County Approves New Computer System for Dispatch

DAYTON – For nearly two years, Columbia County Emergency Manager Lisa Caldwell has reported on her department's failing computer systems, which include the 911 phone system and the computer-aided dispatch software that county public safety communications employees use to track calls for service and the location and activities of emergency services personnel in the field.

The phone system is still on hold – at least until July, she told commissioners Monday, at which time the state will determine whether Columbia County is eligible to receive the approximately $150,000 it needs to replace the antiquated 911 phone software, computer server, and other related call-taking equipment in the communication center.

But the long search for a viable option in computer-aided dispatching (CAD) and law enforcement records management systems (RMS) appears to have finally ended. Columbia County Commissioners authorized on Monday an interlocal agreement with the City of Walla Walla to join in the purchase of a CAD and RMS, plus a few amenities, for what they believe will be a fraction of what it would cost the county to purchase such a system on its own.

And Columbia County will retain its own 911 dispatch center, with calltaking and radio dispatching continuing as usual from the center's location in the bottom floor of the county courthouse.

The agreement has not yet been signed – in fact Caldwell and authorities in Walla Walla are still ironing out all the fine details of the contract – but county commissioners support the plan and have agreed to use current expense funds to get the project going.

"We've been hearing that the system is on its last legs since I've been here," Commissioner Mike Talbott said. "This way we're getting a way better system than we could otherwise get."

Dollars and Sense

For roughly $236,000 and a few thousand dollars per year in fees, Columbia County will gain access to a top-of-the-line CAD and RMS, by Michigan company New World Systems, that would otherwise cost more than $1 million to purchase and install, Caldwell told commissioners.

It is also possible, Caldwell said, that the state 911 office will reimburse the county for approximately $54,000 of that cost, which amounts to the 911 center's portion of the system, but whether that will happen is still up in the air. Caldwell said she will know more later in the year.

"The state has a moratorium on equipment purchases through June 2015 due to state 911 appropriation levels; inadequate funding exists," Caldwell told The Times. "The legislature is again looking to reallocate the 911 fund instead of giving us spending authority to use the funds as they were supposed to be used."

Approximately $80,000 of the total cost will be due on signing the interlocal agreement; the remainder is due later in the year at different stages of the development.

The commissioners had a very short amount of time to decide whether to approve an interlocal agreement with Walla Walla; that agency has already decided to purchase the New World upgrade for their system already in use and has begun the year-long implementation process. They plan to launch the new system in January 2016.

"We're more than happy to bring Columbia County along with us, but the train has already left the station as far as we're concerned," said Chief Scott Bieber of the Walla Walla Police Department, who spoke to Columbia County Commissioners last week about the proposed interlocal agreement.

At that time, Caldwell urged the commissioners to consider quickly. Meanwhile, she and members of the sheriff's office have already been attending installation and preparatory meetings in Walla Walla in anticipation of commissioner support, she said. Commissioners agreed unanimously to pursue the interlocal agreement during their regularly scheduled workshop on Monday.

Perks of Becoming Partners

Walla Walla and other surrounding agencies who are currently part of a CAD consortium with the city of Walla Walla, including the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office, the College Place Police Department, and the Milton-Freewater Police Department, are already using a New World CAD and RMS product – but it was installed more than 20 years ago and needed to be updated urgently, according to Bieber.

By joining with Walla Walla, Columbia County will gain more than just access to a premium software; dispatchers and sheriff's office staff, as well as fire and ambulance personnel, will be able to share data across jurisdictions by joining with the Walla Walla Police Department and fire districts and possibly other surrounding agencies who are currently part of a CAD consortium with Walla Walla including the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office, the College Place Police Department, Milton-Freewater Police Department.

"It makes sense to share what we can, as we're so tied to these other communities," Commissioner Merle Jackson said. Both Sheriff Rocky Miller and District 3 Fire Chief Rick Turner spoke in support of the purchase during last week's commissioner meeting, citing not only the perks of the system but most especially the ability to share critical information across jurisdictional boundaries as a boon to the community as well as their agencies.

In addition, the sheriff's office will have access to a new software for tracking inmates and related jail records and commissary, a program to aid in evidence collection and proper storage, and the ability for deputies to become fully functional in their patrol vehicles including software that will allow them to write reports without driving back to the office, Columbia County Undersheriff Richard Loyd told commissioners Monday.

"And we'll finally have AVL, or automatic vehicle locators, installed in all the patrol vehicles so dispatch will know where deputies are at all times, which is a huge officer safety issue," Loyd said.

Current Need

The current software and computer system in use at the sheriff's office and dispatch center, created by Spillman out of Utah, was installed in 1997 and has reached "end of life" – in other words, Caldwell said, the product has reached the end of its useful life and is almost entirely phased out of other agencies around the country.

"The current system is failing," she reported, describing glitches and crashes in the system as well as problems with the 20-year-old data tables and generally outdated software and computer server issues.

Upgrading the county's current CAD and RMS system with Spillman would cost just as much as going with New World through Walla Walla, Caldwell said. But the two big hang ups with purchasing a new Spillman system are: (1) Spillman's annual maintenance costs are more than $30,000 while New World would charge the county a fraction of that to share a system with Walla Walla, Caldwell said; and (2) Columbia County would be responsible for all the equipment related to the system, including the server and all related IT issues.

But if the county signs the interlocal agreement, then Walla Walla will host the server and major physical components of the system, meanwhile providing 24-hour IT coverage for critical errors, crashes or other problems with the systems at a minimal cost to Columbia County. Walla Walla already provides this service to the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office, College Place PD and Milton-Freewater PD.