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Washington County authorizes cancellation request for APCO dispatch software
Summary
After finding the APCO implementation incomplete and noting required telecommunicator certifications and extensive training, the commissioners authorized sending a termination/cancellation request to APCO International Inc. and asked staff to pursue reimbursement; the motion passed by voice vote.
Washington County Commissioners Court on June 2 authorized staff to submit a cancellation request to APCO International Incorporated for the county’s APCO telecommunicator software, after staff said the implementation was never completed and current certification requirements make the system impractical.
Staff told the court that the prior administration did not finish the project: acceptance paperwork was never submitted and the vendor did not produce required physical guide cards, leaving the software unable to function as intended. Staff said no county employee currently holds the telecommunicator certification required to operate the system and that achieving certification would conflict with existing onboarding timelines.
"We can't wait a full year for a new hire to answer a 911 call," the staff member said, summarizing the operational risk that non‑certified employees would have to transfer calls to certified TCOs and that delays would result. The presenter detailed a multi‑part training path that includes a six‑week APCO course ($475 per person), a 40‑hour basic licensing course, an 80‑hour licensing course, FEMA incident‑command and other federal trainings, TTY/TDD requirements and structured field training alongside certified officers.
County staff told the court the software purchase was approved in 2022 for fiscal year 2023 at an initial amount of about $60,000 and that the county has paid roughly half of that so far; because the system was not put into service staff asked the court to seek reimbursement. The court voted to authorize submission of the cancellation request and to pursue reimbursement; motion language was made on the record and approved by voice vote.
The decision removes an implementation the staff described as requiring extensive, sequential certification steps before new hires could use the system and shifts the next steps to department leadership and the county judge to finalize any termination letter and refund request.
