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Functionality concerns over the county’s newly proposed 2.8 million communication system by emergency service personal, has prompted the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to re-evaluate and answer those concerns next week.

According to President of the Charlotte County Fire & Rescue Association Walt Bailey, the new system, “does not even come close” to meeting the needs of the county’s Fire and EMS. “The new system will not work for us for a multitude of reasons,” said Bailey.

Bailey, who has 45 years of experience in both the Fire and EMS field, said that the new P25 radio system does not provide for future expansion and growth that will be needed in the coming years. Channel congestions, no dedicated nor enough multiple operational channels along with a repeated system are just a few issues Bailey says is a problem.

Following a closed session meeting of the BOS on Oct. 24, supervisors made the decision to send out letters to the county’s seven fire chiefs, Sheriff, School IT Coordinator, E-911 Coordinator, and Rescue Squad personal.

According to County Administrator Daniel Witt, the letters ask for specific questions and concerns about the new system to be sent in writing to the County Administrator by Nov. 1. “I will then work with our consultant and Radio Communication of Virginia to answer the questions and provide those to the Board for discussion at a public meeting