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Sumner County emergency communications board outlines 9-1-1 surcharge impact, Caliber rollout and staffing gaps
Summary
Directors told the Sumner County board on March 10 that a proposed increase in the 9-1-1 surcharge could bring millions to state and local districts, and staff updated commissioners on Caliber software implementation, staffing vacancies and call volumes.
Sumner County officials on March 10 said a pending state change to the 9-1-1 surcharge and a planned switch to a new public-safety records system could affect local emergency communications funding and operations.
The county’s director, identified in the meeting as Mike, told the board that the state Telecommunications Board (TCB) recommended raising the 9-1-1 base surcharge from $1.50 to $1.86. He said the measure was scheduled to go before the state Senate’s finance and ways-and-means committee the next day and that several directors planned to travel to Nashville to support the change. He said the state estimate of revenue at the suggested rate would be about $38 million statewide, with roughly $28 million allocated to local districts; under that proposal, Sumner County’s share would be about $647,000 if the measure passes.
The director cautioned that the county would not see immediate full benefits: any approved change would yield a partial payment beginning in January of the following year and would take full effect beginning in July of the next year.
Why it matters: the surcharge funds statewide projects and local district consolidation efforts, and a change in the rate would shift additional money to local 9-1-1 operations and capital needs.
On technology, the director said the county is migrating to Caliber, a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and records-management system. The county now anticipates a mid-August go-live date, earlier than the original November timetable. The county has scheduled “train the trainer” and user training in May through July; staff said trainings are being held closer to go-live to reduce knowledge fade. Officials also said they are negotiating maintenance-proration timing with Central Square, the county’s current vendor, to limit overlapping maintenance fees and to retain Central Square for phone services (Softswitch) after the Caliber rollout.
Staffing and operations updates came next. The ECC director reported six current vacancies in telecommunicator positions, three new telecommunicators who began initial training last week, and one additional hire expected later in the month. Two employees were promoted to communications training officer. The county commission previously approved a resolution recognizing telecommunicators as first responders; speakers also noted related state-level activity and a national proposal, the 9-1-1 Saves Act, under federal review.
Call volume figures presented to the board showed incoming and outgoing calls remaining steady at just over 23,000 in recent months. Calls for service were about 18,000 each in January and February; staff said last year’s monthly calls-for-service ranged roughly from 17,000 to 19,000.
Meeting participants also heard a brief calendar note: the NADA conference in Long Beach, California is scheduled for June 22–26, and registration was expected to open soon.
The board did not take formal votes on the surcharge (the rate change is a state action) but recorded the update and staff’s implementation planning for Caliber and staffing.
The board’s reporting and staff remarks, and the scheduling of training and maintenance negotiations, signal near-term operational work for the county’s emergency communications center.
