Prepaid emergency communications officials say state grant on hold; vendor-hosted 911 system under review

At a meeting of the Prepaid Emergency Communications District in Cleburne County, staff reported the district had processed approximately 26,000 calls through Nov. 30 and described delays in a state grant that would fund a return from a vendor-hosted call-taking system to a standalone system.

The district’s staff member, Miss Kirkland, told board members the district submitted an Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) application and had pursued a state loan/grant of roughly “$200 and something odd thousand” to buy standalone equipment after the vendor recommended moving away from the hosted arrangement. She said the state’s cost-recovery fund process has been paused after the state examiner raised concerns about how the state board handled grant funds, leaving the district “on hold.”

Why it matters: the district’s current…