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Committee approves $100,281.95 for sheriff’s office to implement Priority Dispatch EMD system; one no vote
Summary
The Law and Judiciary Committee approved a joint resolution authorizing purchase of a Priority Dispatch Corporation back‑end database and Emergency Medical Dispatch implementation for the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The ETSB will contribute $74,000; the sheriff’s office portion is about $25,000. Member Peterson voted no.
On Sept. 2 the Law and Judiciary Committee approved a joint resolution authorizing $100,281.95 for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to implement Priority Dispatch Corporation’s emergency medical dispatch (EMD) back‑end database as a shared service hosted by the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB).
Jim Cheranick, business manager for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, introduced the request and Charice Nichols, 9‑1‑1 director for the sheriff’s office, said the purchase will allow the office to provide emergency medical dispatch protocols directly rather than transferring those calls. “We are currently on a waiver through the state because we did not provide those services,” Nichols told the committee, adding that the office does not know how long the waiver will remain in place.
Committee members discussed consolidation and redundancy. Members noted that several ETSB agencies already use Priority Dispatch and that if the sheriff’s office were a member of the county consolidated PSAP (LACECOM), the service would be provided through that channel rather than paid separately. The ETSB is contributing $74,000 toward the purchase; the sheriff’s office portion for the first year is just over $25,000, with annual maintenance and QA to continue for five years, the sheriff’s staff said.
Members asked how calls are handled currently. Nichols said calls that require EMD are transferred to the responsible fire department agency while the office remains on a state waiver. Staff also said a PSAP backup exists in Lake Zurich and that the waiver has been in place at least three years.
After discussion, the committee moved and seconded the resolution (motion by Member Danford, second by Member Kyle on the record) and approved it by voice vote. The motion carried with one recorded no vote by Member Peterson. Committee members who spoke urged consideration of consolidation and recommended discussing long‑term PSAP strategy during the next budget cycle.
The appropriation will pay for software and implementation to bring the sheriff’s dispatch into compliance with the statewide EMD certification expectation should the state end the waiver or in the event the sheriff’s office must take backup calls for neighboring PSAPs.
