A grant from the state will enable the Benton County Sheriff's Office to improve its radio communication.

The public safety communications grant is for $1,141,200 and it comes from Oregon Emergency Management, a division of the governor's office.

The grant will enable the sheriff's department to continue improvement of its digital radio system that will serve 40 agencies in Linn and Benton counties. They include local fire and law enforcement agencies, county and city public works departments and the Oregon State University Public Safety, among others.

This regional radio system eventually will be linked with other communications coordination efforts through the State's Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network as well as regional and federal systems.

The grant was earmarked for Linn, Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane and Josephine counties as part of the 2005 federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act.

The communications grant will enable Linn and Benton counties to progress toward getting a "trunked" system that allows several agencies to talk to the dispatch center at the same time. The grant money also will help complete a radio tower project.

"The outcome of this local, state, and federal radio interoperability project will be better radio communication not only within county public safety agencies, but regionally particularly in case of a major disaster," reports Sheriff Diana Simpson.

Match money in the amount of approximately $250,000 is required and has been planned for through reserves that Linn and Benton County public safety agencies have set aside for communication upgrades to meet FCC narrow banding requirements.