County 911 celebrates 20 years

It is hard to imagine a time when there was no emergency 911 calling. Every resident in most areas of the county now knows to dial 911 for whatever emergency response is needed.

For Stoddard County residents, that service began on Oct. 21, 1995. Times have changed and service is changing due to technology, but those in need rely heavily on dialing three numbers from a telephone, cell phone, notebook or whatever communication device they may have in their possession at the time.

County voters approved establishing a 911 service on April 6, 1993. The issue was approved by a 4,306 to 1,504 vote.

A 911 Committee, chaired by Shirley Crow Stephens, had several meetings to present to voters the need for 911 service.The 911 office was made a county office under the jurisdiction of the County Commission. The commission at that time consisted of Presiding Commissioner Norman Moore and Commissioners Frank Sifford and Ray Coats. A 911 Board was appointed. Bill Pippins, Jr., served as secretary on that board.

There was a lot of work and planning in the original setup of 911 services in the county. The board worked with all telephone companies and Post Offices in the county and hired a firm to begin residential addressing in the county.

The original ballot issue called for the service to paid for through a 15 percent fee on all telephones in the county. Cell phones were not yet common, and the issue was not even addressed. The ballot issue simply referred to "telephones."

It was more than two years before 911 service was launched in the county. Pippins was hired as the first administrator. He was located in a small office inside the Stoddard County Ambulance District (SCAD) Station in Dexter. It was not without problems that 911 service first became available in the county. There were many tests, much coordination with telephone companies and Post Offices and the hard work of many people that led to this vital service.

Pippins hired Carol Moreland as assistant administrator in Sept., 1995. She, too, was given an office in the SCAD building. Several errors were found in the residential addressing software, and Moreland answered phone calls from residents non-stop with address issues.

Forms had been sent to residents throughout the county to fill out and return to 911. The form included the names of people living at that location, and voluntary information about medical conditions and directions to the property. This information was put into the system to be available to dispatchers answering 911 calls. At that time, all information was based on responses to the questionnaires.

Another early task was the naming of all roads and lanes in the county. Moreland, now the 911 Services administrator, says it takes at least two residences located on a lane for the road to be named. County 911 services worked with the townships and special road districts, to not only assure that all roads were named, but that addresses were consistent. Moreland said an address is assigned along a road every 25 feet, from driveway to driveway. The sequence must be in order with odd numbers on one side and even on the other. Addresses increase north and east and decrease south and west.

The next big task was to make sure all roads had markers erected on them to for easy identification. Moreland said the townships and road districts, as a whole, install or replace the signs. County 911 Services pays for the signs, posts and hardware. This continues to be a big cost because these signs are frequently stolen and have to be replaced.

The first 911 call center was located in the SCAD dispatch center. SCAD had, and continues to have, their own radio system for dispatching; but that does not include the special 911 equipment. That equipment includes theVesta Pallas Plan System, which shows an information screen for all calls made to 911, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) reporting system and a recorder to record all conversations on 911 calls.

SCAD contracts dispatching with 911. SCAD provides a state-of-the-art communications center, EMD qualified personnel and a MOSWIN radio system.

"We work well together and make a great team," said Moreland.

Until 1997, County 911 services was a county office under the commission. That year 911 Services became a separate entity, governed by a board of directors appointed by the commission.

A building fund was started from the beginning, with reserves set aside from revenue from the telephone tariff. Property was purchased in 1999 at 512 Cooper Street, adjacent to the SCAD offices. A groundbreaking was held on March 6, 2003, for the new 3,500 square feet facility that would house administrative offices, have storage room for storing signs and other equipment, a board room and a kitchen.

Moreland said the goal at that time for 911 Services was to grow into the new building. Because of declining revenues in recent years, 911 services has actually become smaller in terms of staff and any expansion, according to Moreland.

"Unfortunately, we have regressed," she said..

Lack of funding for 911 services across the state lagged as residents began moving away from land lines and toward cell phones.

The first ballot issue to assess a fee on cell phones was in 1999. It was rejected by voters.

Another series of public meetings were held, and the legislature put Proposition A on the ballot in 2002. It would have levied at 50-cent month fee on cell phones. It was defeated. Many 911 services in the area considered not taking cell phone calls at their 911 call centers at that time. Stoddard County continued to take those calls.

"We should have never started taking cell phone calls without funding," reflected Moreland. "We are asking them to pay for something they are getting for free."

Missouri is the only state in the nation that does not levy a fee to help fund 911 services on cell phones.

The county became an enhanced 911 service in April 2003. County 911 Services obtained a $99,788 grant in 2005 to work toward Phase 2, enhanced mapping (CAD). Moreland said the IT program was used, which required her to pull into every driveway and record a GPS position.

There are three phases of 911 service, all dealing with locating cell phone calls. Phase 1 provided no addresses for the cell phone call, while Phase 2 provided a call-back number and could pinpoint some locations of the cell phone call, but most of the time it would only locate the tower the call came through. Moreland said that would provide 911 with locations within a five mile area. Phase 3 would give an exact location for all cell phone calls. Phase 3 would require that every house in the county be mapped so that the address points could provide a location for a cell phone call.

Stoddard County currently is in Phase 2, with a goal of reaching Phase 3.

Pippins resigned in June, 2006. Moreland was appointed interim administrator by the 911 Board. She was hired as full-time administrator Sept. 29, 2006. She was among 32 applicants for the position.

Moreland had been a dispatcher and a D.A.R.E. Officer at Doniphan, Mo., and a dispatcher at the Dexter Police Department from 1979-1982 and part-time dispatcher for the county sheriff's office.

The budget woes for 911 came to head in 2007. The assistant administrator position was cut, leaving only one employee in 911 administration in the county. County 911 Services has a contract with SCAD to provide the 911 call center, so those employees are under SCAD administration.

Revenue for 911 continued to decrease.

More public meetings were held, but legislators said they would not impose a fee on cell phones by legislative action since voters had rejected it twice. Efforts to get another cell phone tariff on a ballot for voters to decide has been unsuccessful to this point.

Technology continues to be advancing, and that poses some problems for 911 service. SCAD upgraded their radio equipment, moving away from analog to digital. The dispatcher center now interfaces with MOSWIN, the State HighwayPatrol digital system.

The current 911 recorder does not record radio traffic on MOSWIN. That would require a Motorola proprietary interface at a cost of $100,000. The old recorder was bought at a cost of $38,000, but it needs replaced or upgraded.

The latest development is that the County 911 board has chosen to put a sales tax on the 2016 ballot. A Citizens Advisory Board is considering the amount of the tax.

Moreland said she thought the sales tax was the most fair way to generate more revenue for 911. She said the bill to levy a fee on cell phones that was proposed in the last two legislative sessions would take money generated in the county and use it for other purposes.

"With the sales tax, everyone pays for the same," said Moreland. "There will be no fee on any phones. Stoddard County money stays in Stoddard County. We won't be forced into consolidating into another county and our 911 calls will be answered by local 911 dispatchers that know our county."

"I have a passion for 911," stated Moreland. "I want to see it succeed."

Moreland thinks that the much of the success of 911 in the county has been due to the people who have been appointed to oversee the program.

"We have had great people serving on our 911 board," said Moreland. "All have been very supportive."

"I want to see a 911 serving our citizens in an exceptional manner for the next 20 years," she said.

Through October 31, County 911 Services will be helping provide 911 address markers at a reduced cost to county residents and providing blue ribbons for residents to show their support of local law enforcement.

County 911 Services Administrator Carol Moreland said 911 services is partnering with Christian Memorials and Signs to provide address markers. The makers are made of 4 inch by 66 inch steel with four inch tall reflective address numbers. The markers are originally priced at $50, but through the anniversary promotion may be purchased for $40 (tax included). The signs will be available through Oct. 31, 2015, at the special price.

For more information or to order an address marker, contact County 911 Services at 573-624-9086 or Christian Memorials and Signs at 573-624-2705.

Moreland said the County 911 Services Board also wanted to provide a way to show support for local law enforcement, so 911 Services will be offering blue ribbons through Oct. 31. These ribbons may be displayed throughout the county to honor and support local law enforcement.

The ribbons may be obtained at the Stoddard County 911 Office at 512 Cooper Street.

Moreland said that anyone with concerns about 911 should contact her office at 624-9086 or come by the office at 512 Cooper Street.