FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Town of Whitman Awarded $200,000 Grant to Improve Police and Fire Department Radio System

WHITMAN — Fire Chief Timothy J. Grenno and Police Chief Scott Benton are very pleased to announce that the Town of Whitman has been awarded a $200,000 grant to update and replace the police and fire departments’ aging radio system.

On Oct. 16, the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance notified Town Administrator Frank Lynam that the town would be receiving $199,601 in funding. The grant was awarded through the Community Compact Cabinet’s Information Technology Grant Program.

The grant will provide funding to enhance the radio communications infrastructure for both public safety departments in an effort to ensure proper coverage throughout the town, including inside Whitman Middle School and Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.

“The fire department’s radio system is 11 years old and is inadequate for our needs,” Fire Chief Grenno said. “This grant will provide the updates we need in order to significantly improve our system.”

Police Chief Benton said, “Being able to enhance our communications capabilities from inside our schools will be a great benefit. School safety is one our top priorities and effective communication inside the school buildings is a part of that.”

The grant was procured by Whitman’s IT Director Josh MacNeil and the award was announced at the Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday night.

“We are always looking for ways in which we can provide better services to the community at little to no cost to the taxpayers and this grant is a perfect example,” MacNeil said.

Whitman was one of 44 communities in the state to receive grant funding through the Community Compact IT Grant Program.

“The competition for funding was intense. Your application was chosen because it met the overarching goal of driving innovation and transformation at the local level via investments in technology,” Michael J. Heffernan, Secretary Executive Office for Administration and Finance, wrote in a letter notifying the town of the grant award.

Click here to view a list of all Community Compact IT Grant recipients for Fiscal Year 2019.

About the Community Compact IT Grant Program

The Community Compact IT Grant Program is a competitive grant program focused on driving innovation and transformation at the local level via investments in technology. Using the transformative powers of IT, we can drive innovation, make government more efficient, save taxpayer money, and make it easier for residents to interact and transact with their local government.

Grants of up to $200,000 support the implementation of innovative IT projects by funding related one-time capital needs such as technology infrastructure, upgrades and/or purchases of equipment or software. Incidental or one-time costs related to the capital purchase such as planning, design, installation, implementation and initial training are eligible. For more information, visit https://www.mass.gov/community-compact-it-grant-program.

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