What we learned about Cleveland’s handheld and vehicle-radio replacement plans

MetroCleveland Fire Station No. 1John Pana, cleveland.comBy Michael Johnson, cleveland.comcleveland.com Express DeskCLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland is advancing a proposal to seek up to $1.031 million in federal funding for radios installed in public-safety vehicles, more than two years after City Council approved $13 million to replace handheld radios.The purchases cover separate equipment. The proposed federal funding would replace about one-fifth of the city’s vehicle-radio fleet, and the legislation still needs further council review.These are five takeaways from the original article, which examined the two projects, the proposed grant and the remaining replacement needs.1. The new proposal covers vehicle radios, separate from the handheld projectThe 2024 project covered portable radios carried by police officers, firefighters, paramedics and Animal Care and Control workers.The current proposal concerns mobile radios installed in police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. Cleveland has 778 of those radios, according to Public Safety Director Dornat “Wayne” Drummond and city grant officials who addressed council’s Safety Committee on Sept. 23.The proposed vehicle purchase therefore addresses a different fleet from the 1,840 handheld radios included in the earlier project.2. The proposed grant would replace about 19% of the vehicle fleetThe federal funding would cover 151 mobile radios, leaving 627 outside the proposed purchase.Drummond told council members that replacing all 778 would require a “substantial amount” of additional funding. He didn’t provide an estimate during the meeting.The proposal would begin replacing the fleet, but it doesn’t provide funding for every vehicle radio. The grant would require no local match, according to the reporting.3. Cleveland has been invited to apply, but council authorization is still pendingThe Justice Department’s fiscal year 2026 project list identifies Cleveland as invited to apply for $1.031 million for its public-safety radios. U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown requested the project.Ordinance 907-2026 would authorize the Public Safety director to apply for and accept the money through the department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.The Safety Committee approved the measure Sept. 23. Its next stop is the Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. The invitation and committee action don’t establish that the radios have been purchased.4. The earlier handheld project addressed aging, unsupported equipmentThe city’s 2024 presentation said the handheld radios had been deployed in 2012 and exceeded their expected life cycle.Officials reported declining reliability, an end to manufacturer support and an inability to repair or upgrade the equipment. Specialized replacement batteries for firefighters and the bomb squad also were no longer available.The planned replacements included 1,360 police radios, 329 fire radios, 125 emergency medical services radios and 26 Animal Care and Control radios. Council approved the authorizing ordinance July 10, 2024; it took effect July 16.5. The committee added a purchasing-notification requirementThe Safety Committee amended the current proposal to require the Public Safety director to notify the council clerk when purchases are made through a cooperative purchasing process.The director also would have to provide details about that process.That reporting requirement accompanies the proposed grant authorization. It doesn’t expand the number of radios covered or resolve how Cleveland would fund the remaining 627 replacements.Michael Johnson brings nearly four decades of newspaper experience in reporting, editing, newsroom leadership, page design and digital publishing. He has led daily and weekly newsrooms in Pennsylvania,...