The required upgrade of the radio system used by the Butler County 911 dispatch center and emergency responders throughout the county finally is finished.

Steve Bicehouse, county emergency services director, told the county commissioners that aside from a few items on a punch list, the voluminous upgrade is complete.

Bicehouse told the commissioners in October 2017 that the county needed to acquire new radio frequencies because of the federal government taking away the bandwidth known as the T-band spectrum.

At that time, Bicehouse estimated the project at about $14 million.

Last week, Bicehouse said the final cost to the county for the new system came in at $9.8 million.

The extended project required the removal of some towers around the county used in the previous system and leasing new sites for towers, in addition to many other components.

Bicehouse said the new digital system is more efficient and has eliminated crowding on the various frequencies.

Bicehouse and commissioners Leslie Osche and Kim Geyer met with officials from a handful of municipalities in the northern section of the county in May 2019 to address concerns about the new system.

Officials from Venango, Allegheny and Parker townships shared their concerns about the number of new radios some departments were to receive and the financial assistance to get them, plus communication with departments and agencies around the edges of the county.

Bicehouse and the commissioners were able to assuage the municipal officials' worries about the new system, now in place throughout the county.