Hamilton County, cities sign 911 unification agreement

Cities in Hamilton County signed a 911 unification agreement Wednesday morning, aiding the possibility of having a system in place by November.

Mayors from Hamilton County, Chattanooga, Red Bank, Signal Mountain and East Ridge ceremoniously signed the agreement at the Hamilton County 911 Center during the emergency communications district board meeting. Collegedale is also included in the five-year agreement.

Red Bank Mayor Joe Glasscock praised the system, which he said will make 911 operations more expedient.

“It’ll be very efficient,” he said. “It’ll be one sole operation to take care of all of us.”

East Ridge Police Department communications supervisor Pam Aalberg, who’s worked East Ridge dispatch for two years, said staff members sometimes field calls, monitor police radio and watch the National Crime Information Center computer at the same time.

“For us, it’ll be great to split that up,” she said. “I think it will make it safer.”

To offset costs associated with a dispatch system, the board approved a cost adjustment plan that reduced each agency’s participation cost by $20,000 each year.

District Executive Director John Stuermer said that costs are determined by call traffic and population. He said agencies expressed concern about handling increased calls from cell phones that hit towers in their areas but that needed to be routed to another agency.

“Their concern was that because they were getting a lot of those calls, their costs were going to go up,” he said.

The district also is finalizing the architectural design and specifications to build a center that will house the unified operations, Mr. Stuermer said. The job is expected to be out for bid before the end of March, he said.