Butler County Commissioners voted Wednesday to authorize emergency services director Steve Bicehouse to request a contract proposal from a company that is helping the county with government-mandated upgrades to its 911 radio system.

Commissioners voted 2 to 1, with Commissioner Jim Eckstein voting no, to let Bicehouse request Mission Critical Partners to develop a quote for its services in putting out a request for bids.

A study by Mission Critical suggested the upgrade could cost the county as much as $14 million, depending on which radio option it selects. It provided four options for upgrades.

County solicitor Mike English said the vote was not a vote on the radio option, just a vote to let Mission Critical come up with an amount it would charge for its work in developing a request for bids.

A 2012 federal law requires the Federal Communications Commission to take away the use of the T-band spectrum radio frequency from emergency services by 2022 and auction it off to the private sector. Butler County is among the areas scattered across the country that use that frequency.

Additionally, Motorola no longer will support the radio equipment used by the county after the end of 2018.

Eckstein said he voted no because he said the next board of commissioners should vote on the 911 systems. All three current commissioners will leave office at the end of the year.

Eckstein said the county can keep the same system it has with a few upgrades or spend as much as $7 million more for a “Cadillac” new system.

He said the additional cost of a new system likely would mean a tax increase.

Eckstein said there has been no reason given why 911 votes cannot be pushed off until 2016, and said a tax increase should not be shouldered by current commissioners.