COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRONICS, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:
REVENUE CHANGES:
FY 24 revenue reflects continued participation in the Emergency Management Assistance (EMA) funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A grant equivalent to the partial salary and benefits of the Emergency Management Director has been included. A portion of the Homeland Securities grant funds will be allocated to cover the partial salary and benefits of the Emergency Planner. Other grants received in FY 24 will be added as received. The estimate for small cell tower rental increases.
PERSONNEL CHANGES:
Thirty-two full-time positions are funded in this division. Four Communications operators were funded for nine months in FY 23 at a cost of $179,865, and four additional operators have been funded in FY 24 for nine months. There are a total of twenty-six positions funded in the Communications division, four in the Emergency Management division, and two in the Radio Maintenance division. Other salary increases reflect a step increase effective January 1, 2024. Seasonal Communications Operator positions were reduced from seventeen positions to thirteen in FY 23 and to six in FY 24, at a savings of $72,450 from FY 23. Seasonal staffing assists with Police and Fire calls and one position to staff the “City Watch” boardwalk surveillance program. Hours for the part-time Emergency Management Specialist position were funded at 920 hours, the same level as FY 23. Overall, Group insurance increases $22,145, which includes $52,265 for nine months of health care for the four additional positions. Health care increases were offset with $33,639 from the health savings reserve. Projected retirement and worker’s compensation contributions increase, while unemployment costs decrease. No funding has been included for retiree health (OPEB).
CHANGES IN OPERATIONS:
Contracted Services include equipment maintenance, training costs, printing and other services. Training costs decrease, and include web-based training classes and Policeone training subscriptions for the Communications operators, and attendance at the International Association of Emergency Manager’s conference. Attendance at the Hurricane Conference for the Director and the Planner has been funded. UAS Pilot training and testing costs for the drone program have been included at $2,500. Meals and housing during Emergency Operations Center activation have been funded at $10,000. Building and equipment maintenance costs increase, and include a freedom service monitor upgrade at $19,500 for the Radio Maintenance division. Radio maintenance has been included at $46,000. Radio system maintenance has been funded through the Equipment Trust Fund at a cost of $284,765. Console maintenance in the Dispatch center was included at a cost of $5,400 in the Communications division. Other maintenance costs include the generator and HVAC contracts for the Electronics shop and the radio towers. Supplies & Materials include operational and uniform costs for the three divisions. Comasset tracking software for the radio system has been included at $4,413 This is the expense for year three of a cloud-based solution that does not require IT support and will allow tracking of locations, status and history for all communications equipment owned by the Town. Replacement drone batteries have been included at $2,500. A replacement handheld satellite phone has also been funded. Energy costs increase and are based on the actual expense for the past twelve months. Vehicle fuel and maintenance costs decrease and include $6,250 in repairs to OC1. Intragovernmental expenses decrease $19,076. The IT allocation decreases, but includes $42,000 for the Comcast connection for boardwalk surveillance. Allocations for radio equipment lease, insurance and the allocation for vehicle lease decrease.