The Nixon budget calls for cancelling the $81 million dollars needed to install a state-wide radio communication system.

A Columbia fire department member experienced the down side of the old system.

"When we were deployed to Clarksville, for the Mississippi River flooding, there were definitely communications issues with being able to talk between agencies," Terry Cassil said.

The current system does not allow for reliable state-wide communication.

"Now all departments have seperate radio systems, they don't talk to each other, so any interdepartmental communication has to occur either face to face or through telephone calls," Jefferson Police Department member Doug Keeney said.

This means resucers have no way of contacting far away emergency centers for help.