Ferguson: House set to OK $100,000 for Westfield Police Dept.

Press Release

Ferguson: House set to OK $100,000 for Westfield Police Dept.

Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., announced Monday that the House this week is scheduled to approve his request for $100,000 to upgrade the Westfield Police Department's communications capabilities.

If that funding level makes it through Congress this year, Westfield officials say they would replace aging radios with new mobile units to boost the department's communications capabilities as well as to upgrade equipment at the town's emergency dispatch center.

The Westfield funding is included in the annual appropriations bill that finances the Justice Department and other agencies. That bill, which the House is scheduled to approve this week, must still be reconciled with the Senate's version of the legislation before a final measure could be sent to the White House.

"Westfield's law enforcement personnel work hard every day to keep our community safe and secure, and these important resources would allow them to more quickly respond during emergencies," Ferguson said at a news conference with Westfield officials. "I'm pleased to have secured initial congressional approval of these important funds for the Westfield Police Department."

Mayor Andy Skibitsky, who participated in the news conference with Ferguson, said the new funding would lead to increased public safety.

"These important funds would enable our entire department to make critical communications improvements that will ultimately lead to increased public safety," Skibitsky said. "We can't thank Congressman Ferguson enough for listening to our needs and working to secure these important funds to help Westfield."

New communications equipment would allow the Police Department to communicate on several mutual-aid radio frequencies established for police, fire and emergency medical services. Those special channels are used in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster that requires large-scale response for emergency service personnel. The department's existing radios do not allow local police and fire officials to operate on the same frequencies.

Ferguson holds annual meetings with elected officials about funding, grants and other federal resources that may be available to local communities. At this year's meeting, Westfield officials told Ferguson about the need to replace existing radios, and Ferguson made the request this spring to the House Appropriations Committee.

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