Sarnia police’s communication project is $822K over estimate

The Sarnia Police Board had to think twice — and then ask a few questions, think a third time, and ask a few more — before giving their stamp of approval for plans to jack up costs for a revamped police communication system by roughly $822,000.

The newly elected Sarnia council will get the last say on the plan, which will now cost Sarnia more than $5.2 million by the time it is completed. The new system will include revamped towers and upgrades to mobile radios, receivers and transmitters, and other backend communication tech. The 27-per-cent increase would be mostly offset by police budget surpluses in 2017 and 2018 to the tune of roughly $530,000, police Chief Norm Hansen said. The remaining $292,000 would have to be found elsewhere, possibly through the city reserves. “This project has been ongoing for years,” Hansen said. “It’s really a city responsibility to have the radios redone, but we’re going to use our reserves to help with the (cost increase).”

Police say most of the increase is due to the cost of two additional towers not identified in the original budget.

Mayor Mike Bradley, who voiced skepticism at the cost increase, said he would arrange a special meeting with Sarnia councillors and experts in January to address the needs and benefit of the system. Council will then vote on whether or not to approve the police board’s recommendation. “The board had a lot of questions,” Bradley said. “We are alarmed about the increase in cost.”

The now $5.2-million project mostly goes toward the police radio system. Of six companies that showed interest in bidding for the project, only Sarnia’s Spectrum Communications submitted a complete proposal by the Aug. 24 deadline. Spectrum’s proposal met all mandated guidelines, police said.

The Spectrum proposal is not expected to exceed $3.8 million. The communication revamp also includes tower upgrades estimated at roughly $1 million. The remaining $456,400 would go toward site preparation and consulting, engineering, and studies. Originally estimated to cost Sarnia $4.4 million, the three-year project started in 2017 and runs through 2019. The new system will help Sarnia police keep costs down elsewhere, by weaning them off leasing plans costing the city as much as $60,000 per year.

“We have identified that we’re shorter on officers than other cities our size,” Hansen said. “We’ve been trying through various things, through technology and other things, to maximize our efficiency. And the radio project is part of that.”