From Harford County government:
Senator Barbara Mikulski, Congressman Kratovil announce federal investment
(Hickory, MD) – – The Harford County Division of Emergency Operations (EOC) will be the recipient of $750,000 in federal funding to help improve communication infrastructure. The announcement was made Thursday, February 18 during a visit by United States Senator Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Frank Kratovil, with Harford County Executive David R. Craig to the Division of Emergency Operations in Hickory.
“Our first responders are the first lines of defense against everything from blizzards to terrorist attacks. I am committed to making sure they have the best tools available to dotheir jobs. Emergency services must be able to communicate with one another to share data, images and videos in a safe, seamless and compatible way. I was proud to fight for this funding to make sure Harford County’s police, fire and EMS teams have the technology andresources they need to support their work of saving lives every day,” Senator Mikulski said.
This federal investment is a way of honoring the service of first responders, corrections and law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel who confront dangerous and hazardous condition daily while working to keep our communities safe,” stated Representative Kratovil.
Currently, Harford County’s police, fire and emergency medical services teams rely on outdated radio and telephone communications to relay information about natural disasters and other emergencies. The $750,000 in federal funding will assist Harford County in upgrading communications technology, which will allow Harford County’s emergency responders to share real-time videos, images and data in a secure, consistent and interconnected way.
“Our first responders are the first line of defense against domestic terrorism and threats against our citizens. This federal assistance is vital in helping to improve Harford County’s communication capabilities in day-to-day operations and especially during emergency incidents,” County Executive Craig stated.
Senator Mikulski included $750,000 for the project in the 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill. The bill was signed into law in December 2009 as part of Congress’ FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Bill. Congressman Kratovil sponsored the funding request in the House of Representatives.
The Harford County Emergency Operations Center serves a population of nearly 240,000 people and an area of more than 450 square miles.
The $750,000 in federal assistance completes the first phase of Harford County’s multi-year, countywide communications technology project.
thats mighty nice of kratovil and babs. $750k in federal funding to harford county. $2billion went to illegal aliens in md last year and harford gets $750k. amazing. thats less then bab’s yearly expense account or pelosi’s monthly expense acct.
Wonder where the rest of the federal money is going. Give you 3 guesses. Illegal aliens.. illegal aliens ..illegal aliens..
More big government. Harford County should reject the money. First responders do not need to have the latest technology.
foodog are you insane? I sincerely hope that you are being sarcastic and I am just missing it. Otherwise, go live in a commune where you don’t need any new technology like computers.
We absolutely need new technology! We need a complete technology overhaul to get us in line with the rest of the Public Safety community. When the criminals have better technology than the cops, it’s not a good situation!