Saline County Tornado Sirens: Are Citizens in Danger?

The Roman philosopher Cicero had this to say about government: “The safety of the people shall be the highest law.” What he meant by that was the safety of any citizenry should be of utmost importance for any governing body. So given Cicero’s wisdom, why does Saline County have seven non-working tornado sirens that need to be either repaired or replaced?

A few weeks ago, a constituent contacted me about a non-working tornado siren on Alexander Road at the Alexander Fire Department. In a call to Jerry Cohen, head of the Department of Emergency Services, I learned that Saline County has not one, but seven non-working tornado sirens, including the one mentioned on Alexander Road. The sirens at these locations currently do not function:

• 9001 Springdale Rd.; Alexander

• Turtle Creek Fire Dept.; 5716 Point View Rd.; Benton

• Shannon Hills Fire Dept.; 11600 County Line Rd.; Alexander

• Shaw Fire Dept.; 9050 Mars Hill Rd.; Bauxite

• Chicot Acres

• Alexander Fire Dept.; 15413 S. Alexander Rd.; Alexander

• East End Fire Station #2; 6605 Blazing Trail; Mabelvale

You’ll notice on your property tax bill that one of the voluntary taxes is $5 for the weather warning system. What I didn’t realize is that the voluntary tax is relied on as the sole source of funding for weather sirens! To learn more about the revenues and expenses related to the sirens, I sent a FOIA request to Judge Brumley. The county Comptroller Angie Drummond responded with an expense report for 2024, showing $21,443 of parts and repairs and $23,000 for a weather warning software update, for a grand total expense of $44,443. The breakdown of parts and repairs was as follows:

• $4,500 was spent to remove and replace a damaged pole and re-set the siren at Traskwood

• $14,431 was payment to Goddard Enterprises for them to replace batteries, perform repairs, and perform general maintenance on all 38 sirens in the county (there are 45 sirens with 7 non-working)

• $2,512 was payment for the software renewal that runs the computer that sets off all the sirens. This was also a payment to Goddard Enterprises.

The county collected $37,429 from the voluntary tax in 2024, and $42,630 for calendar year 2023 against expenses of $32,230. Over the last two calendar years, the county received $3385 more than it spent; however, as mandatory property taxes increase, revenue from this voluntary program has been declining annually. For comparison, the county collected $56,188 in 2022. Judge Brumley advises that $25,000 is the “rock bottom” price for replacing each tornado siren, but I have since been told it would cost $35,000 per siren to replace them, for a grand total of $245,000 for all 7 sirens. It is unclear whether the county has priced repair of the non-functioning sirens, though some are likely past their useful life span.

After receiving all the above information, I began researching grants that may be available to the county to cover the cost to replace these seven tornado sirens. There is one, the FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant. The grant funds programs and equipment to reduce the risk of injury, death, and property damage from natural disasters. Sounds like a great grant to help replace the tornado sirens, right? Not so fast. An email to FEMA revealed that the county would need to have a project identified by Congress in the appropriation for the applicable fiscal year. To be considered for funding, the county would need to coordinate with Congressman Hill’s office (which is underway).

Although I’m told that weather warning sirens rely only on the voluntary tax for funding, according to our county budget,

• A maximum of $336,167 may be appropriated for the Office of Emergency Management·

• A maximum of $1,000,000 may be appropriated for 911 Communications salaries.

While I’m not suggesting that these budgets are a source of funds to repair the sirens, we clearly do have an emergency services budget, and it isn’t a paltry sum.

What is the answer to this problem if replacing or repairing the seven non-working sirens can’t be done due to financial constraints? Both Mr. Cohen and Judge Brumley say the Code Red system is the solution, but what is the Code Red system? It is a system whereby any citizen of Saline County can sign up to receive weather alerts via either email, text, or both. That works well for many citizens …. except: (1) those affected by power / internet outages due to a storm; (2) those who live in rural areas with spotty cell phone service; (3) the elderly and others who don’t use electronic methods of communication (these folks still exist and are an important part of our community.); (4) motorists who are driving during the storm and might not be looking at their phone or checking email; (5) residents who are outside, living their lives and not watching electronic devices who might be caught off guard by a quickly approaching storm. Let’s face it - not everyone checks email continuously. Not everyone relies on electronic communication. Not everyone is glued to a phone or computer. But a loud, annoying siren will get your attention every time - except when they don’t work.

Did you know we have several schools within two miles of one of the non-working tornado sirens?

· Springhill Elementary

· Bethel Middle School

· Parkway Elementary School

· Woodland Hills Christian School

· Robert L. Davis Elementary School

· Shannon Hills Headstart

· Legacy Christian Academy

· Garrett Memorial Christian School

· Bryant High School

· Bryant Middle School

If you are a parent of children who attend any of these schools, does this cause you a concern? Or are you complacent with fully electronic methods of communication? While you might still be able to hear another [more distant] weather siren at these schools (different individuals maintain different levels of hearing), the fact remains that the sirens listed which are not currently functioning would be audible at the schools above if they worked.

The good news - after I started looking into this problem on behalf of my constituents, Judge Brumley briefly mentioned the problem at the May 19th Quorum Court meeting. I appreciate him bringing this issue to the full Quorum Court and, ultimately, before the public. While it might take time to resolve, this issue deserves the Quorum Court’s attention, and I believe, if we set political differences aside, we can work together to resolve it.

Will the county do the right thing and put the safety of our citizens first? Time will tell.

* For readability, figures have been rounded to the nearest dollar.

Can you hear your nearest tornado siren? Please fill out the contact form below and let me know.