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Carrollton hears NTech AI pilot results, emergency-management update as officials prepare new communications center
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Summary
North Texas Emergency Communications (NTech) reported results of a one-month AI pilot handling nonemergency Carrollton calls and gave a progress update on a new communications center; Carrollton emergency management presented updates on hazard analysis, sheltering and alerting systems.
City officials received a public-safety briefing April 7 from the North Texas Emergency Communications Center (NTech) and Carrollton emergency management on emergency communications, AI-assisted call handling and storm preparedness.
Terry Goswick of NTech told council that a one-month pilot handling Carrollton nonemergency administrative calls logged about 5,487 incoming calls; the AI system handled roughly 5,311 of those calls while 1,159 routed to live call takers and 817 callers opted to bypass automated handling. Goswick said the AI pilot reduced use of the language line by handling roughly 60 Spanish-language calls within the pilot period and saved staff time—reducing hours spent on nonpublic-safety administrative calls—while retaining live telecommunicators for emergency incidents.
Goswick described NTech’s use of transcription/translation, a QA/CommCoach tool that analyzes calls for quality assurance and staff training, and the Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) program that trains telecommunicators to coach callers through CPR. He also showed progress photos and construction details for a new communications center designed with reinforced concrete walls and hardened operations space; NTech expects to take possession of the facility later this year but said it will take additional months to install public-safety radio and IT networks before full operational relocation.
Elliot Reed, Carrollton’s Emergency Management Coordinator, briefed council on storm-season preparedness and the city’s hazard analysis tools, including an online story map and a damage-assessment dashboard tied to GIS. Reed detailed the city’s siren coverage (26 sirens), opt-in emergency-alert reach (about 8,000 opt-ins), sheltering levels in partnership with the American Red Cross, volunteer training, a shelter trailer stocked to support about 100 people (including pets) for three days, and plans to update debris-management and support contracts ahead of storm season.
Council members asked about workforce impacts from AI and whether automated systems reduced staffing; Goswick said the intent is to augment and reduce multitasking burden, not to reduce headcount, and that AI is being used to free human staff to focus on public-safety calls. Council praised the progress on technology and disaster-preparedness tools.
Both presentations were part of the council’s wider public-safety and work-session items and will be followed by operational coordination between NTech, emergency management and city IT as the communications center move and system integrations proceed.
