Ashland County reports PSAP consolidation, Motorola CAD migration and GIS data releases

Jenna, chair of the Ashland County Land Information Committee, outlined major systems work the office completed and continues to maintain. "We went live with the joint PSAP in July," she said, adding that the Motorola CAD system also went live the same day and brought a steep learning curve for staff and dispatchers.

Jenna said staff have been working with Bayfield County and vendors to align spatial data and records, and that the county is participating in state ESINET/NextGen 9-1-1 data submissions with help from DMA grant-funded contractor DATAMARK and Geocom. "We're taking our data, sharing it out to the state for their new 9-1-1 system called the ESINET," she said.

Operational milestones included weekly automated tax-roll/GIS merges that update the web map every Friday night, releasing tie sheets free to the public after nearly five years of work, and adding voting districts as an optional layer. Jenna said departmental GIS uptake is increasing — Highway and Land Conservation have begun using county ArcGIS Online accounts for data collection and internal maps — and staff will meet with departmental leads in January to ensure continued support.

Committee members asked whether any bugs persisted after consolidation and migration. Jenna said the physical consolidation (dispatch to Bayfield) went smoothly; the bulk of challenges were adapting to the new CAD system. She said regular coordination calls with Motorola shifted from biweekly to monthly as issues were resolved.

Why it matters: the PSAP/CAD migration and improved GIS data sharing affect emergency dispatch accuracy and county mapping services used by departments, surveyors, and the public.