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Consultants give progress update on 9‑1‑1 consolidation and HEART expansion; no recommendations yet
Summary
ADCOM Engineering briefed the Durham County Board on a discovery‑phase feasibility study examining consolidation of city and county dispatch operations and expansion of the HEART mental‑health response countywide; the firm said it will deliver options with cost, governance and implementation analysis and return with draft reports later this year.
Consultants from ADCOM Engineering provided a status update on a study of potential consolidation of the city’s DECC 9‑1‑1 center and the Durham County Sheriff’s Office dispatch operations alongside a countywide expansion of the HEART mental‑health response program.
"This is a progress and process update and not a decision briefing," ADCOM said, describing the current phase as discovery and stakeholder engagement. The vendor reported it has collected extensive information — including call volumes, workload, technology inventories, staffing and policies — and completed a city‑focused engagement week, with a county‑focused on‑site week to follow. The study will analyze operational, governance, cost and continuity implications and present options supported by data and systems‑engineering analysis.
Commissioners pressed staff and the consultant for early access to cost‑modeling results and for outcome measures related to behavioral‑health response. Commissioner Wendy Jacobs asked the team to incorporate outcome metrics (for example, measures of diversion from criminal justice, connection to behavioral‑health resources, and impacts on law‑enforcement workload) and to coordinate with Durham’s Stepping Up initiative; ADCOM acknowledged the request and said it will be integrated into the scope. Staff and consultants projected a draft report and review workshop in spring/early summer 2026 with a final report targeted for Sept. 1, 2026.
