The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 2 agreed to buy a new countywide communications system. The system, a SELEX analog and digital site simulcast radio system that will be added to each of the county’s seven radio towers, will allow both fire and law enforcement to send and receive radio signals.

Currently, firefighters have five sending and receiving towers, and two that receive only. Law enforcement has three sending and receiving towers, and four that receive only. This means that a sheriff’s deputy in Jefferson could receive a signal, but would have to change frequencies to transmit, which could take time. All field units have to change channels as they move to different areas of the county.

Scott Rivard of Radio Communications Management, Inc. appeared at the meeting to provide information about the new system. He said it comes with analog, currently being used in the county, and also digital, which is expected to be required at some point in the not too distant future by the federal government. New radios will be installed at all seven sites, along with network equipment, using the transmission and receiving simulcast system, which allows users to operate on the same frequency without having to change channels.

Casey Stevens, assistant to the director, has been working on this project for some time. He said the system will cost about half of what the retail price would be, because the company, SELEX, wants to get the new system into as many counties in Maine as possible. The retail list price was about $550,000, but with the incentives to Lincoln County, the final cost would be $232,0525, about 42 percent of the retail price. In addition, Stevens said the county might be able to sell some of the current equipment.

Tod Hartung, director of Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency, said that only leaves a few so-called “dead zones” to be dealt with. The dead zones are places where no signal gets through, and Hartung said the problem could be resolved with mobile repeaters.

Sheriff Todd Brackett said the system would reduce officer safety concerns.

Although digital systems are not yet required, Hartung said that they will be, eventually. “There is no hard date,” he said. “But this system would put us ahead of the curve.”

The only other equipment that would be required for a digital system overhaul would be local towns’ radios. Hartung said he might be able to get some grant funding for the digital part of the system when it is required.

The vote was unanimous in favor of the new system.