by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 5, 2021 | Comm Center News
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Emergency dispatch managers and area firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical officials can start planning the future of emergency communication in Jasper County after Tuesday’s election, which saw a resounding vote in favor of a sales tax increase.
Voters approved an increase in the sales tax that supports the Jasper County 911 dispatch system from one-tenth of a percent to one-quarter of a percent by a margin of almost 3-to-1.
The vote was 2,921 “yes” votes and 1,110 “no” votes…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
Across the nation, there is a 911 dispatcher shortage. Our local call centers are no exception.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Florida — Across the nation, 911 call centers are dealing with staffing shortages.
According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), 911 dispatch departments are seeing a 15 to 20 percent rate of staff turnover.
It’s an issue seen at local departments just the same. In Pasco County, the EMA director said they’re currently hiring for 15 dispatchers. To make matters worse, the number of applicants has dramatically dropped…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Communications, which fields 911 and non-emergency calls in the city, disciplined three employees in connection with the leaking of information that falsely implicated Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in a March 3 hit-and-run crash.
BOEC says it concluded its investigation into the leaks less than a week ago—on July 29. (BOEC’s investigation is separate from the Portland Police Bureau’s internal affairs investigation into the matter, which is still ongoing.)
All told, BOEC disciplined three employees in connection with the investigation: one on April 17, another on July 14 and a third on July 29. “Our investigation found there was no external leak that came from BOEC,” says bureau spokesman Dan Douthit…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
I’m combining two recent announcements on state funds allocated for Southborough. Funding is related to water infrastructure and equipment for public safety departments.
Last week, Representative Carolyn Dykema’s office shared news on the approved state budget for FY22. In addition to touting statewide budget priorities, the release itemized appropriations secured for towns in her district. For Southborough those were $25,000 for water infrastructure improvements and another $25,000 for equipment for the Southborough Fire Department.
This week, Community Advocate reported that the Southborough Police Department secured a state grant for two needed portable radios…
by AllThingsECC.com | Aug 4, 2021 | Comm Center News
Martha’s Vineyard is facing another slew of accidental 911 calls this summer season. With the population swell the Island experiences during the summer, the Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC) is fielding more calls, creating struggles for the Island’s police departments, Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee told the Times.
According to the numbers McNamee provided, the issue puts a particular strain on the down-Island departments of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Tisbury. McNamee said July is usually the worst for accidental 911 calls. Edgartown and Oak Bluffs experience an especially big number of calls compared to the others. The total number of 911 calls in July were 270 for Edgartown, 246 for Oak Bluffs, 117 for Tisbury, 55 for West Tisbury, 58 for Chilmark, and 22 for Aquinnah…
by ECC Editor | Aug 4, 2021 | Articles, Comm Center News
Federal funding to accelerate deployment of IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) technology is not included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill introduced in the U.S. Senate, according to the text of the massive $1.2 trillion spending package that was released yesterday.
Many in the public-safety community have been anticipating the language in the infrastructure bill, in hopes that it would include funding to implement NG911 in public-safety answering points (PSAPs) across the country. In March, a Democrat-led U.S. House infrastructure proposal called for $15 billion for NG911, but none of the subsequent infrastructure proposals—from Republicans, the White House or this latest bipartisan Senate bill—has included any mention of NG911 funding… READ MORE
