Iowa County supervisors spent the bulk of their meeting weighing whether to continue investing in their existing Raycom/SARAH radio infrastructure or explore joining a statewide Motorola communications system.

The debate centered on cost and coverage. Supervisors cited the countyontracted maintenance with Raycom that they said totals about $300,000 a year and questioned whether that level of spending still makes sense. ‘‘For $300,000 a year, we could buy a lot of radios,’’ Speaker 1 said in the meeting, summarizing a broader concern about ongoing maintenance expense versus capital replacement.

Board members also discussed startup and financing comparisons. Participants referenced other countiesigures in the discussion: one supervisor said a neighboring county ocumented initial system installation at about $7,200,000 and another figure discussed county startup costs of roughly $4,000,000. Benton County
nd others were cited as having used ARPA funds or loans to pay for installations; Benton County
lso reported a lower annual maintenance figure (~$236,000) in board comments.

Coverage and interoperability were a major technical concern. Several fire chiefs and first responders told supervisors they favor keeping SARAH because of its local coverage and compatibility with neighboring counties. Speaker 4 said the board needs to protect responder safety: ‘‘The more coverage you have, the safer that user's gonna be, whether it's a fireman or a policeman or a first responder.’’ At the same time, supervisors noted Motorola had offered proposals in prior years and that Motorola representatives told them some current radios could remain in service if compatible.

Procurement and fairness in bidding also shaped the discussion. Supervisors and staff debated whether an apples‑to‑apples RFP was feasible given different system architectures; one member warned that uneven specifications could skew bids to a single vendor.

Outcome and next step: the board did not decide to switch vendors at the meeting. Instead, supervisors agreed to invite a Motorola representative to present an overview of joining the statewide system and to return with clearer coverage, infrastructure and maintenance implications; the presentation was tentatively scheduled for a Friday at 10:15. Several supervisors also recommended getting a more detailed breakdown from the radio governance board on what the countyurrently pays Raycom for maintenance and what specific services are included.

What this means: The board paused any procurement action and opted for more information. Key unresolved items include an itemized breakdown of the $300,000 maintenance charge, whether existing towers could be consolidated, and how many radios remain technically supported versus end‑of‑life.

Next steps: The board asked staff to invite Motorola for an informational presentation and to request a line‑item accounting of current maintenance costs from the radio governance board before making decisions affecting coverage, capital bonds or tax impacts.