April 04--The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday suspended funding for an increasingly problem-plagued Los Angeles County emergency communications system, noting the project is "severely behind schedule."
Federal officials ordered communications project managers to "stop all work immediately" on what would have been the largest such system in the nation.
The decision to suspend a $154-million grant to the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority is a severe blow to a project intended to allow every police officer, sheriff's deputy and firefighter in the county to communicate during major emergencies, such as an earthquake or terrorist attack.
The department's notification gave the authority until April 13 to submit an amended project plan.
The federal action comes after several cities dropped out of the project, and firefighters and residents balked at the construction of cell towers at neighborhood fire stations and elsewhere.
Two weeks ago, after being bombarded with complaints that the project was moving forward without adequate notice to residents, the county Board of Supervisors ordered a halt to the construction of towers that had drawn opposition. Among other things, board members told project officials to hold community meetings on all the planned tower sites.
This week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to stop construction of towers at city fire and police stations and urged a number of changes to the project.
Officials had been racing to complete the first of the two-part project, which involves building a network of towers to transmit data to public safety agencies, by a Sept. 30 deadline. County officials had recently asked Congress to approve an extension.
The federal grant was to pay for 80% of the work on the data system, with the county and cities paying the rest.
A separate radio communications system is planned, and cities who joined in the project are to share the operating costs. More troubles arose recently when more than a dozen cities dropped out, leaving the ones remaining to shoulder a larger share of the costs.
Supervisor Don Knabe called the news "disappointing and frustrating."
In statement, he refuted claims by firefighters and others that radio frequency emissions from the towers posed a health hazard, calling it "disingenuous rhetoric."
"We now have 10 days to formulate a new plan ... it is important that Los Angeles County be the first to make this project operational," Knabe said.
The county's interim chief executive, Sachi Hamai, said the grant suspension "represents a setback that we believe can--and must--be overcome to ensure the safety of Los Angeles County residents."
She promised the county would submit a new plan to complete the project by the April 13 deadline. She added that county supervisors would head a delegation to Washington on April 20 "to personally seek support for this crucial communications system."
