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Knox County 911 briefs commissioners on NextGen rollout and spike in mental‑health calls
Summary
Knox County 911 Director Laura Webster and incoming director Rick Lenuza told commissioners the county is in progress on the state’s NextGen 911 rollout and that mental‑health call volumes are elevated, driven in part by one individual who made hundreds of calls; staff have referred the case to law enforcement.
Knox County 911 Director Laura Webster told the Board of Commissioners on June 11 that the county is progressing on the state’s NextGen 911 implementation, which will enable text and video transfers to 911 centers and better inter‑center connectivity. She said the county hosted a June 4 state site visit and that a map shown to the board placed Knox County in the “in progress” category.
“Yes, it will be text and video to 911 but also connects us more easily to the other centers in the states that are on,” Webster said while describing the anticipated capabilities of NextGen 911.
The directors also reviewed routine call statistics: calls have been “pretty steady,” with Fridays and about 4:00 p.m. identified as peak times. Webster said the center currently has 21 full‑time and one part‑time positions filled (some staff remain in training), and commissioners discussed an earlier target staffing level of about 24 positions.
Commissioners and 911 staff raised a separate operational concern: elevated mental‑health calls. Webster reported 162 attempted suicides so far this year and said the mental‑health call category is “very elevated.” Staff told the board that one individual—a frequent caller who the center has tracked—had placed roughly 259 calls to county lines as of June 9, tying up dispatcher time.
"He had already made 259 of those calls," a staff member said during the update. The board was told the matter has been forwarded to the sheriff’s office and the county prosecutor for potential intervention because those repeated contacts disrupt service for callers experiencing true emergencies.
The update also covered community outreach: 911 staffed a booth at a June First Friday event, and staff are coordinating with county emergency management and municipal partners on July 4 public‑safety planning. Webster and incoming director Rick Lenuza said they expect to keep the NextGen rollout on the county’s project schedule and to continue recruiting and training staff for expanded call‑taking positions.
The directors said the county is preparing to expand call‑taking positions from five to seven workstations; staff described the equipment and wiring work required. They characterized NextGen 911 as a resilience improvement that will make operations easier to move and restore during outages once live.
Procedural next steps: staff will continue vendor and state coordination on NextGen 911, and commissioners were informed that the repeat‑caller case is under review by law enforcement. No board action was required during the presentation.
