by ECC Editor | May 15, 2021 | Comm Center News
It’s been more than six months since Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) raised a red flag over a lack of 911 fee audits from the Maryland Comptroller’s office — but she says she’s yet to receive any data.
Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) had paused audits due to the pandemic, but agreed to resume 911 fee audits after Kagan warned of a lack of oversight last November. Although those audits have since resumed, Kagan said in a Thursday letter to Franchot that the state’s Next Generation 911 Commission hasn’t received any information from the comptroller’s office… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | May 15, 2021 | Comm Center News
Texas’ first responders are getting
a major boost in their wireless communications thanks to the FirstNet®
network expansion currently underway by AT&T*.
We’ve added new, purpose-built cell sites and other network
enhancements across the state. Val Verde, Matagorda, Maverick and Williamson
counties now have newly launched purpose-built FirstNet cell sites. These new
sites are giving first responders on FirstNet – America’s public safety network
– access to always-on, 24-hours-a-day priority and preemption across
voice and data…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 15, 2021 | Comm Center News
BURLINGTON – Town Meeting passed a $1,240,000 warrant article that will upgrade Burlington’s public safety communications equipment.
During night two of Town Meeting this past Wednesday evening, the body took action on possibly the most important and impactful financial article on the warrant.
This item will upgrade and replace the existing communications infrastructure at various town sites, dispatch consoles and subscriber units consisting of mobile and portable (handheld) radios with the latest available radio technology…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 15, 2021 | Comm Center News
Rural residents have reported difficulties summoning Alaska State Troopers in emergencies, and local officials no longer want to be caught in the middle. Now, the police department’s long-standing practice of fielding 911 calls from outside city limits is ending.
Aleknagik is a small community 20 miles up the road from Bristol Bay’s western hub of Dillingham. It has around 200 residents, but no local police.
So, for years, when someone in Aleknagik called 911, the person on the other end of the line couldn’t offer direct help.
That was dangerous, said Kay Andrews, Aleknagik’s city administrator…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 15, 2021 | Comm Center News
May 15—OLYMPIA — The city of Spokane and the county-led Spokane Regional Emergency Communications agency now have until next July to reach an agreement on how to form one emergency communications agency and how to equitably use a local emergency communications tax, after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law this week.
The bill, sponsored by Spokane Democratic Rep. Marcus Riccelli, specifically addresses a long standoff between the city and the county, forcing them to either reach an agreement or go to court to equitably allocate revenue from a local emergency communication sales and use tax…
by AllThingsECC.com | May 14, 2021 | Comm Center News
WINCHESTER — A company has been selected to replace Frederick County’s outdated public safety radio system.
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 Wednesday night to choose Texas-based EF Johnson and authorized the county administrator to execute a contract with the company not to exceed $20,007,471 for the system’s initial cost. An additional $8.9 million is expected to be spent on the radio system over the next 20 years.
More than two years ago, Pennsylvania-based Mission Critical Partners assessed the county’s existing public safety radio system and identified numerous problems with it, including limited capacity, no frequencies transmitted countywide and a limited number of operational channels in the event primary dispatch channels are overloaded. Some parts of the system were installed more than 20 years ago…
