to man a <br /> truck, spool off hose, man pumps, and get into fire suppression duties. Therefore, fire protection <br /> can be substantially impaired without the best possible land mobile radio system being available <br /> for use. That is why it is concluded that even small increases in performance of the land mobile <br /> radio system can result in substantial improvements in the level of safety and service to the <br /> public. The additional cost being less than 2% of the cost of fire and law enforcement protection <br /> is justified. In reality, the differential between enhancing existing systems and replacing them <br /> with a modem trunked radio system is in the neighborhood of 1% of the cost of fire and law <br /> enforcement protection. <br /> 4.4 SCHEDULE AND CRITICAL DECISION POINTS <br /> 4.4.1 Back -up Dispatching <br /> Both the questionnaires returned by fire service and law enforcement personnel rates overall <br /> reliability of the land mobile radio systems as a critical need. In the event that the dispatch <br /> center in the Anoka County Government Center building had to be abandoned for any reason; for <br /> example, a gas leak in the building; there is no alternative location where dispatch center <br /> personnel can go to receive 9 -1 -1 calls from the public and to alert firefighter and law <br /> enforcement personnel to respond. This should be a major system reliability concern for all <br /> public officials in Anoka County. For that reason, it is recommended that an alternative back -up <br /> facility as described in Section 3.4.1 be implemented at the earliest possible date. That back -up <br /> dispatch center would work with either an enhanced land mobile radio system or with a system <br /> Ronald Vegemast Engineering, Inc. -38- Report: Anoka County <br />