Kitsap 911 working on $40 million, multi-year radio system upgrades

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Kitsap 911 is in the midst of completing a multi-year radio system upgrade to improve communications between emergency agencies throughout the county.

Maria Jameson-Owens, Kitsap 911 executive director, said the project will cost around $40 million, will be funded by sales tax revenue (Proposition 2, a voter-approved ballot initiative added one cent on a taxable $10 purchase for Kitsap 911’s sales tax for communications systems and facilities), and take several years to fully implement. The project will update the radio system from analogue to a digital fiber optic system.

“It’s frustrating for both sides, and it’s a little scary, because if you’re a law enforcement officer out at a scene that’s kind of a dangerous scene, and you try to talk on the radio, and either they can’t hear you or they can’t understand you because it’s muffled or scratchy, that’s problematic for both sides,” she said. “That increases everybody’s stress, that hinders a situation. And so the best thing for us is the increased coverage and accessibility to communicating effectively and clearly.”

Jameson-Owens said Kitsap 911 plans to build the system and complete testing before evaluating the need for additional towers. With the upgrades, Kitsap 911 will manage the purchasing and maintenance of the new radios, which agencies were previously responsible for, she said.

“We’re currently replacing all of the radios in every law enforcement and every fire department. That’s part of the building of this radio project. And then when we replace them, they become a Kitsap 911 asset, and we maintain them,” she said.

All police radios have been replaced as of November 2025, and Kitsap 911 is currently working on fire agencies roughly two months ahead of schedule, per a recent progress report. Jameson-Owens said 911 callers shouldn’t see a direct impact on services, while dispatchers and radio users, i.e, first responders, would be the most impacted by the upgrades. She described radio program manager Scott Peabody’s role in the project.

“He’s worked on developing these systems at other agencies. He was specifically brought on to do this project for us. And then once our project is determined done, then he’ll retire again. He’s retired from like, two other places before, so he’s very knowledgeable,” she said.

On Jan. 6, the Kitsap 911 board of directors received a radio project update as part of its regular business meeting.

Peabody said Kitsap 911 has already replaced roughly 500 radios in the system, adding, “We’ve been working on how the system is going to roam from the cellular side, so that we can expand our coverage without investment in additional towers,” he said. “We’ve already worked on a number of emergency operation centers and department operation centers for fire training development that are well underway, and we’re working on interoperability.”

Jameson-Owens said as of Jan. 12, Kitsap 911 has not announced a completion date for the project. The project includes the replacement of roughly 1800 user radios used by all fire and police agencies countywide.

A 2021 report found that Kitsap 911 call volumes have increased by 50% since 1997. The replacement radio system is needed to provide higher-quality coverage throughout the county. In 2025, Kitsap 911 received roughly 185,000 911 calls, Jameson-Owens said.