Saline Renews Its Commitment to Regional Emergency Communications Consortium

At its December 18th meeting, the Saline City Council voted unanimously to renew a set of existing contracts allowing it to continue serving a central role in county emergency communications. Since 2018, the City of Saline has contracted with the Washtenaw County Emergency Communications Consortium to provide administrative services and office space for the consortium’s operations.

The Washtenaw County Emergency Communications Consortium is the organization responsible for operating the emergency voice communications system used by all first responders in the region. The communications network consists of seven towers that serve as a subsystem for the Michigan Public Safety Communications System (MPSCS) and provide more than 2000 mobile and portable radios to all police, fire, and EMS teams in Washtenaw County, according to its website.

The organization’s operations are funded entirely by the Washtenaw County Emergency Communications millage. Per the contract, the City of Saline acts as an administrative and fiduciary body for the organization, taking receipt of the millage funds and ensuring they are dispersed appropriately to maintain continuous operations.

Administrative responsibilities include but aren’t limited to technical support and coordination, assembling and operating meetings according to the Michigan Open Meetings Act, accounts receivable and payable, reporting, budget development and management, user point-of-contact, and recordkeeping.

The City of Saline also leases office and storage space for the organization’s operations in the basement of the Saline Police Department, located on Harris Street. The contract extension begins in January 2024 and expires at the end of December 2025.