Kirksville 911 goes live on NextGen; CAD replacement evaluated for 2026 budget

Lucas Smith, director of the Kirksville 9-1-1 center, told the City Council study session the center went live with Next Generation 9-1-1 routing and that staff are evaluating a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system to integrate with NextGen.

Smith said, “Tuesday, we went live with it. It is functioning,” describing a cloud-based system that can automatically reroute calls to partner counties when the local center is overloaded. He said the center is still working to enable native text-to-911 and to ensure interoperability with partner agencies.

Why it matters: NextGen signaling moves emergency calls off legacy copper lines, shortens failover time and can improve continuity during facility outages. Smith said the NextGen cutover means the center can immediately reroute calls without a time-consuming arrangement with a phone vendor.

Smith also said the center’s current CAD vendor (Omigo) is not fully NextGen-compliant in its present configuration and that staff have been exploring replacement CAD vendors; he said a full replacement could range from a lower-cost option in the low hundreds of thousands to much larger systems in the millions and that partner agencies must agree to share costs because the city covers roughly 52 percent of 9-1-1 costs.

Discussion only/directions/formal action: the council received the report; no procurement decision was made. Smith said staff will continue working with the current vendor while assessing replacement options and advised partner agencies that their boards will need to consider funding for a new CAD if chosen.

Ending: Smith said the NextGen rollout is complete and functional; the CAD evaluation and potential procurement will continue through budget planning and with partner input.