Mills County prepares to transition jail dispatch to San Saba dispatch center

MILLS COUNTY, Texas — County officials said Monday that San Saba County dispatch will soon begin operating Mills County’s jail dispatch as part of a temporary arrangement to restore full 911 and dispatch services.

County leaders described a multiagency effort to relocate equipment and configure radio and data connections. The county judge and sheriff said San Saba staff moved routers, consoles and lines and that the contractor had uploaded encryption keys and completed much of the required technical work.

County staff said most hardware and 911 lines have been transferred and that San Saba’s dispatchers will operate from their own consoles; Mills County will provide a secondary console at the courthouse. The county’s goal is to have San Saba fully operating Mills County dispatch services by Tuesday or Wednesday next week, pending completion of a few remaining technical items.

Why it matters: the change follows a recent “mercy order” and an urgent need to restore reliable dispatch services. County officials said the courthouse dispatch setup was not optimal and that moving operation to an established neighboring dispatch center will improve reliability and safety.

Details and next steps: staff reported that Motorola and other vendors had to reconfigure radios and that the county worked with the contractor to upgrade tower and encryption settings. County staff said San Saba will run its own console and that Mills County dispatch staff will coordinate as needed.

Ending: county officials thanked staff and neighboring agencies for rapid work and said they expect the transition to be completed in the coming days.