Sequatchie County 800 MHz Interoperability Program

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act') and by 42 U.S.C. 3751(a). The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.

Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new website ' Recovery.gov ' to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funded under the Recovery Act is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Recovery JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Recovery JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures.

Sequatchie County will use its Recovery Act JAG award in the amount of $11,325 to implement a county-wide communications project called the Sequatchie County 800 MHz Interoperability Program. The system will be utilized by all emergency responder agencies for emergency and non-emergency situations. It will also allow the agencies to communicate with surrounding counties for a mutual aid response. Currently, county agencies utilize different radio frequencies that only their specific agency can receive. Funds will be used to purchase equipment allowing the county to expand coverage to the entire county. It is anticipated all city and county agencies will be incorporated within this project by the year 2013, thus making Sequatchie County completely interoperable. The decision to apply Recovery Act funding towards this project reflects the commitment to ensuring the health, safety, and protection of the citizens of Sequatchie County.

NCA/NCF