Yuba County Supervisors OK $3M Comms Improvement Grant

The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office has received a $3 million grant from the Department of Justice to upgrade their communications equipment to improve community safety.

In a board meeting Tuesday, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors heard from Yuba County’s Undersheriff Nicholas Morawcznki the details of the grant provided by the DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Technology and Equipment Program.

The grant will fund the Yuba County Regional Interoperability and Encryption Communications Project to enhance emergency radio communication both within the county and with neighboring, regional, and state agencies.

Speaking to the board, Morawcznski said the sheriff’s office is in dire need of new radios for communication between their officers and staff in the field, as their current equipment is old and operates on a frequency that creates many dead zones, especially in the foothills.

“Having that link of communications…is so incredibly important — both for the officers’ safety and also for us to be able to respond to emergency situations,” Morawcznski said. “With this new ability, we’ll be able to talk with all of our bordering counties, our State Fire, CHP — it’s just a game changer for us.”

Morawcznski said the sheriff’s office plans to purchase over 300 new mobile and portable radios, both for their department as well as the Yuba County District Attorney’s office, the Yuba County Office of Emergency Services and Wheatland Police Department.

Public Information Officer Katy Goodson wrote in an email that radio communications are foundational to fast response and effective coordination between first responders, including law enforcement, emergency medical services, fire departments and others, ensuring better overall public safety services.

“With enhanced radio equipment, agencies can gain access to clearer signals, broader coverage and improved connectivity, which are vital in Yuba County’s diverse landscape, including remote and rural areas,” Goodson wrote. “This ensures that first responders can maintain uninterrupted communication even in challenging terrain or during adverse weather conditions. The ability to share real-time information seamlessly across different agencies enhances situational awareness, speeds up decision-making, and enables a coordinated response to incidents, which can be the difference between life and death in emergency situations.”

The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office expects to order the equipment this month and have the radios up and running by July next year.

Because of the grant, the county will not have to dip into its general fund of mostly local tax revenue to update the equipment.

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