Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003 | 8:50 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- After some name-calling and some finger-pointing, the Legislative Interim Finance Committee allocated $15.2 million Tuesday to fix the problems with the radio system being used by the Nevada Highway Patrol.
More money may be needed in the future to upgrade the system, however, officials said. And the state could be facing a large fine from the Federal Communications Commission because the patrol was using channels illegally in the system.
Col. David Hosmer, chief of the highway patrol, said he will be in Washington next week to meet with the FCC and discuss possible penalties.
Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the finance committee, said he didn't want to see the highway patrol and the state Transportation Department return and tell the Legislature the system has to be upgraded after spending $15.2 million.
But Rich Sheldrew, in charge of communications for the transportation department, said, "We will be back." The system will likely need an upgrade with new technology, he said.
The highway patrol operates on a 150-megahertz radio system. It is on 62 channels that are licensed to railroads and 79 channels that are used by other public safety agencies, however. Highway patrol officials said there are no more potential 150-megahertz frequencies that can be licensed by the FCC.
The plan is to switch to the 800-megahertz system operated by the state Transportation Department. Under the plan, the highway patrol could be transferred to the new system in Clark County in January 2004, in Washoe County in February 2004 and to the state's rural areas in October 2004.
But the patrol troopers would still need to have a second radio in their vehicles to communicate with law enforcement agencies in rural Nevada that are on the 150-megahertz system.
Under the plan, the patrol would be scrapping a $13 million system that was built by Motorola. It would be transferring to a system developed by the technology company M/A-Com.
Several legislators made reference the situation involving the two private companies.
State Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, suggested that the state should consider suing Motorola -- but Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden, said it was the state's responsibility to acquire the legal frequencies, not Motorola's.
Motorola last week proposed a solution that would convert the highway patrol's system to a 700-megahertz system at a cost of $7 million.
Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, favored that approach, saying the current 800-megahertz system used by the Transportation Department is 10 years old. The highway patrol's was only three years old. But Coffin criticized that plan, calling Motorola's proposal a "last-ditch effort."
The company "did not serve the state well," Coffin said. "They went for the bucks."
Robert Chisel, assistant director for administration in the Transportation Department, said Motorola's proposal lacked enough details for a proper evaluation. It was presented only last week, he noted.
Chisel said the $15.2 million is needed now to start the transition and get the patrol off the illegal channels.
Arberry said he wanted to hold back part of the money to assess whether the project would be progressing as outlined.
"We don't trust you," he told the state officials. "You boondoggled this (all) along. Everybody is pointing fingers."
Sen. Bernice Mathews, D-Reno, wanted to know who was responsible for the state failing to get permanent frequencies and for allowing the highway patrol to interfere with the channels of railroads and other law enforcement agencies.
Hosmer said an ongoing investigation into the matter has revealed "who knew what and at what time." But he declined to reveal the names of the people who were responsible for causing the scrapping of the $13 million system and the subsequent spending of $15.2 million to replace it.
Hosmer said the investigation should be completed by next month, but even then he does not plan to reveal the names of those responsible. Instead, he said, the information will be turned over to the state Attorney General's office and the FCC.
Mel Pennington, a former communications supervisor for the highway patrol, said he informed his superiors of the problems with the illegal channels and the patrol's need to apply for permanent unfettered frequencies. He says he was ignored. Pennington, who is retired and lives in the state of Washington, said he believes he is the target of the investigation -- but he said he believes the inquiry is biased because the highway patrol is investigating itself.
Dick Mirgon, director of communications for Douglas County, told the committee that additional 150-megahertz channels were available that the state could have applied for without switching to the 800-megahertz frequencies.
He said there were 54 potential frequencies that could have been licensed but the highway patrol never applied for them. He also said other public agencies have channels that they are not using and the state could seek to take them over.
But Sheldrew, of the transportation department, disagreed with Mirgon's assessment, saying it contained "glaring inaccuracies."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, urged the committee to move ahead with the appropriation. He said he was concerned about a Sept. 2 letter from the FCC threatening to assess a penalty against the state and refuse to give the state any more radio channels.
In other action:
-- The committee allocated more than $5 million to the state Taxation Department to hire 55 more people and convert its computer system for collection of the new taxes imposed by the 2003 Legislature.
-- The committee allocated $479,482 to the Desert Research Institute of the University and Community College System of Nevada for its cloud-seeding program. The institute said it produced 86,418 acre-feet of additional water through the cloud-seeding program last winter.
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