Commissioners give tentative OK for new $1.4M 911 system
The Richland County Commissioners have given tentative approval to purchase a new $1.4 million computer-aided dispatch system for the county’s 911 operation that will provide a more seamless data input and allow easier access to information stored in the system.
The board was given a PowerPoint presentation by representatives of Tyler Technologies, headquartered in Plano, Texas, during its meeting Thursday with Sheriff Steve Sheldon and his administration on hand.
Company Midwest sales representative Tom Miller said the program allows a variety of call information to be inputted into the system and retrieved by participating safety service agencies in a different ways, including laptop computers, tablets and cell phones. It also includes mapping tools so that screen information seen by dispatchers and first responders can include things such as unit position, road closures, missing person reports, vicious dog alerts and even crime statistics.
“Our configurability is much better than other vendors,” Miller said. “The way we integrate the map is much better than what some of our competitors are doing and when it comes to multi-jurisdictional response I think we’re the best vendor when it comes to countywide police, fire and EMS multiple agencies.”
Each agency can customize screen information
Miller told the board that each agency has the ability to control the screens to show what is important to them. The system also compiles all information that comes in and “populates” it into a report that can be accessed and used by any agency that is involved.
“It’s all about keeping that deputy in the field efficient so we’re taking all that information that came from a 911 call and populating it in a report,” Miller said. “We’re eliminating redundant entry.”
Local agencies involved with the current dispatch system include the Sheriff’s office, Bellville and Butler Police departments and 12 fire departments. The new system also would include the county Dog Warden’s office, which uses a computerized system for impounding and tracking of animals housed at their facility but has no computerized records systems and no ability to be dispatched through computer-assisted dispatch to mobile computer.Officials also are discussing the possibly of including the City of Mansfield with city officials.
Sheriff’s department administrative Captain Jim Sweat, who oversees Richland County’s 911 operation, said in a written project overview that was presented to the commissioners that the current 911 supplier has been purchased twice since the last upgrade in 2014. That has greatly diminished and/or eliminated system support and ability to add interfaces with third party applications, resulting in system downtime and loss of essential systems.
Current system reaching 'critical precipice'
Sweat said that while current systems are quickly approaching a “critical precipice,” the sheriff’s office and county IT will be able to reasonably maintain the current systems for the next year or two while a new system is put in place.
The proposed cost for system hardware and software is $1.2 million with recurring annual licensing fees of $58,885 and a $94,179 Tyler software maintenance fee. Commissioners asked county business manager Andrew Keller to research how they can use some of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act fund allocation to pay for the project before they make a final decision.
In other business, commissioners gave the county engineer’s office and the Richland County Soil and Water Conservation District permission to put up 32 signs along county rights of way to designate where the continental divide crosses county roads.
Soil and Water District administrator Erica Thomas said her agency received a $3,500 grant from the Mohican Watershed Conservancy District to print the signs as part of an educational effort.
“Richland County sits at the top of the watershed so everything we do in this county that goes into the water either ends up in Lake Erie or the Gulf of Mexico so it’s really important to think about what we’re doing here is going to impact people down the road,” Thomas said.
Eight watersheds in Richland County
Thomas said many people don’t know that there are eight watersheds in the county — three of them going north and five going south. She noted that her agency web site has a link that shows where people can drive the Continental Divide and see all the sights.
County Engineer Adam Gove said commissioners needed to approve placing the signs because the Ohio Department of Transportation has restrictions on road signs and the identifying signs are not standard road markers.
Commissioners also spent time reviewing more proposed 2023 general fund department budgets including the Auditor, Human Resources, Probate and general division Common Pleas Court along with court security and IT. The board was able to reach a balanced budget by trimming $50,000 from the indigent defense fund after learning the county has received its end-of-the-year reimbursement from the state and will have an end-of-the-year balance.Commissioners plan to take final action on the 2023 budget at their regular meeting on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Commissioners give tentative OK to $1.4M computer-assisted dispatch
