Commissioner Jennifer Morrison, co-chair of the Vermont Public Safety Communications Task Force, updated the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on the task force’s work under Act 78 and said the task force expects a final draft of a system-design report in early May and will hold another round of public engagement before making prioritized recommendations.

The task force was created by Act 78 (the 2023 “Big Bill”), and Morrison told the committee the Legislature earmarked $11 million in general funds for the effort, with up to $2 million allocated for the contracted design and expertise described in the law and two further $4.5 million allotments set aside for pilots and later implementation. To date, Morrison said, the effort has spent $879,668; that total includes per diem payments, contractor fees and outreach costs.

Morrison said the task force has hired Televate as project manager and trusted advisor and Mission Critical Partners to produce the system-design work required by Act 78. Mission Critical Partners visited the state’s dispatch facilities and prepared what Morrison described as a roughly 550-page inventory report and an initial system-design draft released in early March for public and stakeholder comment. Morrison said that report went through redaction and multiple drafts to protect sensitive material while releasing as much as possible for public review. "We have stayed completely agnostic in any of the discussions," Morrison said, adding the task force has not taken positions on opening, closing or consolidating PSAPs.

Morrison described the scope of the work as broad and technical. Mission Critical Partners visited 37 dispatch centers and reviewed six public-safety answering point (PSAP) organizations, she said. The system-design draft addressed operational questions such as whether dispatchers should be required to hold certifications, the need for consistent guidelines across centers, options for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems and major technology choices such as expanding the land-mobile-radio (LMR) network or exploring cellular and low-earth-orbit satellite options to address coverage dead zones. "There is a massive, potentially massive amount of money that could be expended to expand the existing land mobile radio network," Morrison said, adding that combining multiple technology modalities would raise costs and sequencing issues.

On funding, Morrison summarized the allocations described in Act 78 and the task force’s expenditures to date: a total appropriation of $11,000,000; up to $2,000,000 intended for contracted subject-matter experts and the design work; $4.5 million set aside for pilot projects; and $4.5 million for later implementation. She reported $879,668 had been spent so far, including about $5,400 in per diem payments to task force members, just under $630,000 paid so far to Mission Critical Partners (the system-design contractor), roughly $230,000 to Televate (project manager/trusted advisor), and about $14,000 for advertising and language-access services during listening sessions. Morrison said the Mission Critical Partners contract is in the low $800,000 range in total and that outstanding contract payments are expected as final deliverables arrive.

Committee members asked about technology choices and the pace of change. Representative Hooper asked whether the task force is considering newer technologies as well as existing systems. Morrison said Televate and the contracted experts will help the task force consider a broad portfolio of technologies — including low-earth-orbit satellite options — and stressed the task force’s intent to plan for durability over the next 10–15 years. She described the review approach as section-by-section so the task force can bring in additional experts where needed and then re-triage priorities statewide.

Morrison said the task force will receive a final draft from Mission Critical Partners in early May (she did not provide an exact date), will spend time reviewing it, and intends to hold additional public engagement after the final draft is issued. She also said Mission Critical Partners will provide an executive summary of the full report for readers who cannot review the entire document and agreed to forward that executive summary to the committee when available. No formal recommendations or votes were taken at this meeting.

The task force’s next substantive milestone is the expected final draft in early May, after which the task force will review sections, solicit additional expertise and public input, and begin to prioritize recommendations for the Legislature and executive branch agencies.