Carbon County is hoping to secure just under $1 million in gaming funds to help cover the cost of one portion of an interconnectivity upgrade project for first responders.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners authorized a resolution to submit an application to the Commonwealth Finance Authority for a Monroe County Local Share Account grant in the amount of $986,859.20. The grant would be used to purchase mobile radios for countywide law enforcement.

The purchase, Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said, includes approximately 92 portable radios for local police, as well as county adult and juvenile probation offices and the sheriff’s department. The radios cost on average $10,000 each plus programming and accessories.

“It’s a huge amount of money,” Nothstein said of the cost for each radio.

He noted that this is the first step in moving all emergency services in Carbon County to a digital system, much like Schuylkill County currently operates on. Carbon County currently uses an analog system.

Right now, Carbon County first responders can’t use their radios to communicate with Schuylkill County first responders on a scene when both counties are called out, Nothstein said. This changeover, which is part of an agreement between the two counties to apply for approximately in $5 million for communication improvements, is a several-year plan.

Nothstein stressed the importance to municipalities to start preparing now because what isn’t covered by a grant will be put on the emergency services and municipalities to cover and without the changeover, could put first responders at great risk when responding to an emergency.

Carbon County has been under its current analog system since mid-December 2012, when the Federal Communications Commission created a mandate requiring the narrowbanding of radio frequencies.

In 2011, Carbon County partnered with 19 municipalities in filing a nearly $1 million grant application to help cover the costs.

The county was successful in securing $907,453 of the nearly $1.5 million project. At that time, the money covered the purchase of 388 portable radios, 149 mobile radios and 498 pagers.