911 System Review Report Set for the 21st

Members of the Effingham County 911 Board will hear the review of the efficiency study conducted on the county's 911 system on May 21.

The presentation on the report will begin at 9am at Effingham City Hall.  The gathering is open to the public.

The report from Intertech Associates has been months in the compilation and preparation process.  It's hoped the report will shed some light on whether the 911 system should continue operating with its two dispatching locations, or whether one location is an option worth considering.  The issue of one or two PSAPs has been a topic of discussion and debate since the 911 system went online 15 years ago.

The report presentation was a topic at this week's Effingham County 911 Board meeting.

The 911 Board also discussed the process of determining what radio console equipment and furniture needs replaced to bring the system up-to-date.  911 System Administrator Jodi Moomaw and County Telecommunicator Supervisor Tina Daniels will be attending a national 911 conference in June and will be gathering information on what equipment and furniture might be needed for the upgrade.

Moomaw also reported that state legislation that would take away revenue from 911 systems is gaining traction, with some of the revenue being diverted to poison control efforts.  The combination of the diverted funds, which would come from wireless 911 calls, and the decreasing number of telephone landlines, on which landline owners pay a surcharge for the system, is causing concern for local 911 officials.

The 911 Board discussed the need of a new server for any upgrade of the system.  A changeover to a Windows based operating system from the current Unyx system is being recommended.  The initial changeover is expected to be more expensive going to Windows, but the reduced cost of the hardware needed is expected to more than offset that amount.  The total cost is estimated at just under $29,000 to complete the server replacement and changeover.

911 Board member Norbert Soltwedel asked for information on what it would cost to obtain equipment to have the two 911 systems mirror one another.

A relocation of an antenna has seemed to improve the quality of pages to area firefighters.  Altamont Fire Chief Jon Becker, a 911 board member, said he is not getting complaints from his firefighters and said that pages are being received better.