The Globe Fire Department has joined other area public safety agencies in using a new radio system and will continue – along with Tri-City Fire District – to provide services in Miami.

At the Jan. 23 Globe City Council meeting, councilmembers approved a subscription agreement with C & M Communications, LLC, a business with offices in Glendale and Payson, that will provide the Fire Department with 800mhz radio service for $10,000 a year.

Area public safety agencies, including the Globe Fire Department, applied for and received Homeland Security grants to acquire the mobile, portable 800mhz radios; the funding was approved over two grant cycles. Area law enforcement, including the Globe Police Department, has been using the new service for several months in a public/private partnership with C & M.

Now they have been joined by Globe Fire, so that all public safety agencies will be operating on a common radio system. The agreement will provide service at a cost of $25 per radio – a monthly charge of $725 with the current number of radios (29), or $8,700 per year. That, city staff reported, does not include communications taxes, so the requested amount was $10,000. This was included in the city’s current budget with the understanding that Globe Fire would come aboard the system this fiscal year.

The council also approved a new intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City of Globe, Tri-City Fire District and the Town of Miami, through which the two fire departments will continue providing fire protection services to Miami. This agreement replaces an expired IGA under which they had been operating.