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Marion County moves to NextGen 911; state will reimburse first-year costs
Summary
Marion County 9-1-1 officials outlined a phased migration to Next Generation 911 services, on-site testing with carriers in mid-April and a planned contract for modern mapping and analytics; the state Department of Management Services will reimburse the countyfor first-year expenses, reducing local costs by roughly $475,000.
Michelle Sanders, Marion County 9-1-1 management director, told commissioners on April 1 that the county is preparing a phased migration from its legacy 911 system to Next Generation 911 (NextGen), which will allow dispatch centers to receive texts, images and video in addition to voice calls.
"Next generation 9-1-1 is an upgrade to our traditional 911 emergency response system that incorporates modern technology to improve the way emergency services are provided," Sanders said. She described planned on-site testing with the carrier Lumen in mid-April and a phased cutover that will run legacy and NextGen systems in parallel during transition.
The countyexpects additional costs for the migration and equipment refreshes but said the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) and the Emergency Communications Board will reimburse Marion County for the first-year implementation expenses. "DMS and the Emergency Communications Board are working together to get all 67 counties in Florida transitioned to NextGen Core services. In support of this effort, DMS and the Emergency Communications Board will reimburse Marion County for the first year expenses for this implementation, saving my department $475,000," Sanders said.
Sanders also said staff will bring a contract recommendation for new mapping and analytics software from RapidDeploy (Radius Mapping and Eclipse Analytics). County staff described Radius as a cloud-based call-taking map and Eclipse as a platform for real-time analytics and reporting that would replace the county's existing mapping and management information systems.
County officials plan a hardware refresh in fiscal year 2027 to replace aging 911 equipment; Motorola, the county's vendor, recommends replacing hardware every five to seven years. Sanders cautioned that third-party consumer maps (for example, popular online maps) are not as reliable as the county's interactive map for emergency response, explaining that the county's map uses internal departmental layers and continual updates.
Commissioners asked about third-party map corrections; Sanders said the county can submit updates to those map providers but that vendor acceptance varies. The county also emphasized improvements in interoperability, routing accuracy and redundant IP-based transport (ESInet) that underpin NextGen capabilities.
Ending: County staff will return with the RapidDeploy contract and additional implementation milestones; commissioners were told testing and phased migration will continue through spring, with state reimbursement helping cover the first-year costs.
