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Council reviews next‑generation 9‑1‑1 planning: text‑to‑911, video and recorder options
Summary
The dispatch manager briefed the board on NextGen 9‑1‑1 planning, the county’s proposed funding reallocation, a text‑to‑911 (Texty) rollout with language translation, and options to lease county recorder/logger capacity versus buying new equipment.
The South Summit Council of Governments spent much of the meeting on technology and NextGen 9‑1‑1 planning, receiving a presentation from Dispatch Manager Leslie Hayman on staffing, text‑to‑911 implementation and options for upgrading call/radio recording equipment.
Hayman said South Summit has received cellular 9‑1‑1 deposits (about $16,809) and may receive additional months of funding while the county's updated 9‑1‑1 plan remains unapproved. She described a county proposal to move from funding a few high‑volume centers toward allocating funds to all centers to raise baseline capability across the county; the county has not finalized exact funding amounts.
On text‑to‑911, Hayman said the third‑party service "Texty" is ready for deployment once training is complete, and highlighted built‑in language translation as a benefit for callers who do not speak English. "We could do it today if we wanted to, but we're not trained," Hayman said, adding that staff training and public service messaging (for example, telling texters to stay by their phones while dispatchers respond) will be required.
Board members and staff discussed recorder/logger options for archiving radio and phone traffic. Hayman reported a county‑shared Eventide/Motorola logging recorder could be available for a one‑time transition cost presented at about $55,639 and annual support estimated near $7,400 after the first year — far cheaper than the estimated cost of purchasing and hosting a standalone recorder and server. Members noted technical constraints: some radios lack upgrade paths to the county's newer authentication standards, which increases the cost of replacing end devices; leasing county recorder capacity was presented as a collaborative, cost‑saving alternative.
Members also discussed NextGen features beyond text, including the ability to receive video and, the speakers said, potential AI components, though Hayman and others said the full scope and timelines remain unclear. The board agreed staff would continue to coordinate with county counterparts to refine costs and implementation timing ahead of budget decisions.
