Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority approves training, three grants and updated fee allocations; asks county to amend hardship request
Loading...
Summary
The authority approved January financials, certified PSAP population/land estimates for FY27 allocations, vetted Norman’s 40‑hour telecommunicator training, and approved grants for Creek County, El Reno and Moore; one county was asked to resubmit a hardship waiver application for more detail.
The Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority on April 1 approved several administrative items and grants intended to bolster local dispatch centers, while asking one county to amend and resubmit a hardship request for further review.
During the meeting the authority voted to approve the financial report through January, which showed an ending balance of $22,473,568.51. Mr Terry presented the report and explained a change in how PSAP revenue from the Oklahoma Tax Commission will be shared with members: rather than listing monthly line items, staff will provide instructions for members to retrieve their PSAP-specific revenue from the Tax Commission’s public portal.
The authority approved the City of Norman’s 40‑hour, in‑person telecommunicator training program after operations and the committee review found the curriculum met state minimums. Ashley Woodall, grants committee chair, handled multiple grant motions during the session.
Three grant requests were approved in separate votes. Creek County received funding for APCO protocols and telecommunicator training (state request $29,826.84). The City of El Reno was approved for an infrastructure project that includes new desks, chairs, carpet and electrical work; the state portion is $109,860.16 for a total project cost of about $137,325.20. The City of Moore was approved for ADA furniture and an expansion of seating from four to six positions in anticipation of a 15% call increase; the state award is $129,956.97 with a local match of $32,489.24 (total about $162,446.21).
On a hardship grant request to waive a 20% local match, staff and the grants committee said the initial submission lacked required financial documentation and focused heavily on jail operations rather than 9‑1‑1 functions. The authority voted to ask the county to submit an amended application with clearer financials and a sustainability plan rather than approving or denying the waiver today.
The board also approved the eligible governing bodies, land area and population-percentage estimates used to allocate 9‑1‑1 telephone fee revenue under state statute 63 O.S. §28645. Lance, the state 9‑1‑1 coordinator, described the method the office uses: when a PSAP covers an entire county staff use the county census estimate; for PSAPs within multi‑PSAP counties they apply an Esri‑derived percentage to the county census estimate to estimate the PSAP population. Lance summarized the approach, adding, “Clear as mud,” when acknowledging the complexity.
A new online form to document PSAP call‑taking boundary changes was approved; staff emphasized that the Oklahoma Tax Commission will only accept boundary changes for funding calculations once per year (the May 15 cutoff), so mid‑year boundary edits will not change distributions until the next fiscal cycle.
Staff updates included completion of the annual audit with all 126 PSAPs reporting, near‑completion of boundary confirmations (122 agreed; four submitted changes), Virtual Academy enrollment and completion figures, reminders about upcoming mandatory NG911 GIS remediation dates (June 1) and quarterly update requirements (starting July 1), and recruitment‑site activity. The authority’s legislative committee noted that amendments removing 9‑1‑1 language from a House bill had passed the House and been assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee; the authority said it will monitor further action.
The authority presented quarterly awards to local employees — an emergency telecommunicator recognized for incident coordination during statewide wildfires and an IT technologist noted for ongoing dispatch center support — and then adjourned after roughly an hour.
The authority recorded votes by roll call for each motion. Members were asked to resubmit one hardship application with financial documentation and a clearer 9‑1‑1 focus; otherwise the meeting advanced approved budgets, training and three infrastructure grants. The authority announced upcoming workshops and training dates and reminded PSAPs of key compliance and submission deadlines.
