Residents press county on 911 routing; NextGen 911 and sheriff dispatch options highlighted

An attendee at a Douglas County panel said repeated 911 calls about truck parking and road damage on Riverside Parkway were routed to the city of Douglasville rather than the sheriff's office, leaving her frustrated that the county response she wanted did not arrive.

Amanda Strickland, deputy director of the county's 901 PSAP, said the county is implementing NextGen 911, a GIS‑based system that will route calls to the correct public safety answering point based on coordinates and improved mapping. "NextGen is GIS based...when someone calls 911...it will go to the correct PSAP," she said, and noted dispatch currently uses addresses and cross streets to determine jurisdiction.

Lieutenant Colonel Tavares Pounds of the sheriff's office acknowledged interjurisdictional complications and staffing shortages, and provided a direct non‑emergency sheriff's dispatch number for residents who want the sheriff to respond to non‑urgent county matters: (770) 949‑5656. He cautioned that for life‑threatening or in‑progress emergencies callers should continue to call 911.

Panelists said Riverside Parkway and some other corridors have mixed city‑county boundaries, and the county has placed signage and programmed its computer‑aided dispatch to prompt for jurisdiction. Suleiman Rana, transportation director, said the county maintains certain crossover roads under an SDS agreement and schedules recurring maintenance while considering paving as funding allows.

Next steps: Amanda said NextGen 911 work is in progress (requires GIS coordination) and will take time; residents were encouraged to provide specific addresses when calling and to use the sheriff's non‑emergency line when appropriate.