PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved a countywide final NextGen 9-1-1 plan during its regular meeting, advancing an implementation plan officials said will allow text and video to be sent to emergency dispatch centers and standardize emergency dispatch across the county.

Commissioners said the plan is intended to provide consistent 9-1-1 service across municipalities and townships in Lake County. A county official explained the plan will provide the technical capability to send video and text to call centers and allow jurisdictions that choose to consolidate dispatch to receive calls directly rather than relying on the county sheriff's dispatch as an intermediary.

Discussion at the meeting emphasized two points: (1) implementing NextGen 9-1-1 is a multi-year effort expected to take roughly three to five years, and (2) the countywide plan will require action by individual political subdivisions — the county needs a threshold (the transcript referenced 60%) of the local jurisdictions to approve the overall plan during their separate votes.

During discussion, one commissioner praised the leadership of the county committee that developed the plan and thanked fellow commissioners and police leadership for their work to clarify state requirements. Another commissioner raised concerns that the county missed an opportunity to examine consolidation options more aggressively and warned that creating many new local NextGen call centers could increase long-term costs. That commissioner noted that most 9-1-1 calls are now made from mobile phones and questioned whether the county had explored cost-versus-efficiency trade-offs thoroughly enough before finalizing the plan.

The board approved the countywide final 9-1-1 plan by roll call (Commissioner Plecnik recorded Yes; Commissioner Beveridge Aye; Commissioner Rekovich Yes).

Why it matters: NextGen 9-1-1 transitions emergency communications from voice-only systems to an IP-based platform that can carry text, images and video. Officials said standardizing service across the county aims to ensure equivalent dispatch capability regardless of municipal boundaries. Implementation timelines and local decisions about consolidation will affect county and municipal budgets and how emergency calls are routed in the future.

What’s next: Commissioners said the NextGen 9-1-1 implementation committee must meet annually (at least once) to oversee changes and that individual political subdivisions must vote on the countywide plan; county staff will continue outreach to municipalities as the multi-year implementation proceeds.