Officials flag gaps in Pendleton County 911 address data, consider hiring mapping specialist and new CAD

Pendleton County officials raised concerns April 20 about the accuracy of the county’s 911 address database and discussed options including hiring a full-time mapping specialist and exploring a different computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system.

Diana Mitchell, the county 911 director, reported that an upload of the 911 database had been completed the prior week. Public attendees and a commissioner questioned whether addresses were appearing correctly after uploads. Robert Harman said Virginia requires quarterly uploads and suggested Pendleton County should do the same; Mitchell said the county’s current contract with Atlas Geographic provides for annual uploads but that she would be open to more frequent uploads or a new contract.

Resident Andy Teter said neither his old nor new address shows in the system and that law-enforcement staff have had difficulty pulling valid addresses. Teter urged hiring a dedicated, full-time mapping and addressing employee; all three commissioners agreed they may need to hire someone for that role.

Teter also noted that the State Police are integrating Spillman CAD with Pocahontas County and other jurisdictions and said that system may be superior to the county’s current Caliber CAD. He said he would provide contact information for counties using Spillman to the commissioners for follow-up.

Robert Harman recommended a third-party evaluation of the county’s system and suggested comparing the 911 database to the U.S. Postal Service database to locate discrepancies. The commission did not take a formal vote at the meeting on system change or hiring but instructed staff to gather information and estimates for next steps.