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located at the courthouse. Mr. Britt said that with the VIPER system, we could <br /> transfer calls and personnel to other counties/municipalities in the event there was a <br /> system failure. The VIPER system can improve interoperability of <br /> communications among the various public safety agencies. The surrounding <br /> counties are utilizing the VIPER system, which can be a challenge for <br /> communication when in need of mutual aid using different agencies on different <br /> systems in response to an incident. Mr. Britt said the state would be responsible <br /> for the VIPER infrastructure and the County and City would be responsible for the <br /> end user units such as the radios, software and 911 centers. The big concern <br /> with switching to VIPER is the entire system, radios and infrastructure would <br /> need to be switched over as well. As far as a time frame, it would take around 6 <br /> months for contract negotiations and to order and install equipment, then another <br /> 6 months for training and working through any bugs. The initial cost for both the <br /> County and the City is $7.8 million — $5.5 million for the County and $2.5 million <br /> for the City. This is state pricing and there will be discount pricing on a bulk <br /> purchase; however, the discounts are unknown until a contract is signed. Sanford <br /> Mayor Rebecca Salmon said the Council and staff have talked to Fire, Police and <br /> the City Manager and understands the interoperability needs, but since the bulk <br /> of the call volume is in the city limits, they feel they need to have say so in those <br /> operations and want to have more conversations between City and County <br /> personnel. Broadway Mayor Don Andrews said he made notes to talk to his <br /> Police Chief about potentially converting to the VIPER system. He asked if public <br /> works would have to switch over, and they would not. Mr. Britt explained that <br /> Public Works, COLTS and General Services would remain on an analog system. <br /> The VIPER system is specific to public safety agencies. <br /> Mayor Salmon asked that an emergency services meeting with all parties be <br /> organized. Mr. Britt will follow up with all agencies to set up a meeting. Mr. Britt <br /> said staff approached Motorola because they designed the state system and the <br /> radios for VIPER, but there are other vendors as well. The options are to stay <br /> with the current system, switch to VIPER or move to a private system, which <br /> would be most expensive. There is no deadline to make this transition. <br /> Surrounding counties that utilize VIPER are Moore, Harnett and Chatham <br /> counties. <br />