LTC 503-2021 Public Safety Radio System Launch and CompletionMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC# 503-2021 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
Honorable Mayor Dan Gelb~bers of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manatr' ~
DATE: November 24, 2021
SUBJECT: Public Safety Radio System Launch and Completion
The purpose of this L TC is to update the Mayor and City Commission on the status of GO Bond
project #49: Public Safety Radio System, which is scheduled to complete its full implementation by
mid-December 2021. The $10 million project was made possible by the voter approved $439 million
G.O. Bond Program, which has a total of $72 million dedicated to police, fire, and public safety
improvement projects. Refer to Exhibit 1 for the complete project description that was included in
the 2018 Voter's Information materials.
The completion of this project marks a significant upgrade to the city's critical communications
network that is used by more than 1,000 first responders and public safety officers in the Police,
Fire, Ocean Rescue, Code Enforcement, and Parking departments. As the city transitions away
from the outdated P16 Motorola system last upgraded in 2003, it is joining a large group of local
municipalities (including Miami-Dade County, City of Miami, Coral Gables and Aventura, among
others) who have adopted the modern L3Harris Corporation's digital P25 technology. The new
public safety radio system provides Miami Beach first responders with expanded radio coverage
via seamless roaming capabilities, interoperable communications to connect with other agencies
and interjurisdictional partners, AES 256 encryption to enhance the safety of personnel and the
public by protecting sensitive information, and unified applications to integrate voice and data
capabilities.
At this time, 597 handheld L3Harris Corporation radios have been assigned and personnel trained,
160 vehicle radios have been installed, all 10 radio/microwave antenna infrastructure sites have
been activated and tested . The Parking and Code Compliance Departments transitioned to the
new system on November 3rd and November 8th respectively.
The remaining scheduled launch dates of the new system, by department, are as follows:
• Police: November 29, 2021
• Ocean Rescue: December 6, 2021 (Tentative)
• Fire: December 13, 2021 (Tentative)
This critical GO Bond project brings to fruition key intended outcomes of enhancing public safety,
emergency preparedness, and resilience.
Attachments:
Exhibit 1 -GO Bond Project Description One-Pager
ATH / MH /VF/ LG
F:\cmgr\$ALLIGO Bond Program\Projects\Public Safety Radio System\LTC_Public Safety Radio System Project Launch and Completion.docx
Exhibit 1
POLICE, FIRE, AND PUBLIC SAFETY
GENERAL OBLIGATION BONO
PROJECT: REPLACE PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEM
COST: $10 MILLION
Department: Police and Fire
The City of Miami Beach is under contract with Harris Corporation to replace the Public Safety Radio System
with a state-of-the-art Project-25 Compliant (P25) land mobile radio system. The total cost of the system is
$15.8 million over 15 years (including ongoing maintenance), with $10 million proposed to be funded through
the G.O . Bond , paying for the initial capital purchase and implementation. This is the single most critical public
safety need in the entire G.O. Bond proposal. This new radio system will replace the existing 20-year-old
Motorola system that will be deemed end of life on December 31 , 2018.
The new system will have all the necessary features required by modern, sophisticated police and fire
departments, including: over-the-air-reprogramming ; over-the-air rekeying ; AES 256 encryption; and most
important, seamless roaming connectivity for personnel once they leave the FCC-authorized radio frequency
geographical footprint for the City of Miami Beach. This roaming will be accomplished by leveraging the
infrastructure of other area governmental entities (City of Miami, Miami Dade County, Coral Gables, etc.), who
are also on the Harris System. This county-wide capacity to interoperate radio systems is considered a vital
additional advantage of the new system and essential to public safety of the community, as well as our police
officers and firefighters.
www.GOMB2018.com
PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM I CITY OF MIAMI BEACH 57