JEFFERSON — Sheriff William Johnson clarified for village mayors, several police chiefs and council members at a joint meeting Wednesday the need and costs of the Multi-Agency Radio Communication System his department is switching to in November.

Johnson said the bottom line for the sheriff’s office switching to the MARCS equipment is “officers’ safety” all over the county. MARCS is a statewide communication system used by many agencies, he said.

County commissioners arranged the meeting for officials from Andover, Orwell, Roaming Shores, Jefferson, Rock Creek and Geneva-on-the-Lake to discuss costs and be better informed.

Commissioners in early August approved the $187,000 purchase. The commissioners are leasing it over seven years at 5.26 percent interest, Johnson said.

“The MARCS is not a new system. We had looked at what Lake County did several years ago. It would have cost us $2.5 million at the time. The state is now offering police agencies to join them,” he said.

When state officials offered MARCS equipment at the lower prices, Johnson urged commissioners to join in. The five village police departments dispatched through his office do not have to invest a lot to get started, the sheriff said.

“We had to look at what’s best for the whole county. The villages can come aboard now or we can still dispatch for your police on the old equipment,” Johnson said.

The sheriff bluntly told the village officials the present three towers, in Cherry Valley, Plymouth Township and Andover, could break down any time. Parts are getting harder to replace.

Commissioners were criticized by Orwell Mayor Larry Bottoms. He complained that more direct talks should have taken place with village officials earlier this year. Bottoms worried that his village is stretched financially to pay for the equipment before 2009.

Johnson said the county’s first lease payment is not due until nearly the end of 2009.

“We did not go back directly to the village mayors. I’ll take the blame for that,” said Commissioner Dan Claypool, referring to the board’s decision to quickly move ahead in August.

Johnson said his offer to lower the $20,000 dispatch fee by $5,000 in 2009 still stands. It was done in an effort to help the villages purchase their initial equipment, he explained.

The county is leasing the MARCS equipment at state purchase prices through Motorola Credit Corp. of Schamberg, Ill. Each village can do the same deal if it wishes, Johnson said, or go with a private bank loan.

Johnson said many times his deputies and other safety personnel find their radios don’t work in certain parts of the county. Southern sectors are the worst with dead spots.

As to the dispatch fee discount for 2009, Johnson also agreed to shave another $5,000 off the dispatching fees for the fourth quarter this year. Those villages which already paid would get a rebate, he said.