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County 911 director outlines NextGen phone system go‑live Aug. 13; requests $2 million overtime to stabilize staffing
Summary
DeKalb County’s 911 director told the IRPS committee the NextGen phone system is on track for an Aug. 13 go‑live after readiness testing the week of July 28 and training Aug. 4–8; the department requested a $2,000,000 midyear overtime amendment to sustain staffing and training through the year.
The county’s 911 director updated the IRPS (Employee Relations & Public Safety) committee on June 24, detailing staffing gains and the rollout of a NextGen phone system the department plans to put into service on Aug. 13.
Why it matters: the upgrade — which includes an ESInet (EZNet) backbone and a new answering platform — brings location accuracy, translation and transcription, the ability to send photos and video to field responders, and automated administrative and emergency triage. The director said those features and added staffing are intended to reduce response delays and control call‑volume spikes.
The director said the center now has 126 of 130 funded positions filled after recruitment and retention efforts, and that staffing helped lift the service level metrics from 54% in December to peaks of roughly 75% in March and April. “The national standard is that we will answer 90% of our calls within 15 seconds,” the director said, noting DeKalb’s recent service‑level performance and the impact of new trainees and January ice storms on call handling.
On the technology timeline, the director described two implementation streams: the ESInet (EZNet) migration to voice‑over‑IP to speed and scale call data, and the answering platform that will enable media attachments to be delivered to responders and support administrative triage for non‑emergency matters. The presenter reported a 95% GIS match rate (98% is the target), 50% of consoles upgraded, servers and routers installed, and operational readiness testing scheduled for the week of July 28. Online training is complete for roughly 85% of staff, with on‑site training set for Aug. 4–8.
Commissioner Ted Terry raised a midyear budget question after the presentation: the administration is requesting a $2,000,000 amendment to cover overtime this fiscal year to support training and maintain coverage while staff complete onboarding. The director told the committee the funds would cover overtime to ensure call handling through the balance of the year and that the overtime need should decline in 2026 as staffing stabilizes and system efficiencies arrive.
The committee did not take a final vote on the budget request during this meeting; the director said all vendors (AT&T, CAD vendor, recording vendor and training teams) will be on site for cutover and that the Aug. 13 date is contingent on no major issues during testing.
