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Emergency Communications District reports staffing, call volume and discusses proposed 911 surcharge
Summary
ECD representative Mike reported vacancies and recent hires at the ECC, call-volume figures (25,883 calls in February; ~54,000 YTD), and outlined a proposed 911 surcharge increase from $1.50 to $1.86 that could generate about $36 million statewide and fund district consolidation and technology upgrades.
Mike, speaking for the Emergency Communications District, gave a multi-part report on operations, staffing and legislative developments.
On operations and equipment, he said IT has worked 86 incidents since Jan. 12, the district has been in contact with Dell about previously approved hardware purchases, and vendors are being consulted about an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) replacement and necessary installation work.
On proposed legislation, Mike said the current 911 surcharge is $1.50 and that a proposal to raise it to $1.86 would generate about $36,000,000 statewide per year; he said much of the increase would return to districts and some funds are proposed for district/PSAP consolidation and technology upgrades. He also noted a legislative packet from the Tennessee Emergency Number Association on the meeting agenda and flagged upcoming conferences (MENA in June, APCO in August).
On staffing and service metrics, Mike reported six current vacancies at the ECC (three telecommunicator and three CTO positions), a next hire date of May 18, and about 12 hires since November. He gave call-volume figures of 25,883 calls for service in February and roughly 54,000 calls for the first two months of the year; telephone contacts were just under 50,000 year-to-date. He highlighted recent recognitions: a telecommunicator received a "stork award" for assisting with an imminent birth and two telecommunicators received lifesaver awards after guiding callers through CPR.
Carolyn (finance staff) also presented the county financial summary: LGIP balance $878,000; volunteers' bank account approximately $905,000; $1,000,000 moved to a money-market account currently showing $5,007.78; $11,000 in interest earned (about $1,200 more than the prior month); total funds reported as $6,000,008.62; and a $37.15 miscellaneous deposit that the bank has not identified and that may reverse.
The ECD-related items were presented for information; no formal county-level action on the 911 surcharge occurred during the meeting.
