WINDHAM – The Windham Town Council on Tuesday night approved an upgrade to the radio system used by Windham police and fire departments.

The $181,000 system will provide in-building coverage for personnel responding to buildings in North Windham as well as the school complex in Windham Center.

While car and truck radios work well throughout town under the current system, portable radios, which rely on one repeater set up at the Windham Public Safety Building, sometimes leave an officer with no ability to communicate with dispatch or hear other personnel in the area. The new system will incorporate three repeaters throughout town, greatly enhancing coverage.

The council, which unanimously supported the system, spent most of the discussion debating whether it should pay the cost in one lump sum or over five years. The decision to pay interest over five years, which was proposed by Councilor Peter Anania and adds another $20,000 to the cost, was aimed at keeping the capital equipment replacement fund from becoming depleted, since the council has other upgrades in the works.

The radio upgrade proposal was requested about two years ago by Windham’s school resource officer, Jeff Smith. Smith and Lt. David DeGruchy, who both attended the meeting, were relieved that after two years, the council decided to support the upgrade.

“Very happy with the council’s decision,” Smith said. “It’s going to help both police and fire with their in-building coverage with the portable [radios], which is most of what we do. Once you get there with a truck or police car, you’re out of your car going into a building, so it’s going to help a lot.”

Smith took Councilor Scott Hayman on a test run of the new system more than a year ago, using temporarily installed repeaters. Hayman, who recounted the eye-opening experience to fellow councilors Tuesday night, said the existing system was ineffective, citing Manchester Elementary School as well as the larger stores in North Windham as having zero portable radio coverage.

“My concern for officer safety in big-box stores is one thing, but my bigger concern is the safety of kids in town at Manchester School,” Hayman said prior to the vote. “Through financing or if we pay cash, I’m totally in favor of our officers and our police department having the infrastructure that they need not only to keep themselves safe, but the public and, most of all, the kids safe.”