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Many Challenges Face County 911 System Upgrades

It’s popular to give kids cell phones “in case of an emergency,” which we assume to mean if the child needs to get ahold of mom or dad quickly. But in the case of a real emergency, where 911 needs to be called, cell phones still lag behind landlines for providing information to emergency dispatch.

I was surprised to learn this, since I’d assumed that cell technology had already been well integrated with the 911 system. While the FCC (News - Alert) required enhanced 911 services be put in place when cell phones became popular, even that service is only required to trace a call to within 50-300 meters. That’s still a lot of ground to cover if someone is unable to tell the dispatcher exactly where they are.

In rural areas the situation is even worse. Scotland County in North Carolina is finishing construction on a new 911 call center that will replace a center with “Equipment shoved into close spaces, wires hanging haphazardly in corners and cramped workspaces dotted with obsolete electronics,” according to a City Council presentation. Sherri Bush of L.R. Kimball and Associates, the firm advising on the design of the new center said “When you dial 911, you better be able to tell them where you’re at because they can’t tell. That’s ridiculous in this day and age because the technology exists and I can dial 911 from my cell phone and they should be able to say (where I am).”

The small North Carolina county, home to 36,000 residents, is building the new center thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the state 911 Board, as well as money from the Department of Homeland Security. The grant requires an intergovernmental agreement between city/county agencies outlining administrative and operational responsibilities for the center and, as a further step, the county manager has recommended an advisory board for the center. His recommendations for the board include the police and fire chiefs, city and county managers and the EMS director.

Already the suggestion is being met with bureaucratic haggling, as one City Councilman argues for a Council member on the board since their names were on the grant application. The County Manager says that the Council, as well as County Commissioners, will be represented by the presence of the city and county managers.

It’s a little difficult to understand putting one more layer of red tape over an operation as important as the 911 dispatch center – unless you’ve ever worked in a multi-agency environment. Emergency services and 911 dispatches are independently operated, but problems with staffing or funding with one can impact another. This year a Detroit family lost a daughter when the bankrupt city didn’t have enough police staff to answer the 911 call about her stabbing. Though the required agreement will spell out responsibilities, when issues arise someone has to have final say. A unified board may quickly catch redundancies or generate ideas for cooperative time- and money-saving systems.

 Boards also serve to keep leaders in check. Whoever is chosen as manager of that center is going to be a central touchpoint for fire, police and EMS, not to mention the public. An advisory board gives participating organizations a place to hash out their needs and argue over the agreement without ripping the call center’s manager to pieces. The board could be a temporary addition, at least until the terms of the grant are met, which will help get the new 911 service start off on the right foot.


Edited by Rory J. Thompson