Dispatch reports 911 system upgrade; text-to-911 and training next steps
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Summary
County dispatch has completed a 911 system upgrade and is preparing for future text-to-911 capability, while dispatchers attended peer-support and tactical dispatch training and staffing changes continued.
Sawyer County dispatch staff told the Public Safety Committee that a planned upgrade to the county's 911 system has gone live and the next step is enabling text-to-911 services.
The dispatch speaker said, "For the dispatch center, we're just finishing up on our project, so that'd be upgrading our 911 system. The turnover and the go live went well. I'm still monitoring it. I guess the next step in the process will be text to 911 so people will be able to text to 911 call in. We're not there yet, but we're working on it."
Dispatch staff reported that several dispatchers attended peer-support training in Bayfield in early May and one attended an incident tactical dispatching course in Waukesha. The speaker said the county will host a field training officer course at the Flat Creek Inn and Suites, with 35 to 40 attendees expected, funded by a grant.
The report also noted one part-time dispatcher left for a full-time law enforcement job in Bayfield County and that the county continues to advertise for part-time dispatchers. Committee members asked about accidental texts to 911; the dispatch speaker described the topic as still early in planning and suggested accidental texts may be less common than accidental voice dials.
No formal actions were taken during the report.