New police radio system inserted in Missouri budget

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Legislative budget writers give approval to a new radio system that could allow emergency responders around the state to better communicate with each other.

The radio system now used by the Missouri State Highway Patrol is about 50 years old.

House and Senate budget negotiators agreed Thursday to spend $9 million as a first step toward replacing the patrol's radios and setting up a system that could handle the different radio formats used by local emergency responders.

Missouri Public Safety Director Mark James says the total project could cost around $175 million. He says it could take two to four years to build the new radio system. But James says it could take 10 to 12 years to pay for it.