by Kate Shunney
Modern methods of sharing information will be part of Morgan County’s new 911 call system in the coming months, following a decision by Morgan County Commissioners to approve a contract to implement Next Gen 911 here.
That contract, with INdigital based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will cost $63,507 and come out of the Morgan County 911 budget this year.
Commissioners voted unanimously last Wednesday, May 7 to go ahead with the upgrade after a lengthy discussion.
911 Director Marshall Younker briefed commissioners on the proposals he received in response to an RFP seeking prices for adoption of Next Generation 911 Core Services (NGCS).
“Our core technologies date back to the 1990s,” Younker said, and are based on the landline 911 system that was put in place in the late 1960s.
Next Gen 911 systems work more easily with modern cell phones and devices and their technology. Over 80% of 911 calls being received today are in some type of cellular format.
Next Gen 911, also referred to as NG911, is a digital, internet-based protocol that is not reliant on analog, copper-wire infrastructure.
Morgan County already has Text to 911 services, which means a caller can send a text message to request 911 service. That service already being in place will save the county close to $19,000, Younker said.
The price also includes a phone that 911 dispatchers can take offsite to continue to take 911 calls if the county’s emergency center has to be evacuated or is impacted by a disaster. Younker said currently the only option for the county is to re-route 911 calls to a different county if the 911 Center goes down.
County officials debated the price tag of the contract.
“I do think it’s a lot of money to spend when issues are primarily focused on duplicate road names,” said Commission President Bill Clark.
“I can see it’s a big spend, but if it saves five people, it’s worth it,” said Commissioner Joel Tuttle.
“You can always say that,” Clark responded, “but when you have 18,000 people paying the bill I have to look at it.”
“I love what we’ve done with our emergency systems but sometimes I think it’s a little much. I see the benefits, obviously,” said Clark.
Younker said there will be no disruption in service as Morgan County 911 makes the transition from traditional 911 to the Next Generation 911 service. He estimated that the transition to the new format of 911 communications would be complete for all cell phone carrier companies by the end of the year. The process will start at the end of May.
“The move to NGCS will not make changes to the way callers report things to the 911 center, they will still call 911 as they always have. The major change is how the call information is received at the center as we move from that same 1968 landline technology that was designed in a time when all calls came from a fixed location to modern IP-based delivery system,” Younker explained.
“This will include the GIS location and other location-based technologies of multiple platforms of cellular devices. Those platforms include automatic crash notification systems, smartwatches, smart alarm systems, and cell phones; each of these devices will not only be able to ‘call’ 911 but will be able to send text messages, images, and video as well,” said Younker.
He noted that because the Next Gen system is IP-based, callers’ locations will be able to be pinpointed much quicker and greater accuracy, within 10 feet rather than hundreds of feet.
“In an emergency, hundreds of feet can really matter,” said Younker.
