The Mobile County Communications District has resolved a billing dispute that officials say could save ratepayers more than $200,000 over the life of a maintenance contract tied to the county’s emergency radio network.
According to details presented at a recent district board meeting, a subcontractor working on the county’s 911 radio system had been using an antenna on a county-owned radio tower without paying for it since 2009. The arrangement came to light this summer during a contentious meeting in which commissioners voted to investigate the roughly $40 million contract awarded to overhaul the district’s radio infrastructure. That larger contract remains suspended while the review continues.
During the same meeting, one commissioner questioned why the subcontractor had been allowed free use of space on a tower owned by the county, noting that other local governments typically charge companies as much as $400 for similar access. The commissioner also raised concerns about a separate provision requiring the district to pay the subcontractor more than $22,000 a month to maintain radio equipment.
The district’s attorney told commissioners this week that the subcontractor removed its equipment from the tower and paid the district more than $32,000 to cover the retroactive cost of using the antenna space dating back to 2009. The company also agreed to reduce its monthly maintenance charge by nearly half, from roughly $22,400 to about $12,000, for the remainder of its contract, which runs through October 2016.
“The service won’t change, the parameters won’t change,” the attorney said of the new terms. “The only change is lowering the monthly obligation.”
The subcontractor’s president said his company had operated under a verbal understanding with the district for years and was not aware the arrangement conflicted with district policy until it was raised by commissioners. He said the equipment was removed promptly once the issue was identified. Before the county acquired the tower in 2009, it had been owned by the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, and the subcontractor had managed it on the tribe’s behalf.
The company’s president added that after working with the district for a year and a half, his firm now has a clearer picture of the actual costs involved in servicing the county’s radio equipment, which allowed it to offer the reduced rate. The tower in question is located in the northern part of Mobile County.
The communications district oversees emergency dispatch services across Mobile County, and officials say the recovered funds and reduced fees will help offset costs as the broader radio system upgrade investigation continues.