Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Communications Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Deputy county administrator warns Tyler CAD limits, cautions against third-party API connections
Summary
Deputy County Administrator Dave Yingling told the Emergency Services Board that Tyler CAD does not permit third-party API connections for security reasons, that FTP or other workarounds raise data-governance concerns, and that SMTP/paging options have timing and run-order limitations that the county is testing.
Deputy County Administrator Dave Yingling gave the board a technical briefing on April 8 about options to provide faster call data to stations, urging a deliberate approach that protects sensitive law-enforcement and EMS information.
Yingling reviewed the county’s move to the integrated Tyler CAD (contract awarded 03/23/2022; go-live 08/13/2024) and said the system has improved multidisciplinary information sharing while leaving some issues to resolve. He told the board that Tyler CAD does not allow third-party API connections for security reasons and described that option as a "no proceed" path for the county.
"Tyler CAD, for security reasons, does not allow API connections to anything but their proprietary software," Yingling said. "That is a no stop, do not, proceed. We will not support it. We can't support it."
He explained other connection methods carry tradeoffs: one-way file-transfer (FTP) would send a complete call file to a third party the county does not control, raising governance and privacy concerns; paging and SMTP (email parsing) can deliver messages quickly but can suffer from run-order display issues that have proven unique and technically challenging in St. Mary’s County. Yingling said county testing showed SMTP notifications can arrive within seconds, though display of correct run order sometimes requires opening the call in the interface and Tyler is being engaged to address run-order tags.
Yingling recommended the board set clear station-alerting requirements—what specific fields (date/time, location, call type, correct run order) departments need—and asked partners to provide exact data-field requirements so the county can pursue an integrated, secure solution that matches operational needs and IT capacity. He cautioned against pursuing ad-hoc direct connections without sustained testing and funding commitments.
