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Centre County to seek outside review of 9‑1‑1 operations and phone system under $45,500 contract
Summary
The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted to add to the Nov. 13 consent agenda a $45,500 contract with Mission Critical Partners to review 9‑1‑1 staffing and the county’s administrative phone system.
The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted to add to the Nov. 13 consent agenda a proposed $45,500 contract with Mission Critical Partners to conduct a workforce and telephone‑line assessment for the county’s 9‑1‑1 center.
Staff member Norma introduced the contract, saying Mission Critical would “do a review of the extra abilities added over time to the 9‑1‑1 center staff and determine what fits or does not fit within the primary mission answering 9‑1‑1 calls and dispatching emergency services in the shortest amount of time.” Norma said the vendor will also perform “a telephone line assessment, reviewing current administrative telephone lines and determine the options for replacing an outdated admin phone system.” The contract term presented runs from Dec. 1, 2025, to Nov. 30, 2026, with a total not to exceed $45,500.
Commissioners discussed staffing pressures and call volumes. One commissioner noted that “Centre County and a lot of other counties throughout the Commonwealth, are having difficulty both staffing 9‑1‑1, and responding to citizens' needs,” and said the county has recently seen incidents generating hundreds of phone calls in a short period. Norma and commissioners also discussed nonemergency call volume and possible technological options; in the meeting staff said AI has “grown a lot of traction in the last 2 years for nonemergency stuff,” which could offer future options to offload nonurgent calls.
Commissioner Concepcioni responded that the proposal “sounds like a good idea,” and Commissioner Dersham, who said he serves on the statewide 9‑1‑1 advisory board committee, supported moving the item forward. A motion to add the Mission Critical Partners proposal to the Nov. 13 consent agenda was made, seconded and carried by voice vote.
The action at the Nov. 5 meeting was to place the contract on the Nov. 13 consent agenda; no final contract approval or vote on the $45,500 contract amount occurred at this meeting.
