In a special meeting of the FirstNet board of directors on Monday, the majority of which was closed to the public by majority vote of the board, the first General Manager of FirstNet was selected, and a resolution was passed to request another $1 million for outreach.
The FirstNet General Manager's identity has been of interest to the Public Safety community for some time, as this individual is expected to help steer the direction of not only the planning process for the NPSBN, but also the operational doctrines and selection of personnel for this monumental agency. Although the selection is complete by way of resolution, it seems we still have some waiting and wondering to do before the selected candidate's name is announced.
Many critics have claimed that FirstNet has been putting the cart before the horse, developing network architecture and budgets before consulting with states and/or the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC). These concerns were furthermore evident in the issues discussed in the recent Congressional oversight hearing.
The other two resolutions concerned the finances of the organization. Resolution 23 is a standard administrative mechanism to allow FirstNet to submit 2013 and 2014 budget requests to the Department of Commerce and the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval. Many in the Public Safety community took note of Resolution 22, in which the Board authorizes an additional $1 million of funding for implementation of FirstNet's outreach plan and user advocacy efforts. This is surprising and frustrating to many Public Safety professionals who understand the delicate nature of FirstNet funding. The lack of transparency with regard to the FirstNet organization, including its financial planning, has been an overarching problem from the very first meeting of the board. There are missing pieces to what is being presented to the public, specifically what activities will the funds be used for? Also, since this is "additional" funding, to what budget or figures is this $1,000,000 being added? In other words, we can see the request for additional funding, however the actual budget is still shrowded in secrecy.
Outreach efforts to date have consisted of board members traveling to a handful of agency facilities and attending conferences and trade shows to perpetuate the same general statements being made, and give updates on what is already being done by the board. This is contrary to the spirit of the law, which seems to intend state, local, tribal, rural, and Public Safety involvement throughout the process.
Based on what we have seen, federal offfices such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security are unlikely to push back against the forward motion of FirstNet, as everyone understands the urgency for this organization to move forward. At some point the Public Safety community will have to ask itself, how much ambiguity is acceptable, and when will be the time to rally together and demand transparency, even when the highest levels of the federal government remain tolerant?
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