BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. – Crews in Botetourt County are getting a new emergency radio system after the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the contract between the county and Motorola Solutions Inc.
The new radios could be coming to the area by mid-2025, according to Emergency Communications Systems Manager Matthew Hinckle.
“I’m very grateful,” Hinckle said. “I mean it’s been a very long process many, many years in the works.”
First responders use the system every day, but right now, Hinckle said it’s hard to communicate with other jurisdictions. Plus, without a digital system, there’s limited service in rural areas which can put first responders’ lives in danger.
“This system will protect them which will allow them to provide a better service ultimately to the citizens and the visitors that come into Botetourt County,” Hinckle said.
The project was originally expected to cost $25 million, but after negotiations, it’ll cost just under $18 million. Plans for financing are still in progress. For now, the county is borrowing capital reserves to fund this fiscal year’s cost.
“We did a good effort for the taxpayers of Botetourt,” Hinckle said. “Ultimately, it’s going to serve them very well for the next decade and a half or more.”