Program Manager Update

As the calendar turns to spring, the 911 implementations go full swing. We are scheduled to cut over a PSAP each month to the new platform until all agencies are operating on the new system by the end of the year. While the schedule may seem aggressive, the team is primed and ready, eager to put the training, testing, and configuring into operation. We look forward to having all the PSAPs on the same system.

On the training front, we are excited to begin a new program. We have started holding monthly webinars, diving deep into focused topics. We have received feedback from our PSAP partners that they would like more information on peer support, the 911 ecosystem, how and what is a 911 outage, what’s next in 911, technical aspects of our network and system, how to take advantage of technology to be a more effective supervisor, plus so much more. We are lining up experts in their respective fields to present on the various topics and intend the webinars to be educational, informative, interactive, and, hopefully, fun! Using the webinar format, we can quickly hit a topic and react to any necessary changes to make the material more relevant. I am excited about the direction and opportunity.

Financial 

Hello everyone - 2023 is officially in the books! The 911 Program Office had another great year of financial health. Revenues ended over budget by $1.7M and over prior year by $1.2M. Expense management continues strong with under spending budget by $4.9M. Open headcount and unspent contingencies were the primary drivers of the savings.

Moving forward into 2024, budget season is fully in swing. However, this year will be a little different budgeting for 2025 only. Next year will be back to biennial budgeting for 2026-2027. The timing is driven by the change in the election cycle. Wishing everyone a successful 2024!

“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison

Public Education & Outreach

Typically, the winter months are a bit slower, and it gives the team down time to get caught up on administrative projects and prepare for the next busy events season. This winter the team has been unusually busy participating in events such as festivals, scout nights, and community resource & safety fairs.

In addition to the community events, the Public Education Team was invited into multiple schools and businesses to discuss when to call 911 and other resources available for non 911 calls. So far, the team has been to over 15 sites in the past few months, and they have 25 more events scheduled so far for the busy season which starts mid-March. Below are the types of events the team participated in recently:  

• Speaking at two middle schools
• Speaking at two high schools
• Speaking at two colleges talking to international students
• Speaking at eight elementary schools
• Training at multiple Department of Licensing offices

The team values each opportunity they have to answer questions and educate community members on proper use of 911. Thank you to everyone who continues to support them and provide these opportunities. 

The Right Call

Why would that be good news? Diligent testing of the secondary circuit used to connect the Seattle 911 center to the Platform, revealed flaws in the provider network. Intrado worked with the provider to make configuration changes aimed at improving the reliability and throughput of the connection, but the results were insufficient.

The implementation has been put on hold until a circuit can be obtained from another provider.  Once the circuit has been installed, the same rigorous testing will be applied. We are optimistic that this testing will be successful, and the Seattle PSAP cutovers will be scheduled sometime this year.

Legislation and 911

The 2024 Washington State Legislature Session began on January 8 and concluded on March 7, lasting a total of 60 days. The Program Office monitored multiple bills during the session that either would directly impact 911 or tangentially impact 911.