MOTOROLA RADIOS - MOD

Board of County Commissioners · 2026-06-16 · resolution

The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved an amended resolution authorizing an additional $61,320,728 in expenditure authority for Contract No. D-10253, Motorola Public Safety Radios and Capital Infrastructure, bringing the total modified contract amount to $121,320,728. The contract is used by multiple County departments, including the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR), Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR), and Communications, Information and Technology Department (CITD). The additional allocation supports the replacement of approximately 2,800 aging radios for MDCR, infrastructure upgrades for MDFR, and continued acquisition of portable radios and hardware refreshes for CITD. The contract was established via Resolution No. R-682-22 in the amount of $165,000,000. The resolution was introduced on 2/19/2026, received a favorable recommendation from the Intergovernmental and Economic Impact Committee on 3/11/2026, and was approved as amended by the Board on 6/16/2026, assigned Resolution No. R-539-26. The contract expires on August 3, 2027. Public comment included a representative of L3Harris stating during public comment that the radios cost $8,000 per unit, which was disputed by staff, who stated the cost was $6,400 per unit. Commissioner Cohen Higgins requested to see what other municipal governments of similar size paid for comparable equipment. Vice Chairwoman Milian Orbis raised a pricing discrepancy, noting that dividing the Corrections Department's $21.9 million allocation by the 2,800 radios being purchased resulted in approximately $7,800 per unit, and asked staff to reconcile that with the $6,400 per unit figure. Staff explained that Corrections was purchasing two models of radio at different prices, along with ancillary items such as chargers, batteries, and microphones, and additional services and hardware. Commissioner Cohen Higgins and Vice Chairwoman Milian Orbis requested that staff determine whether other radios could meet the needs of CITD and Corrections before the matter reached the Board. Commissioner Cohen Higgins expressed concern about dependence on a single vendor and emphasized the importance of a competitive process. Commissioner Gonzalez asked about interoperability, and staff confirmed that the radios use the P25 communications protocol, an industry-standard protocol that allows different radios to communicate. The resolution passed by a vote of 12-0, with Senator Garcia absent.