At least one Bryan County commissioner thinks it’s time to rethink the way the county handles its 911 center.
District 3 Commissioner Steve Myers raised the issue after he and fellow commissioners voted at the group’s December meeting to spend more than $760,000 in SPLOST money on a seven-year lease to replace the county’s aging 911 equipment.
Citing expense and what he said was Motorola’s monopoly on 911 consoles and phone system, Myers said he thinks it’s time to look into partnering with surrounding counties.
"On how many nights in our county, all night long, is there only one phone call, or only eight phone calls, all night long?" Myers asked. "And yet we’re paying multiple personnel to be there to answer those calls."
Myers said the best option would be to have the state take over 911 services, but the other avenue is to go regional.
That’s already happening in Florida, according to Bryan County Emergency Services Director Freddy Howell.
He said it’s an idea worth considering, but he also urged caution.
"My questions would be ‘who’s going to oversee it, who’s going to operate it?’" he asked. "The data has to be kept up to date with addresses and phone numbers … and this is just me personally, but if I was out working a call I’d like to know I have people behind the console who know the community and the neighborhood I’m being sent to. If we have people from Bulloch County dispatching for us, we might not get that extra information we need on a call. Having regional 911 can be done, but I’ve got concerns."
The county currently uses dispatch radio consoles that were bought 10 years ago and Motorola no longer provides technical support on that equipment, which officials said has reached its "end of life."
Myers, a businessman, seemed frustrated by the lack of options other than Motorola.
"Motorola is making a lot of money," he said. "There is nobody to shop that business with, they have 99 percent of the market. The only way to skin that cat is to regionalize it. An entrepreneur, in my opinion, could go to counties on the consolidation of 911 systems and make a tremendous amount of money. I’m not that guy."