BEND, OR -- Deschutes County Commissioners appear poised to send a new 911 permanent funding levy to the May ballot. The 911 Service District is asking for a maximum rate of 42.5-cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Director Steve Reinke says part of the money would be combined with state funds to build and maintain a new radio system. "It has to be replaced, no matter what; it’s on the verge of failure. Our two technicians are often going to sites to replace equipment to try and keep everything patched together. It’s a 15-year-old Motorola SmartNet system." He tells KBND News, "It’s kind of like being on Windows 95 at this point. Nobody supports Windows 95 and it’s the same thing for old software and old hardware. So, the public safety leaders of the community said ‘we need to centralize this and be more efficient,’ and the 911 Service District is the logical place to do it."
Read more on the proposal HERE.
