Two ARMER grants available for local governments

As part of the state budget for fiscal year 2009, funds were allocated to the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Communication Networks (DECN) to support local planning and integration with the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) public safety communication system. This allocation was made in anticipation of the completion of the assessments of existing local communication infrastructure and local alternatives throughout the state.

These funds are being made available to local units of government through two grants. DECN will begin taking applications for these grants on Jan. 15 and will continue to accept applications until the allocated grant funds are fully encumbered. All grant applications received prior to Jan. 15 will be deemed received on Jan. 15.

FY2009 State Homeland Security Program.
A total of $2.6 million was allocated to the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the following purposes: (1) participation planning funds; (2) infrastructure funds for local implementations; and (3) subscriber radios for local users.

FY2010/2011 State Infrastructure Grant Funds.
A total of $5 million was allocated by the Legislature for up to 50 percent of the cost of local infrastructure for local governments transitioning to the ARMER system. Details of the amount of funding to an individual county or agency are contained in the Notice of Grant Opportunity.

For more information about the grant process, including the Statewide Radio Board (SRB) Standard 6.5.0, which outlines the SRB process for evaluating grants, visit the League of Minnesota Cities website:
http://web.lmc.org/bulletin/bulletin_detail.cfm?art_id=2671&id=5&title=Grants#2671