Public Safety: Collin College to join Plano and Allen's digital radio network

Collin College police officers will transition to a shared digital radio network operated by Plano and Allen, replacing the college's current analog infrastructure. The change, approved via a consent agenda item scheduled for Friday, October 30, aims to solve technical limitations that currently prevent direct communication with other law enforcement agencies. The college currently uses analog radios with rooftop antenna repeaters, a setup that suffers from local failure risks and lacks inter-agency connectivity.

Under the new agreement, the college police department will access a single digital system across its entire district. This infrastructure is jointly owned by the cities of Plano and Allen. The primary operational benefit is the ability for college officers to coordinate directly with city and county agencies during emergencies or routine operations. The current analog system, detailed in a memo to trustees, restricts communication channels and relies on campus-specific hardware that is vulnerable to local outages.

The financial arrangement requires the college to pay the City of Plano $35.40 per radio per month, plus a $2 network access fee, for a total of $37.40 per unit. These costs are already allocated in the police department's 2027 budget. The contract is structured as a one-year term that automatically renews for up to nine additional one-year periods unless one of the parties terminates the agreement.

Plano's Radio Division retains full operational control of the network. As the sole license holders with Allen, the cities dictate which radios are authorized. The college must purchase and maintain its own equipment, which must meet Project 25 Phase II standards and be programmed by Plano's staff. Plano holds the authority to shut off any college radio suspected of causing interference, limit the number of talk groups available to the college, and deny new radios if the network capacity is strained. The system currently supports thousands of active units.

A second consent agenda item addresses detention costs. The college police department will renew its agreement to hold arrested individuals at the Collin County jail when officers determine a secure facility is necessary. The rate for this service will increase to $171.18 per inmate per day, or a fraction of a day, for the period running from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.