Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon outlines radio upgrade timeline, funding shortfall and staffing challenges

Tim Downey, director of Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, briefed the Medford City Council on the center’s role, staffing and a multi-year radio upgrade project, saying the countywide public safety communications system should be operational in the first half of next year.

Downey said Jackson County and its 13 municipalities — plus Crater Lake National Park — now rely on a consolidated 9-1-1 system and radio footprint that touches multiple counties. “When I say that, that local 9-1-1 center is your center. You contribute approximately 37 percent of the user fees for the operation of the center,” Downey said.

The nut graf: The presentation summarized three near-term issues for Medford and the region — completion of a federally and locally backed radio infrastructure upgrade, persistent staffing shortfalls at the dispatch center, and an exploration of longer-term funding options including a possible service district.

Downey described the radio project’s history: a 2019 voter-approved bond intended to build a countywide system for roughly $28 million, then a single bid for $43.6 million that left the program “underwater.” Through state and federal grants, partner contributions and savings, the agency now expects the finished system to cost roughly $38 million and be “up and running likely in the first, if not second, quarter of next year.” He described the new system as “a modern P25 compliant digital trunked simulcast 700/VHF radio system” designed to improve coverage in both rural and urban settings.

He listed the recent and pledged funding sources: about $2.5 million from the Oregon legislature, an Oregon federal grant (noted in the meeting as roughly $2.5 million in related radio equipment grants), partnerships with Oregon Department of Transportation and other state agencies that reduced site costs, and agency contributions and savings. Downey said ongoing supply-chain and construction delays pushed the schedule and increased costs, but added, “we expect that, when we're done in less than a year, that we're gonna be probably knocking on the door of about $38,000,000 as opposed to almost $44,000,000.”

On staffing and operations, Downey said ECSO answered or initiated roughly 373,000 calls last year — about 309 9-1-1 calls per day — and that the agency now operates with about 52 full-time equivalents, including 37 dispatch positions. He told the council the center met statewide performance benchmarks and is accredited, but said hiring remains a challenge because the work is high-tech and 24/7: “They work with 10 computer screens, 3 mice, 2 foot pedals and we answer, we have 13 9-1-1 lines,” he said.

Downey also described trials of next-generation 9-1-1 technology including caller video streaming and multi-source incident inputs such as Apple Watch crash notifications, OnStar, and automated alerts. He said the center ran a trial that allowed callers to stream video to dispatchers to help size up rural fires.

On the question of stable long-term funding, Downey said he and his board have begun discussing a service-district model that would require voter approval: “While we're not there, it would require a vote of the people. It's something that is on the horizon.” He said the agency is in early planning and intends a study session for the ECSO board to examine the option.

Councilors asked about cost components, partnerships and whether Medford’s contributions were typical; Downey said Medford accounts for roughly 37 percent of user fees and confirmed the center’s budget for the year is about $10.4 million, with approximately 23 percent coming from the state 9-1-1 tax on telephone lines (the meeting noted the $1.25-per-line fee). He also said the agency is starting to hire an in-house radio technician to reduce future vendor costs.

Ending: Downey closed by inviting council members to visit the center and said staff would continue to brief Medford as funding and schedules firm up. The agency indicated it will return with more detailed budget and timeline materials as legislative and federal grant outcomes are determined.