Mission Critical Partners (MCP) presented a system assessment July 31 that concluded Carroll County's SSI/I3 Verticals computer-aided dispatch (CAD), mobile data and records-management system (RMS) has recurring performance and vendor-support failures and will not meet forthcoming NextGen 9-1-1 requirements without replacement. MCP recommended stabilizing the current environment and conducting a request-for-proposal (RFP) to procure a modern CAD/MDS solution; the county's user board voiced strong support for the assessment.

MCP project lead Troy Sherwin summarized user reports of daily server issues, required daily resets, system latency that causes CAD to lock up during high call volume, broken mobile-to-RMS integration, slow mobile refresh times (30'45 seconds reported), NCIC/GCIC query timeouts, inaccurate timestamps, and unreliable mapping/AVL. MCP reported the vendor's fixes were repeatedly overwritten by later updates and that vendor support was difficult to reach and often ineffective. Based on stakeholder feedback, MCP recommended Option 2: stabilize the current system while developing an RFP and then procure and implement a new system. MCP estimated first-year implementation costs for CAD/mobile could range roughly from $809,000 to $2.5 million and for RMS from about $408,000 to $1.1 million; 10-year support/maintenance projections were also provided.

Why it matters: participants said the failures create operational and officer-safety risks and could prevent compliance with the state's NextGen 9-1-1 geospatial/data transfer protocols. If the county remains on a system that cannot transfer call data and attendant records with a call in NextGen 9-1-1, responders may lack critical information when calls move between jurisdictions.

Key details and concerns: Felicia, the county's 9-1-1 director, described frontline mitigations (paper backups at dispatcher consoles) and explained how AVL and NCIC outages leave officers without timely location or histories. She warned that changes at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) have increased GCIC/NCIC instability in the region, compounding vendor integration problems. MCP emphasized that even a working SSI installation would not meet modern industry standards. The user board stated the University of West Georgia had been used as a beta site for vendor upgrades that sometimes worked there but then failed on the county system.

Options and next steps: MCP presented two primary options: (1) renegotiate and upgrade the existing SSI contract and install tools (transaction loggers) to aid troubleshooting; or (2) stabilize the SSI system and immediately begin an RFP for a replacement, a process MCP estimated could take 18'14 months to implement and would require end-user training. MCP recommended option 2 based on stakeholder feedback and vendor history. MCP also provided rough consulting cost estimates for phases of RFP development, procurement and contract negotiation (phase 2: about $46,000; phase 3: about $42,000; contract negotiations optional at ~$12,500). MCP offered to support procurement and contract work.

Board process: commissioners asked about hardware, coverage and whether day-one performance could be achieved; MCP said vendors must certify hardware and that some physical improvements may be required. The board directed staff to review the report; county staff and the user board will work with finance to identify funding, and the item will return for discussion at an upcoming meeting (staff indicated September for more detailed follow-up).