On Jan. 2, 2025, Carroll County officials asked the Board of Commissioners to authorize an independent assessment of the county computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and mobile data system, citing multi-year outages and data problems. The county 9-1-1 users board recommended hiring Mission Critical Partners to complete an initial assessment for $44,000 and to provide optional follow-on services if replacement of the CAD is required. Commissioners agreed to place the contract on the Jan. 7 consent agenda for formal approval.

The 9-1-1 users board said the county has experienced recurring problems for several years, with issues increasing in frequency since April 2024. The problems described to commissioners included missing remarks and call codes on CAD screens, self-changing call codes, missing medical data, timing and communication-server errors, GPS-location problems and delays in initial call processing.

"That system has been experiencing some challenges for the last 3 years," Gary Thomas, chairman of the 9-1-1 users board, told commissioners. A subcommittee formed in May 2024 included Fire Chief Chuck Barnwell, 9-1-1 Director Felicia Rowland and 9-1-1 CAD Manager Matt Klotfelter; the subcommittee reviewed attempted vendor fixes and interviewed potential consulting firms.

The subcommittee considered Caliber Public Safety, Fitch & Associates, Mission Critical Partners, Oracle and SmartCop. The board and subcommittee recommended Mission Critical Partners because the firm proposed both an independent technical assessment and the ability to manage procurement and implementation if replacement is required. The users board asked the firm to answer whether the county vendor can fix the problems, and if not, to produce functional specifications, an RFP and procurement support.

Mission Critical Partners estimated the assessment would take about 90 days. The firm quoted $44,000 for the assessment; optional phases to write specifications and an RFP would be $43,000, procurement management $39,000 and contract negotiations $115,000, bringing the total quoted cost through contract negotiation to about $137,500 if a full replacement procurement is needed. Implementation and cutover services were not quoted because the county is not at that stage.

Commissioners asked whether assessment work could become an annual check on system performance; Gary Thomas said the firm could provide ongoing periodic reviews if the board wanted that service. Several commissioners said in-house IT staff may lack the vendor-specific expertise needed to diagnose third-party system issues.

The board agreed to place authorizing language for the Mission Critical Partners assessment on the Jan. 7 consent agenda. If approved on the consent agenda, the county would fund the initial $44,000 assessment from the 9-1-1 fund balance, as recommended by the users board.

Questions about cost-sharing with other municipalities surfaced in the discussion; commissioners and 9-1-1 board members said any decision on splitting a future replacement cost would be made later and would require separate agreements.

The county will return to the commissioners with the assessment findings and a recommendation about whether to pursue a replacement CAD and the procurement steps required to do so.