By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

New radios for emergency responders — mandated for law enforcement officers by the Federal Bureau of Investigation — will end up costing the county $12,000 if the county buys radios only for 23 full-time officers.

Emergency manager Marcy Hostetler told commissioners Tuesday that an application for a state grant to replace 91 radios for all emergency responders had been denied.

“They said we were asking for too much money,” she said.

The state agreed to give the county $108,000 toward new radios. That will pay for most of the $120,000 cost of replacing radios for full-time officers.

The county will have to figure out how to buy additional radios if it wants others to have the FBI’s preferred level of encryption.

Until a few years ago, the current encryption standard was used to protect Defense Department nuclear launch codes. According to computer scientists, it would require 1 million years for a hacker to break encryption at current levels by brute force.

The new standard encrypts data over twice as many bits, making it even more unlikely to be defeated by a brute-force hacker attack.

Commissioners unanimously voted to purchase the 23 new radios for full-time officers.

In other business Tuesday, commissioners:

• Approved hiring a part-time nurse on as as-needed basis for the health department. When COVID funds run out, the nurse no longer will be employed by the county.
• Heard from road and bridge superintendent Steve Hudson that stop signs are being vandalized. He said that vandals had climbed up posts and unbolted signs.