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Wickliffe police warn NextGen 911 shift could raise local dispatch costs
Summary
Police Chief Bush told the Wickliffe City Council on June 9 that a countywide NextGen 911 change would route cell-phone calls directly to municipalities, shift related state funding to cities, and could require hiring more dispatchers — a cost the city says the modest expected funding will not cover.
WICKLIFFE, Ohio — Police Chief Bush told the Wickliffe City Council on June 9 that a planned NextGen 911 upgrade for Lake County would route cell-phone 911 calls directly to the city’s dispatch center and require a minimum of two on-duty dispatchers, a change that the chief said will increase local personnel and overtime costs.
The change could shift state funding from Lake County to Wickliffe, Bush said, but he warned the amount expected for Wickliffe — roughly $30,000 to $35,000 annually — would not cover the additional staffing costs. “It’s gonna cost the city,” he said, adding municipalities will get the money when the calls are routed to them rather than through the county.
The topic matters because the council may be asked to adopt a resolution supporting the NextGen plan at a future meeting; Chief Bush told council members that legislation and a resolution would be presented to the council at the next meeting and that the city is already partly prepared for the technical transition.
Chief Bush described the current process: Lake County dispatchers now answer cell-phone 911 calls, determine caller location and then transfer important calls to local municipal dispatch centers. Under NextGen 911, “they’ll go straight to Wickliffe,” Bush said, and the city will “be taking all those” calls directly. He said Wickliffe has purchased upgraded equipment and is “one step ahead” of most Lake County dispatch centers but stressed the personnel implications: if the county requires a two‑dispatcher minimum at all times, the city will need to hire and train additional staff and pay more overtime.
Councilwoman Koski asked whether the additional state funding would cover the costs; Bush replied, “No. I don’t want to say minimal, but it’ll be between 30 and $35,000 a year.” He said Lake County currently receives about $500,000 per year from the state for 911 services, which would decrease when municipal centers begin answering cell-phone calls directly.
Council members pressed procedural and authority questions, including which body mandates the two-dispatcher minimum. Bush said a committee created by the state enacted the plan and that Lake County’s committee is recommending the requirement; he also noted the state itself previously considered one dispatcher sufficient. He said municipalities would still need to secure staffing solutions, including part-time hires, but cautioned those shifts may be difficult to staff for overnight hours.
Bush said other area chiefs have opposed the requirement; he and other chiefs who studied Erie County’s experience reported that conversion to NextGen ran smoothly there and did not produce a large increase in call volume. He also noted the plan requires countywide approval by population: “When you guys vote on this, it has to pass by 60% of population for this to go into effect,” he said.
Discussion only: the council received the briefing and did not vote on a policy change at the June 9 meeting. Chief Bush said a resolution supporting the committee’s plan will be presented as legislation at an upcoming meeting; no formal council action on NextGen occurred that night.
