Committee approves resolution to refresh county’s 9‑1‑1 hardware; vendor selected after RFP

The McHenry County Law and Government Committee voted Sept. 30 to approve a resolution to refresh the county’s next‑generation 9‑1‑1 hardware and software.

Randy Santina, assistant director with McHenry County ETSD, told the committee the county implemented a new 9‑1‑1 system in 2019 and now needs a hardware refresh. An RFP issued in June attracted six responses; staff and public‑safety telecommunicators evaluated proposals and selected Intrado as the preferred vendor.

County materials presented at the meeting list a ‘‘not to exceed’’ amount in the resolution; the transcripted audio of the meeting renders the figure unclearly. Santina said the upgrade is funded from the surcharge fund established for emergency communications and that the county budgeted for the refresh in the current fiscal year.

Why it matters: county 9‑1‑1 systems require regular hardware updates to remain interoperable and to support new features. County staff said the upgraded system will add functions not currently available, including enhanced recording features and automated language translation for text‑to‑9‑1‑1 traffic.

The committee approved the resolution by roll call vote.

"We selected a vendor rather, and that vendor is Intrado," Santina said during the presentation. He described new functionality such as enhanced recording and two‑way translation for text‑to‑9‑1‑1.

The county indicated the purchase will be paid from the communications surcharge fund that supports emergency telecommunication services.