Columbus city leaders discuss lease agreement for new CPD radios

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A second move to revisit the Columbus Police Department’s purchase of new radios meets with dead air.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, an agenda item called for a discussion of rescinding the lease agreement for CPD’s new radios and putting the purchase through a reverse auction process to get radios with similar specifications to those of the Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office.

In January, the Council approved a lease plan through a statewide contractor out of Jackson for Motorola radios that would allow Columbus police to operate on the MSWIN statewide emergency network.

In February, TELETEC, the local contractor who has provided radios for the city for several years, asked to make its pitch for continued service.

The Council subsequently voted to go forward with the new lease plan.

During Tuesday night’s discussion, Police Chief Joseph Daughtry reported to the council that the new radios had already been ordered and were being pre-built and shipment was being expedited.

A vote to rescind the deal could have potentially put the city in breach of contract.

The motion was defeated on a five-to-one vote.

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