City staff describe 'jurisdiction island' after 2023 resolution; urge improved notification to GIS and 911
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Summary
Staff told the council that a February 2023 resolution tied to Range 231 at 3250 Wetumpka Highway created a mapping and response gap; Montgomery Police Department was not notified promptly and staff have since added a response polygon to MPD District 5 and recommended procedure changes to avoid future gaps.
City staff briefed the Montgomery City Council on gaps that arose when a February 2023 resolution (Resolution 252023) affected emergency response mapping for a business at Range 231, 3250 Wetumpka Highway.
Robert Smith, who led the presentation with GIS manager Miss Bowen, said the resolution directed city public-safety response for that business but the resolution did not get routed to the city’s GIS or 911 dispatch (CAD) teams. Smith said Montgomery Police Department (MPD) staff also were not aware of the resolution until November 2024. That delayed updates to the city’s CAD mapping and created what staff called a “jurisdiction island” where the city had a duty to respond but the mapping and dispatch records did not reflect that.
Smith said the city and GIS team remedied the immediate problem by creating a polygon around the business’s activity—using a 150-foot buffer around each building involved in the enterprise and extending coverage to nearby recreational courts—then designating the area as part of MPD District 5 response territory. Smith said that polygon is now in the CAD system and that MPD is the designated responder for that specific location; he emphasized that the designation applies only to the area defined by the boundary.
Staff also described non-emergency complaint patterns. They told the council many citizen calls reporting parking problems did not trigger a 911 dispatch because the issues were civil matters or legal parking and therefore did not meet the threshold for emergency response.
City staff urged a formal notification process so that resolutions or council actions that change responder responsibilities are communicated promptly to GIS, 911 dispatch and MPD. Some council members suggested adding a 90-day waiting period before adopting similar resolutions that assign city response in areas outside routine jurisdiction to avoid unintended consequences.
The transcript excerpt records explanation and Q&A; no formal vote or ordinance adoption is shown in the provided portion.