Recent national events, such as the health crisis and geopolitical tensions, have caused budget reductions across the public safety community. To help state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies maintain or adjust their budgets in a time of constrained funding, SAFECOM and the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) developed Contingency Considerations When Facing Reductions in Emergency Communications Budgets fact sheet to provide a series of contingency considerations to justify investment in four mission-critical resource categories: personnel, operating costs, equipment, and software.

While these considerations are intended to “keep the lights on,” each resource category (Personnel, Operating Costs, Equipment, Software) features “nice to have” considerations in the event of additional funding.