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Howard County approves device and cost-share with city to fix dispatch phone routing
Summary
County dispatch staff described persistent dropped non-911 calls and proposed a cellular-failover device and routing arrangement to ensure non-emergency city calls reach county dispatch; the court approved the purchase and a 60/40 billing split with the city.
Dispatch staff told the court that non-911 calls routed from the city's phone system were intermittently dropping and not reaching county law-enforcement lines, creating operational problems. The presenter described a solution using a rack-mounted device with cellular failover and two cellular providers to ensure redundancy; the solution would integrate city and county lines so that emergency calls remain on dedicated 911 paths while non-emergency calls route reliably to staff.
The presenter estimated a monthly cost of about $192 over a 60-month term, with the city covering roughly 60% and the county 40%; the court authorized the purchase request and directed staff to invoice the city for its share. "It's like that, you know, as we're done with it... it's a $192 a month, back, you know, for 60 months," the presenter said.
