The FirstNet board’s Finance Committee approved fiscal year...

The FirstNet board’s Finance Committee approved fiscal year 2014 guidelines for expenditures for the rest of the year. Under the guidelines, FirstNet management is allowed to spend up to $33 million on network development, $16.1 million on outreach and state consultation, $16.1 million “to further develop FirstNet’s operating infrastructure, including facilities and support and contract staff,” and $6.9 million on business strategy development, said a news release Friday. “Today we are funding the essential steps for the rest of this fiscal year to move forward on our program roadmap and business planning for building a nationwide, interoperable, public safety communications network,” said FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn.