Holmes County fire, EMS leaders seek funding for radio communications costs

Holmes County fire and EMS leaders are pressing county commissioners to help pay the quarterly MARCS costs that keep emergency radios working, arguing that a broken or outdated communications system can leave crews missing dispatches, struggling to coordinate on scene and unable to reach neighboring agencies. In a county spread across villages, townships and long rural roads, the issue is not a line item on a budget sheet. It is whether firefighters and medics can hear one another when weather turns bad, a crash blocks a roadway or a call needs help from a hospital or sheriff’s deputies.

The system at the center of the request is MARCS, short for Multi-Agency Radio Communications System, Ohio’s statewide wireless digital public-safety network. The Ohio Department of Administrative Services says MARCS is meant to provide state-of-the-art communications and promote interoperability, with the goal of saving lives and maximizing effectiveness in both routine operations and emergencies. That matters in Holmes County because radio coverage has to stretch across far-flung service areas where one department may need to work quickly with another on the next township over.

State funding has helped, but not enough to solve the recurring cost problem. The Ohio fire marshal’s office says the annual MARCS grant program is available to fire departments serving areas of 25,000 residents or less and can provide up to $50,000 per department for equipment and service costs. In the 2026 grant cycle, 198 fire departments in 63 counties received nearly $4 million. In 2025, 229 departments in 71 counties were awarded nearly $4 million. Holmes County agencies were also among the Ohio departments that received MARCS grant funding in January 2023.

Local agencies have also tried to shore up coverage on the ground. In March 2024, East Holmes Fire District and the Holmes County Engineer added another MARCS tower in Berlin along County Road 120, a project aimed at improving signal strength across the area. That kind of investment can help, but leaders now face the harder question of how to pay not just for equipment, but for the recurring service fees that keep the network operating.

For Holmes County commissioners, the decision is about sustainability. A patchwork approach may keep radios on for now, but the real stakes are response times, coverage gaps and mutual-aid complications when a call demands more than one department. If county leaders do not build a lasting plan, the cost of unreliable communications will be paid in the field, where every missed transmission can slow the response.