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Madison County approves trial agreement for AI support on nonemergency dispatch lines
Summary
Central Dispatch won approval to begin a contract with Aurelien, an AI call-handling platform, for nonemergency lines; the first-year cost was cited as $50,000 with higher recurring costs in following years.
Madison County commissioners approved Madison County Central Dispatch's request to move forward with a contract for Aurelien, an AI-based call-handling platform intended to filter nonemergency and spam calls.
Jenny Chambers, representing Central Dispatch, told the board the system is designed for the nonemergency line and will not affect 911 calls. She said a health assessment of 1,000 calls suggested "over 60% of those could have been handled by the call handler." Chambers gave the contract cost as "$50,000 for the first year and then 60,000 for the years after until year 3." She said the expense is eligible from the dispatch center's fund balance.
Commissioners asked whether the platform could mistakenly divert emergency calls; Chambers said 911 traffic will remain on the 911 line and the AI will transfer any call it detects should be handled by a dispatcher. She also noted redundancy arrangements: overflow calls roll to Delaware County if Madison County faces overload.
The commission approved the motion to proceed with the Aurelien contract by voice vote. Staff will finalize contracting details and proceed with implementation consistent with the center's policies and procedures.
Next steps: finalize contract signature and monitor system performance for accuracy in routing and effect on dispatcher workload.
