CARMEL – Putnam has received a grant totaling $99,911 to strengthen the county’s emergency response operations center in Carmel.
Commissioner of Emergency Services Ken Clair said the funding that is being administered by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services through the Public Safety Answering Points Operations Grant will be used to upgrade dispatching technology and investment in services such as text messaging, data communication and geo-location.
The county’s grant is part of a $10 million infusion of funds to upgrade 911 centers from the tip of Long Island to the Niagara frontier.
Neighboring Dutchess County has received $168,000 while Westchester’s award is $127,000.
All-in-all, last week was a positive one for the area’s first responders since State Senator Peter Harckham came to town with $500,000 in public safety and law enforcement grants that assisted the Putnam District Attorney’s Office, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and Brewster Police Department in addition to five agencies in northern Westchester and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office.
The grants have been earmarked for a variety of public safety upgrades to help fight crime while keeping residents safe and include license plate readers, new police vehicles, speed devices, computer upgrades and “Stop the Bleed” kits.
