Washington County is one step closer to having a new emergency communications system.

The Washington County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a letter of engagement to Northland Securities at their meeting Tuesday. Chairman Richard Young explained what the letter means, “What this will do is allow us to start an RFP (request for proposal) process. It shows that we are serious about this project and we are going to get the funding for it and bonding at a later date. But this way we can start getting RFPs so [we know] what the project is going to actually cost us.” The consultant the county has been working with estimates the total project cost at $10.4 million for equipment and over another $1 million for a technology building. The commission is hopeful the project bids will come in under the estimate. The goal of the project is to improve emergency communication across Washington County.