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Alamance commissioners approve interlocal agreement with Burlington for shared 9-1-1 CAD system
Summary
The board unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Burlington to implement a shared Hexagon 9-1-1 computer-aided dispatch system, aiming to replace the county's two-decade-old CAD and improve interoperability. Burlington has secured federal aid and the project timeline is about 24–30 months.
The Alamance County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Burlington to implement a shared Hexagon 9-1-1 computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system.
Alex Walker, who presented the plan, told commissioners the county’s current CAD is about 20 years old and nearing the vendor’s end-of-life for support. Walker said the joint system replaces the separate dispatch platforms used by the county and Burlington and was chosen after a needs assessment and procurement process. "Our current 9-1-1 CAD computer aided dispatch system is outdated near the end of its life, 20 years," Walker said.
Under the agreement, Alamance County will serve as the primary public-safety answering point (PSAP) and Burlington will be a secondary PSAP. Hardware and software costs will be allocated proportionally between the county and Burlington based on the average annual calls dispatched over the past three fiscal years, Walker said. Burlington obtained approximately $963,000 in federal funding toward the project; additional federal grants are being pursued.
County staff estimated the implementation timeline at roughly 24–30 months from contract signature to full deployment and said the shared system should improve data sharing, reduce duplication of servers and mapping datasets, and provide modern capabilities such as enhanced mobile and mapping features.
The board voted to approve the interlocal agreement during the same meeting. A motion to approve was seconded and commissioners signaled unanimous assent by voice vote.
Why it matters: Modernizing CAD is intended to improve dispatcher efficiency and interoperability among county and municipal public-safety agencies, and it is a prerequisite for later radio- and region-level integration discussions. Burlington's federal grant reduces the county's share of upfront costs.
Ending: County staff said they will return with contract details and next steps for vendor agreement and implementation milestones.
