Taxpayers in Sandy Springs now owe an additional $800,000 for a public safety radio upgrade that will cover north Fulton cities.
City Council approved the new intergovernmental agreement Wednesday morning during a special meeting before its annual retreat. The city will now pay $4.7 million because the original agreement fell apart.
City Council initially approved an agreement in December under the assumption the city of Johns Creek would approve it and share the $16 million cost with Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Roswell and Milton.
But Johns Creek City Council backed out after members asked questions about awarding the contract to Motorola Solutions without competitively bidding it.
City Manager John McDonough said the city opted to use state contract pricing to select the company, which he said offered the cities a fair price for the services. The new agreement does offer the option of Johns Creek joining the new radio system as a subscriber at a later date, McDonough said.
Public safety officials say the new radios are needed to replace the aging Fulton County radio systems. Fulton County is independently pursuing its own county-wide radio system that would cover the same areas covered by the city’s IGA.