CUMBERLAND — U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy yesterday delivered a $188,000 check to town officials to upgrade the Police Department communications system through the purchase of new computers and radio systems for police officers and dispatchers.

Police Chief John R. Desmarais said that the department expects to invest the money in a system that transfers signals via microwave rather than phone lines. The system, which will be the first of its kind in the state, will allow the department to coordinate police, fire and rescue personnel even in inclement weather, when communication is often hindered under the current system, he said.

“Our communication will be enhanced in such a way that we will not have to rely on cell phone towers. It will be more consistent, dependable and reliable,” Desmarais said.

Mayor Daniel J. McKee said that the federal money comes at a “difficult time for the state,” when communities need to look beyond their tax base for revenue and more toward outside sources.

Kennedy said that the money, a federal appropriation, was secured as a result of his growing influence on the House Appropriations Committee, which he characterized as “the most powerful committee in Congress.”

Kennedy is serving his seventh year on the committee, which has authority over all of the federal government’s discretionary spending. He is a member of the Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on the Departments of Science, State, Justice and Commerce.

Kennedy said that his position places him second in line for chair of the committee, and allows him to gain committee approval for “earmarks far in excess of what other [members] can provide for their states.”

Congressional Research Service, the public policy research arm of Congress, defines earmarks broadly as “provisions associated with legislation that specify certain congressional spending priorities or in revenue bills that apply to a very limited number of individuals or entities.”

The money announced yesterday was not the first windfall Kennedy has brought to the department. In 2004, he delivered a $600,000 appropriation to renovate the dispatch center at police headquarters.

“It is a great seat of responsibility and authority,” Kennedy said. “It is not ordinary that members of Congress can take these dollars and bring them to their communities.”