The committee was told the safety of police on the street and members of the public could be jeopardized if the current 15â€"yearâ€" old radio system isn‘t replaced with a modern one. ~"Ahe Halton Regional Police Services Board will have to â€" _ find ways to trim $8.2â€"milâ€" tion from its policing budget over the next 10 years to pay for a new radio system, the region‘s adminâ€" istration and finance committee heard Wednesday. Police eye $8.2â€"M radio system By SAL BOMMARITO Special to the Beaver A Metroland Community Newspaper ?mdzéflaftm@ /Vw:/goer CCNA Better Newspapers Competition 1993 SELEC VARY FI TO If all the necessary approvals are in place by the end of the month, the new system could be up and running by 1995, the comâ€" mittee was told. "I find this extremely hard to swallow," said regional chairman Peter Pomeroy. "Good God, one million bucks a year forâ€" the capital costs only. How is this going to affect your While committee members expressedâ€"concern over the safety issue, many agreed it would be inappropriate in light of economic times to raise taxes to pay for the new system. Get ready for Christmas with our Quinn told the committee the police services board was schedâ€" "This is the same type of issue. Can we afford to have officers on the street with the type of equipâ€" ment they‘re using:? Maybe the real question we should be asking is ‘can we afford not to have (a new radio system)‘?" Police services board chairman Barry Quinn, who appeared before the committee, compared the matter to a recent provincial decision to upgrade firearms used by police. ability to put officers on the street?". "I‘d feel better if we had some leads on people who want to come in on this. I have trouble throwing my hand up for this type of expenâ€" diture, especially around budget time," he said. Regional chief administrative (See ‘Police‘ page 4) Pomeroy questioned whether regional staff had explored other financing solutions, such as the private sector picking up the costs and leasing the system back to the recion. uled to meet yesterday (Thursday) to consider several budget cuts to help pay for the new system. â€" Someexceptionsapply _ C 200 North Service Rd. (416) 338â€"8313 2290 Lakeshore Rd. W. 827â€"7866 â€"£‘ ~____ 26 Pages 75 Cents (GST included) BURLINGTON DRY CLEANERS 100% Government Guaranteed Strip Coupons Maturing in 2003 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS Loblaws, Canadian Tire, Food City, AP, The Bay Biway, Valdi Foods, CXA Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435â€"201 8.46% * Rates subject to change Mark Slipp (416) 359â€"4633 2 for 1 I: SWEATERS |J ..... 17â€"18