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Washington County approves December 9-1-1 expenditures, outlines siren overhaul and NG9-1-1 transition
Summary
Washington County supervisors accepted a $77,405.01 report for December 2025 9-1-1 expenditures, heard that about $10,000 was spent on a mass-notification system and a nearly $32,000 siren update, and were told the county has migrated to the state MSWEN radio system with physical site testing planned this week.
David, the county 9-1-1 presenter, told the board that the 9-1-1 expenditure total for December 2025 was $77,405.01 and that the figure is higher than normal. He said about $10,000 went to the county’s mass-notification (hyper-reach) system and that a siren update had been completed at a cost of nearly $32,000.
David said the county has changed over to the state MSWEN radio system used by public-safety partners and described planned testing. "We're now getting signals to all of them," he said, and explained that a county computer used to trigger sirens failed before the holidays and was replaced with a more reliable encoder. He told supervisors staff will “set up and test this week and next week” and will physically and mechanically test each siren site to determine whether repairs are still needed.
Supervisors asked how the MSWEN switch affects county response and whether all sirens are now operable. David said the radio migration is an improvement and a county-wide standard: "It's what everybody else in the county already uses, all the public safety." He promised a physical test of each site before the end of the week and said the county will then know what repairs remain.
The presenter also requested approval to send staff to the Partners in Preparedness conference in Biloxi in March; registration is $250 plus hotel and per diem, and the board approved the travel request by motion.
What’s next: staff will complete on-site siren tests, report findings to the board and bring any needed repair estimates back to future meetings. The presenter also noted the statewide transition toward next-generation 9-1-1 over the next three to four years, which will require additional planning and funding.
