Vermont task force completes dense 1,000‑page inventory, readies system‑planning report and public review

The Public Safety Communications Task Force told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Wednesday that it is finalizing a more-than-1,000-page inventory of Vermont dispatch centers and will publish a separate system‑planning report for public comment next month.

Barbara Neal, executive director of the Enhanced 911 Board, told the committee the inventory and assessment — which includes hardware, software, staffing, coverage gaps and a cybersecurity appendix — is technically dense and will require redactions before broader distribution. "The inventory report is over a 1000 pages and it's extremely technical and extremely dense," Neal said. "There are parts of the inventory and assessment report that will have to be redacted because they are sensitive." Jennifer Morrison, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, also participated in the briefing.

The work stems from Act 78 (2023), which created the Public Safety Communications Task Force and charged it with planning a reliable, secure and interoperable statewide public‑safety communications system. Neal told senators the task force has met regularly since late June 2023 and has engaged consultants for project management and system planning.

Why it matters: The inventory will catalog the current dispatch landscape in…