This is a petition requesting the County of Scotts Bluff, NE to provide an official delayed internet feed of their unified communications center encrypted Motorola p25 phase ii trunked first responder communications radio system located within the county of Scotts Bluff, NE and interconnected to the Nebraska State Radio System.

 We, the undersigned petitioners, are asking for an official delayed internet feed of the above mentioned first responder communications system on all the trunked talk groups related to initial dispatching of County Police and Fire as well as the cities of Gering and Scottsbluff Fire and Police (Exclusive of the encrypted TAC or interoperability channels) and can be offered free of charge to both the county officials, news agencies, and general public. This can be accomplished rather easily.

 We completely support and back first responder safety 100%. There is no grey line there for us. Stay Safe, Stay Out of the Way, we say.

 While we understand the need for first responder safety as the reasoning behind encrypting public communications, we think a balance can be struck between safety of the first responders and the public's right to know and their desire to help, not hinder.

 There is already precedent in the state of Nebraska as the city of Omaha, NE located in Douglas County and the city of Lincoln, NE located in Lancaster County both offer an unencrypted official delayed feed of their first responder systems for use by the general public at large and news agencies. A feed delay of 30 minutes is enough to provide a balance between first responder safety and the public's right to know.

 We are calling on the County of Scotts Bluff, NE To provide the above mentioned feed as a compromise.

Thank You,

The undersigned presently local and former residents of Scotts Bluff County, NE